Mary25

Hello "Wasabubblebutt" Thank you for your concern regarding my dilemma. I agree with you, in that common sense should tell a doctor to culture an infection so he will know what he is dealing with. To be honest with you, I rarely get to see the surgeon who banded me. The person who is actually treating my wound is the physicians assistant to the surgeon. Occasionally, if I happen to be in the office at the time the surgeon is there, he will be called in to examine the progress of my infection. What really irritates me is that there are two other bariatric surgeons who are a part of this practice and two weeks ago one of the assiciates told me that my infection was OVER and that all I needed to do was put some Neosporin on it and it will start healing even faster. I guess he overlooked the redness and swelling that my surgeon picked up on last Friday. And, to top it all off, about four weeks ago, while I was going to the clinic daily so they can pack my infected wound, one of the medical assistants told me that the infection was "cleared up" and I could cancel all of my upcoming daily appointments. Like the trusting idiot that I am, I followed her advice, and cancelled all of my wound packing appointments. I had made a separate appointment for the following week to have an adjustment. When the physicians assistant started to do my adjustment, he discovered that the wound healed itself too fast because it hadn't been packed in several days. So, he had to numb all of my flesh around the wound area and cut into it, reopening some of the pockets. This whole ordeal has been nothing but an emotional and physical roller coaster. The only reason I even considered having the entire band removed was because I'm sick of dealing with all this conflicting medical advice out of the same office. I mean, if I developed all these problems with the port, God only knows the problems in store for me down the road with the band itself. I wish I could go to another bariatric surgical clinic in my area, at least to get a second opinion, but this is the only one in Las Vegas (Surgical Weight Control Center). I don't know if it would be worthwhile going to my regular internist or even an infectious disease doctor. Thanks again, for all of your suggestions. I will definately suggest doing a culture when I see the doctor again on Friday. Your response has been most helpful. Mary

I had lap band surgery during the last week in June (2007) in Las Vegas. Immediately after my surgery, I noticed that the incision where the port was placed was red and puffy. I suspected infection, but nothing was said by the hospital staff, and surgeon, when they released me to go home. So, I just figured that it was bruising from the surgery. One week later, I had to go back to the clinic so the staff could check my incisions. They confirmed that I had an infection in the incision where the port was placed. They put me on one week of antibiotics (ciprofoxicen) and wanted to check it again at the end of the week. The infection did not heal and they had to cut into the insicion area to drain it and begin packing the wound. I went to the clinic every other day and sometimes every day to have the wound packed. Yesterday, the surgeon told me that the wound is not healing as it should. He explained that because of the port's presence, my bodys tissues can't heal properly. He decided to place me on another week of antibiotics and plans to see me again next Friday. He explained that it may be necessary to go back into surgery and remove the port and allow my body to heal naturally. Later, when everything heals, we would have to, again, go back to surgery and install a new port (which would cost me in the neighborhood of $800.00 just for the new port alone). I told him that I have been having a lot of heartburn when I eat and he said there is a slight possibility that my body is rejecting the lap band. My insurance did not pay for any of this surgery. To pay for it, I had to take out a home equity loan. As it is, it is going to take me quite a long time to get out of debt from the original surgery. Having to go back into the hospital two more times and buy a new port, will drain me financially. I'm kind of at a loss as to what I should do. In a way, I feel like having the entire procedure reversed. It is extremely hard on me to drive to the clinic every day after work. I was so hoping this episode would be over soon so I can get on to losing weight. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments about my ordeal. Thank you.:think