tanderson

I had the 4.0 cc INAM Lap Band......I am the one who suffered an extreme slip with near gangrene of my stomach. I am now 3 weeks post removal of band and still on pain medication as my stomach is STILL not healed. Please if you are banded, pay attention to your body and do NOT ignore symptoms...it could literally be a matter of life and death!

My band was put in on 6-4-07, the happiest day of my life. Over the next year I managed to lose 55 pounds with lots of HARD WORK and EXERCISE....about 3 weeks ago, I began to notice changes in my body. I was having more variations in my diet because some foods went down so much easier than others. And I am sorry, if I have not been able to eat hard Protein all day long, by the time the evening come around, my body is weak and trembling and HUNGRY. Mind you, I had 1.8 cc in a 4.0 band. Anyway, I resorted to eating more high caloric soft foods such as ice cream, so that I could have some caloric intake.
This went on for a few days and I knew that I needed to see a doctor as the weight was starting to creep back on. The only problem, was that my surgeon retired 4 months after my procedure and left no follow up instructions. At the time, I was really OK with this because at the time of his retirement, I was losing relatively well and easy and had been told that my body would never need another fill as I had recently had to have a slight defill.
So last week I began looking for a doctor and started feeling worse and worse, more tired and more tired. Labor day, I was in the hospital with my daughter who was having surgery the next day, and I began to feel sick. I went/vomited in the bathroom several times and then realized I was having pain. Suspecting a slip, I walked over to the ER to check myself in. The next 24 hours are a blur to me as my pain because so intense. My BP was 175/157, low grade temp., pain so intense it radiated through my abdomen, chest, back, both shoulders, and jaw, sever nausea, vomiting bright red blood spots; at one time the did and ekg because they thought I might be having a heart attack. They did plain xrays on my which showed nothing and told me to go home and follow up with wichever lap band doc i could find, and i forced them to admit me for pain control and to consult with a surgeon.
The next mid-morning my pain became more intense, bowel sounds stopped, pain meds were doubled and given twice as often and noting touched the pain i was in...nothing. I was given a CAT scan to look at the band and was told I did indeed have an extremem slip to where my entire fundus had passed above the band and yes I had the stitch method used to prevent the band from slipping. Than night my wonderful surgeon came and removed the band. He said when the first saw the stomack it was COAL black. He was afraid I was going to have it surgerically removed. Luckily, when he removed the band, the tissue above the band began to turn deep purple which meant the blood was beginning to return. There is one small spot on my stomach that did die, but my surgeon says that will scar over in time.
I am only 5 days post op from band removal and still very emotional. I am so happy that it's out. I was told about complications of slippage and erosion, but NO ONE every told me about complications of possible neucrosis. I have no an idea of why what happened, happened. I followed ALL band rules to the tee! I keep replaying the whole thing over and over in my head and realize how close I was to losing my life. If I had indeed developed gangrene, I may not be alive right now.
NO I WOULD NOT RECEIVE ANOTHER LAP BAND NOR RECOMMEND LAP BAND TO ANYONE.

My doc gave me a card that states "this patient has a Lap Band implanted..." and he told me to keep it paperclipped to my insurance card in case I was not able to speak for myself. But in my mind I am thinking, who in the he@@ could even find anything in my purse?
Peace Out :hippie:
T~