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It was not Dr. Almanza. I no longer have the band. So is that still considered a revision because they wont be taking it out? I could ask facilitators this also haha. =)

I had Dr Fernando Garcia, coordinators ready4achange do my revision and he was excellent. You really don't remember your Dr's name from your surgery? Good Luck

Hey everyone, it has been an interesting and life altering 10 months, but I have finally hit the 100 lbs lost mark. I am over 15 lbs below my original goal, 5 pounds below my revised goal and now officially past my dream come true goal. Now that I have hit the goal, I do still want to lose a bit more, but my body will decide when enough is enough, and if that was now I would be okay with that. Keep up all your hard work everyone, there is no better feeling then seeing the results of all your hard work!

Hi, I have done extensive research into many Dr. I know that Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the Obesity Control Centre in TJ, is the expert in Lapband's revisions, problems and issues. He was on the Oprah show in the past and has an excellent reputation. I am scheduled on April 9Th for Sleeve Surgery with him. The other Dr you have mentioned Dr G Alvarez is very well known as a specialist as well. If it was a seedy place you went to but I think you said a good Dr. Was that Dr. Mario Almanza by chance?

My surgery was actually a revision from a Gastric Bypass I had done about 9 years ago. My surgeon is Dr. John Alexander and my surgery was done at Forest Park Medical Center where The Alexander Center For Obesity Surgery is located. Yes, I'm 15 days out as of today and everything so far has been great. I chose Dr. Alexander because he specializes in revisions and does quite a few of lap band to Sleeve and Gastric Bypass to Sleeve surgeries. If you haven't added me as a friend... do so. For some reason when I try and add people I keep getting an error message. Would love to keep up with your progress and it's cool to have a Sleeve Buddy so close... :-)

You'll be fine, I had a slipped band and tons of inflammation, was a bit of a special case. If I'd just been a regular revision it would all been fine but I had the added drama of a prolapse stomach and urgent surgery . I can never do things the way way! Try not to stress too much!!!! HW 312, pre-op (lap-band) 294, pre-op (RNY) 255, surgery date 2/11/13, goal weight 154, current weight 223

re: placement of the band. was his discovered during the revision to by-pass. could they have seen this on x-rays? Did the complications start right away,after you had lost some weight or when you started to re-gain. thanks

I did for my lap band, and because they withheld fluids for 24 hours, I actually asked for more - that's how parched I was. I don't like doing them because of the radiation involved, but I did get nuked pre-surgery to see how my lap band was working. For the bypass revision, the doc was fine knowing that I could drink regular things and not throw up. If there is a cool thing about the barium swallow is...how do I say this...your body cannot digest it at all...so it goes in white...and comes out white

Hi fellow September 24th bandsters (well sort of). I wanted to just stop in and say hello. I was first banded in January 08 and my band had a leak and I was rebanded last week along with you September Samurais. Congratulations on being banded and I hope you will all be successful with the band! It's a life changing journey if you want it to be and if you work with the band properly. Each of you will have different experiences along the way. At some points it will be hard and you'll wonder if it's worth it, but just remind and encourage yourself to keep going because it is worth it (at least I think it is) and because you deserve it! If you gain weight one week, don't come down so hard on yourself and remember it's one week out of the entire year. Try to be positive and notice the small changes along the way because they help put things into perspective. And don't let people tell you that you took the easy way out because it's a lot of hard work! I forgot what it was like to be banded until I had to go through it again! My revision was not as invasive as the first one as all my dr. had to do was remove the old band and put in a new one (so there's not a tremendous amount of healing to do because most of the scar tissue is formed already to hold the band in place, but there is a small amount of new stitching that needs to heal). The first few days were just as rough as the first go-around though, but after that I have recovered a lot quicker than the first time. However, I'm still on the the post-op diet like the rest of you so I can empathize (gotta love them liquids! So happy to be on pureeds now!) Now that a week has gone by, it seems like most of you are feeling much better, which I'm happy to hear! It might feel like the first month or so will seem to drag on, especially with the post-op diet and you'll think you'll never get to chew real food again, but I promise, you will! It will pass, and before you know it, you'll be 2,3,5,8 months post-op and you'll wonder where the time went! If you have any questions please feel free to ask, and I will answer them to the best of my ability! Melody, I found out at the age of 20 that baby food is actually pretty good (who knew)! I'm a fan of the oatmeal and pears (or apples). I add some sweetnlow because it doesn't come sweetened and you would think you're eating the most delicious apple cobbler/crisp you've ever had. Cream of tomato soup is good and I add in some ricotta cheese to up the Protein, plus it adds a nice flavor. I also just microwave some ricotta (you could use cottage cheese too) with some tomato sauce and add basil and garlic and onion powder! It's like a good Pasta dish minus the pasta. I made some cream of sweet potato soup with babyfood sweetpotatoes (again the baby food). I did 1 jar of Stage 2 (I think like 3-4oz jar) and add a half cup of skim milk and like 1/4cup of Water and I heated it and added a bit of ricotta cheese and garlic/onion powder, salt and pepper and it was really good too. It had a nice sweetness to it too. The first time around I had butternut squash soup which I made from jarred butternut squash and followed the recipe on the jar. I also made a cream of cauliflower soup which was good too. I think I have the recipe if you want it. I think I found it here on LBT. Be well everyone! -Redtulips

These are my before and after tummy tuck photos. As you can see that pre-op there was a lot of excess skin and the port can be seen. Post-op pictures are two weeks out and as you can see the port is no longer visible. My starting weight was 329 lbs. and my day of surgery weight was 129 lbs. Please feel free to ask me any questions and I hope that this post helps you with your decision.

Hi Janette, I had open lap band to VSG revision surgery two weeks ago and I, like you, was having my doubts right up until they wheeled me down to surgery. Open surgery is when they cut your stomach open rather than doing it laparascopically and it is usually preferred if you have had surgery before. I had had several operations on my stomach and my surgeon told me from the start that he would need to open me up. I had had my band repositioned last year and then it slipped again and that's why I came to the decision to have the VSG and, like you again, all my family were concerned. I won't say they were against it but they were worried about the surgery mainly as a result of all the media attention. But, as has already been said ALL surgery carries some risk. You really need to discuss this with the surgeon if you can and find out how much revision surgery he has done. Here in the UK there aren't all that many bariatric surgeons, in comparison to the US and elsewhere, and our services are absolutely swamped with people wanting surgery. My particular surgeon has got the monopoly on it in the Yorkshire area and has carried out loads and loads of operations and is held in wide regard across the whole country. He had also carried out my band surgery and abdominal surgery so he was well familiar with me and my personal situation. He was absolutely confident that performing the sleeve op was the right thing for me and as a result I had to put my trust in him as I would most certainly have regained all my previously lost weight. He did point out the complications to me and did tell me that there were more risks involved, but, as I say he was absolutely confident in his ability to perform the op successfully and help me. Talk to your surgeon, find out how much revision surgery he has done and then take it from there. I am two weeks out and am fine. I have had very little pain from my VSG op and am progressing well with the diet. And don't worry about open surgery either. I have had loads of open surgery and although I have a nice big scar running right down my front it is nothing compared to all the extra weight I was carrying and still am! Good luck in your decision. I know it's not easy. Love Helenxxx

Hello everyone. I have been lurking for a while but this is my first time posting. Sorry kinda lengthy!! I have a question and wanted to see if anyone could give my any insight. To give you a little bit of history-I was banded 2 years ago. I initially lost about 55 lbs. over the first 4-5 months. I then got an adjustment that resulted in me being too tight, learning to drink with my food just to get it to go down, then drinking all my food down. I maintained my weight loss for several months, but eventually over the last year have gained back about 30 of the 55 lbs. After researching VSG, I am very impressed with both how happy people are with their sleeves and the amount of weight that is being lost. My main question is this, over the last 5-6 weeks I have been trying to lose the weight that I had gained back on my own. I have been eating the band/sleeve/low carb way, with mainly Protein and occasionally some vegetables with one of my meals. I have eaten between 900 and 1200 calories and exercise on the elliptical for approx 50 mins 3-5 times per week. I lost 10 lbs in the first week and a half and nothing since. I am worried that through all the years of yo-yo dieting and then the band that I have made myself weight loss resistant! Has anyone had extreme trouble losing weight on their own or with a band and then had success with the sleeve. I don't want to go through the risks etc of another surgery just to fail again?!?!?

Lynn, I'm going through exactly what you are . Like you, my dr. says after 2 EDGs, the band has to come out, be repaired or go with sleeve - I'm leaning towards sleeve and hoping to read more about those that have gone the band to sleeve route . I had great success with the band and although there were days I hated it, learned to live with it. I thought the weight loss (120 plus pounds and being almost too thin) was well worth it. I also liked that it could be reverse/removed. This is my fear with the sleeve, there is no going back. Well, if insurance company approves the revision - right now, I've convinced myself, I'm going for it. Don't want to be heavy ever again!!!

Thom and Lynne, look into the sleeve plication, where the stomach is folded into the stomach and stitched, twice. The benefits are that there's no possibility of leaking and it's reversible if needed. It had all that I needed to feel secure about doing it. Problem is there are only 3 Drs. in the US that do it, look on Youtube at the video of the procedure, it's more difficult as a revision, with that in mind, I paid for it myself and Had it done down in Mexico with a Dr. there that's done 60 of them, just look at all the possibilities as it's a big step.

Hello, I have noticed that I do have major soreness where my port used to be. How long did it take your pain to go away if you had any at the port site? Just wondered how long it would last. Thanks!!!

I had my revision on 6/29. Chicken, even with my sleeve, was always a difficult protein for me to get down. Have you tried a softer protein? Tuna with light mayo? Egg salad? Ground pork in spaghetti sauce? Maybe try something else besides chicken. I can eat most things now at nine weeks post-op.

That's the bill I got from the hospital and surgeons for moving my band back into place after a slip. I had been too tight for months and threw up WAY too often. My insurance will not pay a dime. I'm going to have to fight like hell and hope that I can at least negotiate with the hospital and doctors. Please, learn from my very expensive, dangerous mistake. Wow, I just realized my second bandiversary was Monday. Yeah!! One other word to those considering this, in my opinion, even if it cost $60,000, I'd do it again a thousand times. It's still worth it. Much success, Laura D. 243/145/140 DOB 10/1/05 Dr. Kuri

I read the article and couldn't determine which TYPE of Bariatric Surgery they were discussing. I can totally understand that Gastric Bypass revision would be risky - or a revision from one type to another. Have not heard or read of any negative statistics on LAP BAND revisions. Which type is this article discussing???

Ok, so i had a port revision about 3 weeks ago, and for some reason, my surgeon felt the need to add some fill to my band when he was in there. We never discussed him doing this, so i'm very frustrated that he did. I have had about 5 'sticking' episodes, and had another one tonight. I'm eating super small bites, and I feel like I'm eating slowly. I'm so frustrated, and I'm so scared to get a fill because of everything that I've been through. I had to have the port revision because i had a huge infection (which is most likely from fills)..... so now i'm super nervous!! HELP! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!

Well, Good news Blis Ok'ed me after all for the band revision surgery to sleeve today. So I won't have to sign all my rights away after all to have the surgery. Though I am still self pay the Blis coverage will still be in effect for this surgery. YAY! After all I've been through with this band I was worried to have this hanging over my head and possibly change my surgery plans. Now to just take the class I missed due to this upset and I'm on for being sleeved June 20th!!!!!!!

A recent study was released showing that bariatric surgery is no riskier than any other routine surgery. Large-Scale Analysis Finds Bariatric Surgery Relatively Safe People have this idea that the band is somehow "safe" and all other bariatric surgery is "dangerous" but this is a misconception. There is a risk to all surgeries, even the band, but bariatric surgery is pretty safe comparatively. It's not dying on the operating table that you have to worry about. If your husband wouldn't worry about something happening to you if you got your appendix out, he shouldn't worry about this. As for having more scar tissue, they'll cut away most of the stomach so you'll actually be losing some of your scar tissue. OTOH, doing a sleeve on a scarred stomach will increase your risk of leaks a bit so you should be very careful. Also, depending on where the scar tissue is, the surgeon may prefer to do RnY on you. It's something you should talk to him about. There are a lot of "what ifs" involved in a revision so you want to be prepared for them.

Thanks for the info Tiffykins. I really think that is what my problem is too. I would do low carb loss 30-40 lbs then gain it all back and then some. The same with the band, as soon as I learned to eat around it then I did. After reading and researching hours and hours over the last few weeks, I feel like the sleeve is the way to go-now I just have to convince my dr.-right now, he thinks that since there is nothing "wrong" with my band that we should try to get me adjusted properly and see if we can make it work. I appreciate his honesty and caring bed-side manner-he really is trying to do what is best for me and not just make money off of me with another surgery. The problem is that I think it is basically just prolonging the inevitability of eventually having a revision anyway. I am just terrified of failing again! I do now truly understand what you mean by the "honeymoon" phase, and plan to take full advantage of it to try to get to goal quickly and then work on maintaining!

Welcome! There is a forum for band to VSG revision about half way down the page and there are several people here!

Hi, I'm getting nowhere with my plication. I'm 3 months out and I don't feel much different to before (ie I get as hungry and can eat nearly as much). I'm considering VSG (if that's a possibility - I know it is in theory, but don't know if it's been done). I'm hoping I'm more like a bandster (without the slippage/erosion or things getting stuck). My question is how is the sleeve helping compared to before? I saw someone say that at 22 months out they couldn't get down a whole chicken breast. I'm 3 months out and can do that no probs (no nausea, nothing). BTW I got a 32 bougie. I'm just trying to find out as much as I can as I don't want to fail again!! Any input is much appreciated.

Best wishes on your final decision. It took me over a year and a half of deciding to finally have my lap band removed and revise to the Sleeve. Lots of my friends from another website were doing it, and I didn't want that to be the reason I did. I needed to make that decision for myself. I struggled for almost 3 years with my lap band. I'd lost about 50 Lbs with it and once that was off it slowly crept back up to within Lbs of my surgery weight. No bueno. I was just miserable and unhappy. I was never able to find my "sweet spot" others talk about. I'd had well over 20 fills/unfills. I had terrible night coughs and would PB constantly. The band and me just didn't work. I was revised to the Sleeve on 9/15/10. That was my new birth as I now look at it. I'm nowhere near the same person today that I was on that day. I'm happy, I'm thin, I'm healthy, and I don't have to worry about what the future holds anymore with the band around my stomach. It's tucked nicely in half (thats how the surgeon had to remove it!) in a box in my closet. There it rest in pieces. LMAO! If you'd like, feel free to friend me, send me questions or simply look around and read many of our stories. There's a great deal many of us amazing band to sleeve folks here and I don't think there's one I've seen that isn't glad at some point they did it.