Search the Community

What's a band to sleeve revision?

I had this revision in May. I too lost very little with my sleeve & developed GERD. Since my revision 2 months ago, I lost 56 pounds. More than I lost with my sleeve (which was about 20 something pounds).

Yesterday I celebrated my 1 year Gastric Sleeve post op (Revision from lap band) So glad I got the revision cause I was going NOWHERE with the band!

I'm June 7. Revising from lap-band which was removed on March 16. The process has taken well over a year. It feels a little surreal now that it's really getting close.

I am having a really hard time following this preop diet I keep cheating! I guess I'll make sure to follow it starting Tuesday since my surgery is the 2nd! Also, getting nervous a bit since I am a revision from lapband I keep thinking I am going to wake up and they tell me sorry we couldn't do it all at once. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I agree with Christopher the Dummies book is great! It was recommended to me by my bariatric group and I can understand why. Very informative! I chose the gastric bypass because I had already had the lapband for 4 years. I had complications from the lapband until if finally came out in 2010. After that I knew it was the gastric bypass for me because I didn't want to fail "again" even though the lapband issue wasn't my fault. I was very successful with the band for the first 14 months then I had issues. The issues lead to unfills that lead to weightgain. Had the band revised in 2008 and then never had it adjusted correctly again. For the next two years I suffered with overfills, unfills etc until it finally prolapsed and had to come out. So far so good with the bypass - I"m 3-3.5 weeks post op.

Im 11 days post op and 10 pounds from surgery day weight. In the hospital I gained 23 pounds of Water weight. So I lost that 23 pounds of water and 10 pounds of my actual weight. Im 5'5" tall. I was 198.2 and am now 188. I'm also a revision so I expect a slower loss. Im also a lower BMI patient and have less to loose. If I lost 20 pounds in 10 days I'd worry. You really have to go by your body, bmi and where you're loosing the weight.

Did the tube disconnect at the band, the port or is it in between? Any idea why this happened? If you can have it revised I'd go for that? Seems like a small incision and scope to reconnect the tube would be easy?

Hi and welcome! I'm preop also, should be submitting everything around June 6th(final nutrition class). I'm thrilled to hear what your surgeon said, because I've had GERD for years, and my surgeon said the same thing. I specifically asked about exacerbation and possible revision to RNY, and he reassured me that he's only had 3 patients in the hundreds he's sleeved that needed revision due to GERD. I know that there's no guarantee against complications, but this reaffirmed my gut feeling(pun intended) that the VSG was the right choice for me. Good luck to you!

frauhowe, your post was really interesting to me. I realized something. At 53 (last year) my primary told me "Jeff, it's all about to go to hell for you. You've been "borderline" on lots of things for a while now, but unless you do something drastic, in 3 months you're going to be on diabetes and cholesterol medication. You are going downhill and as you age there is not a damn thing I can do about it, unless you lose some weight." Rather than depress me, it helped me decide that I wanted the lap band even if I paid for it out of pocket. That was the final straw for me. In 5-6 years, at 60, if I am thinner and still not a diabetic and still without heart trouble, then I will gladly have a revision surgery if I need it. I will probably be healthy enough to weather it, since I am losing with my band. I would never have initially had the courage to do a sleeve or bypass. Now, I am not so afraid. But for some of us, we have to have training wheels. I got the band thinking it was for life. I realize now that if it isn't, I can handle it. But what I couldn't handle was any more time at 405. For people who aren't on that ledge, as I was, the decision can be hard. I was always the "healthy" fat person, and it does catch up with you.

Hi I copied this from a post of Donna's. The list is excellent and I hope it helps. Doddie These are just a few of the questions that come to mind that are important in helping to make a decision in deciding which band surgeon and/or clinic to go with: · Is there a fee for consultation? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to patients such as dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band potential patients to access? · What percentage of your bariatric clinic is devoted to lap band patients? · What is your medical education? · What experience in term of years and number of procedures do you have in lap band surgeries? · What experience do you have in performing revisions? · If you are a revision, what tests will you need to have done ahead of time to be sure you can have a lap band? · Do you have any statistics regarding your lap band practice and number of patients who have had slippages, band erosions or other complications? · What type of warranty comes with your lap band surgery? · What type of bands do they use and how do they determine the type and size? · Is there a pre-op diet you need to follow? o If so is there a cost involved? How much? · If I don't follow the pre op diet perfectly am I still allowed to get the surgery? · What tests and paperwork do I need to have done prior to being accepted for banding? o Is there any charge? How much? o What is the time span? · Is the surgery performed in the clinic or at the hospital? · In case of an emergency what is the procedure that is followed? · How soon after surgery can I go home? · What type of accreditation does your clinic have? · How do your operating rooms compare to those in a hospital if surgery is performed at the clinic? · Can you give me references from other patients I may talk to, especially those who are a revision from past weight loss surgery? · How long am I required to be in town before my surgery? · Is there a hotel that is recommended? o If so, is there a preferred rate at this hotel? o Is there a shuttle available from this hotel to clinic and back and how much does this cost? · Are my family members allowed to remain in the waiting room while I am in surgery or are they asked to leave until I am in the recovery room? · How long after I wake up can I go home? · What special medications will I need to purchase before hand? o Gas-x? liquid Calcium? chewable multi Vitamins? .... · How long would you recommend I take off work after surgery? · If I have a hernia do you fix this? o Is there an extra cost associated? · How long do I have to have a caregiver with me after surgery? · Is there someone I can hire to be my caregiver if I come alone? · Do you use latex? · Is there a deposit I have to pay to hold my surgery? o How much? o Is it refundable if I change my mind? · How must my final payment be made -- money order/visa/cheque? o Does it have to be in before my surgery or do I bring it with me on my surgery day? · If I have further questions may I contact you or your clinic with them? Even more important is follow up care: · What type of aftercare program does their clinic have? · What is covered in the cost of your surgery in regards to aftercare? · Is there an after hour phone number in case of an emergency or concern you encounter outside of normal business hours? o Is he/she available on call to answer or return your call? o Who responds to calls? · Do you have support groups available locally and in my area? · Is there a fee for any aftercare services? · How soon after surgery is your first fill usually? · What hours am I able to come in for fills and days? · How often between fills are you eligible for your next one? · How are the fills performed and are they with or without fluoroscopy? · Do you have to pay for your fills or are they covered in your surgery fee? o If they are not covered what is the fee? · If you live far away from the band clinic, do they have anyone local or closer to your home who is trained by the clinic to do your fills? o If so do you pay a fee to them and if so how much? · In case of complications post op, if you had a slippage or worse case scenario band erosion is any further surgery to remove the band covered or would you have to pay? · In case of a defective port or leak is the surgery to replace it covered in the lap band surgery cost? · In case of a defective lap band is it replaced at no cost to you the patient? · If you needed a new band for any reason such as the above or band leak, etc., is it replaced free of charge to you? o If not what type of cost would you be responsible for? · At the clinic does the surgeon do your follow up fills or fill nurses? o If nurses, what training do they have and can you meet them before committing to this surgery? · What criteria do they base your needing a fill or defill? · How long does it take when calling to book a fill does it take to get an appointment? · How much time is the fill nurse allotted to spend with you answering any questions or concerns also? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to help patients, i.e., dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band patients to access?

I will try to answer some of your questions. I was much farther along, over 2 years out from my original surgery when I got pregnant. So that part is different but the rest applies. Weight loss history. 376 when banded (1/08), down as low as 250 but then in 09 (8/09) my band broke, I regained about 40 and then had revision surgery in 10/09. (Band breakage was not my fault-just really bad luck). Got down to about 265 and then got pregnant (5/10). Now am hovering around 330. (Ugh) I had an "unfill" at about 4 weeks along. It was not total but had the effect of being total-I really did not have enough restriction to stop me from much. I gained about 100 lbs during my pregnancy (just like I did with my first son 9 years earlier). My doc actually wanted to remove a bit less than I asked him to but I had gotten so bloated at the beginning that I could not really even drink much for days so was literally starving when I got my unfill and thus not very rational. It does not have to be completely open, you will have to check with your doctor and OB and preferably have them in agreement with you. I did not slip and have not known anyone who did. I think that they way they put bands in now, by stitching the band to the stomach make is very unlikely for a slip to occur. I vomitted plenty. I did not have any medical complications due to my weight other than my being huge. I had my baby on Jan 31, 2011. The band cord is in a totally different part of your body so the baby does not even get near it let alone get tangled in it (I asked my doc the same question!) I have had a horrible time losing after having my son. I lost 40 lbs in the first 6 weeks and have plateaued since then (it's now been 6 mos). I am terrified of getting a fill because I am loving nursing and am really committed to it and do not want anything to mess that up. So still have not decided about when to get a fill. If I can help in any way-let me know! Good luck!

I was banded in March 2010, and had slow and not too steady success with my band - some other health issues got in the way. Things were moving along nicely combining my band with Weight Watchers. Like everyone else, I had those occasional PB's, those foods you learn are not going to go down, the occasional, "Oops - forgot and eat too much/too fast" and from the beginning, I usually could not eat wearing a bra. In July 2012 things changed...now I couldn't eat while sitting down, and never before 10a. Every night I'd sit down to dinner with my tablespoon of whatever Protein or main dish, a tablespoon each of that evening's veggies, maybe a 1/4 cup salad and three thumb nail sizes bites in, I'd be in the bathroom throwing up. After expelling my three bites and a giant mucus ball, I might be able to get my portion of the main dish down...in about 45 minutes and only if I was standing up. I had to give up eating out after a mortifying "3 Bite" episode @ a business meeting. I started having that burning sensation in my throat. I was getting sick everyday. What happened in July? The only thing I can think of was that I'd had carpal tunnel surgery. I have always had to be "patched" before surgery because of severe nausea. Before this procedure, though, the anesthesiologist told me I didn't need it since I'd only be under 15 minutes. It was day surgery so I was home that afternoon. Hadn't eaten and wasn't hungry. Took the dog out to do her business, and my world tilted - I began retching and couldn't stop. My weight crept up from 216 to 227 - combination of not eating &/or just getting what I could get down. When you're beat, and you need a quick pick up before a meeting and you can't risk an incident, a chocolate bar goes down without returning. After a long day of keeping nothing "real" down, a pint of ice cream is soothing. Not making excuses, not saying it was the right thing to do, but it's what I did. Instead of homing in on the real physical reactions I was having (my husband, friends, oncologist all noticed and encouraged me to go see my WLS), I kept blaming myself for not trying hard enough. Finally in December, I'd had it and made an appointment. They told me I should've come in six months ago. Since then, I've had an upper GI and will be having an endoscopy next week. I'm eating mostly soft foods the consistancy of yogurt. Couple of days ago, I attempted a single slice of deli ham chew 45 times(I counted) and made six trips to the bathroom. Had a piece of toast last night - no problem. Had a piece of toast this morning - not so good and really creepy in that at 11am in addition to being unable to keep toast down, I could taste what I'd had for dinner the night before!(TMI). Like anything, the band has it's good points and it's not so good points. It's taught me a lot and if it needs to come out, so be it. Since my original surgery, I'm about 50 pounds thinner(hey only 81 pounds to go!) and I've learned what full feels like. I've also learned that most people with a gastric band will need to have it replaced by the 10 year mark and many much sooner. A some point though, the inconveniences and embarassments become a bit too much to deal with. Revision surgery - hadn't even thought about that yet!

Sorry, no I'm not here to convince you or anyone to do anything. I didn't pay for the information, it came from medscape.com, an online medical professional resource. I posted it as just that, a resource. Gastrointestinal Quality of Life is important. It does affect weight loss...esophogeal, gastric and intestinal spasms kept me on a soft, low fiber diet (maladaptive eating). These foods aren't ideal for weight loss. Food intolerance (inability to eat fresh veggies, fruit, lean dense protein) are also counterproductive to weight loss, so it is very relevant. I posted on this forum, in particular because many banded patients DO look to the sleeve, since it is the other purely restrictive surgery. Hope this helps you to understand. No one having to revise, ever expected to need it.

Join facebook and friend dr r rutledge. He invented the MGB and will have great advice. I would get a 2nd opinion on your surgeons recommendation.. you could always revise the MGB to be changed. You will lose your stomach and lose the possibility of changing back. Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

So I had MGB 8months ago. I have been getting bouts of diarrhea and after insisting to speak to the doctor over the phone (since my appointment is not until end of feb), doctor thinks it might be IBS. I'm down to 114lbs and most probably this weight loss will continue so now doctor is recommending revision to RNY!!!! This is crazy.. has anyone been through this before?? If I will have to go under the knife again I would prefer to get a total reversal but doctor thinks a reversal is not an option!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi, It has been a year since my sleeve and I feel like such a failure. I’ve only lost approx 40lbs since surgery. Will the liquid phase I’ve lost 80-90 lbs. While some might be happy, I have a LOT to lose. HW 430 lbs, S.W. 365lbs, current 320lbs and it’s remained there for 4-5 months. I’m so disappointed in myself and feel like I’ve failed. I have the option to get a revision from sleeve to bypass... has anyone done this? Is it worth it? I’m just worried I still won’t lose 😔 Thoughts?

Congrats . I had my revision to sleeve on 9/2 as well. It was done outpatient, surgery early in the morning, released at 4 pm. First day was miserable for me though, slept through day 2, & day 3 has been great. Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App

Popsicle brand makes a fudge pop "no sugar added" ice cream pop that's a good chocolate craving treat. Not sure yet if it makes you sick yet, my revision to the bypass is sometime in the next 2 months. Sent from my N9560 using BariatricPal mobile app

So as you all know, I had A LOT of complications with my sleeve. I ended up with gastritis, esophagitis, horrible gerd, and precancerous polyps all though my stomach and duodenum. I had 4 endoscopies to have them all removed. Then I had a colonoscopy and found 3 cancerous polyps (stage 1) and they were removed and I'm ok. Wouldn't have found ANY of that had I not had the complications from the sleeve. During that time, I also had a ct scan to see what was happening, and 2 large fibroids were found in my uterus. Well, now that everything else was taken care of and I had my revision from sleeve to bypass, I decided to deal with the fibroids (they are causing my stomach to be large, my uterus is HUGE, they cause discomfort, very heavy bleeding, etc) One is 12cm (roughly the size of a grapefruit) and one is 6.5 cm (the size of an egg). I also had an endometrial biopsy (those SUCK) and was diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia, which is precancerous. So now I have an appt to see what to do about all of this. Again, never ever would have found this if I hadn't had complications that led to all the testing to figure out what was wrong. Sometimes the fear of the unknown, the long road ahead, and the daunting testing and procedures to diagnose and correct complications can make surgery seem like a no-go. But potential complications shouldn't necessarily be seen as a deal breaker. I had several precancerous and cancerous conditions I knew absolutely NOTHING about, and I wouldn't have known about them until it was too late, had it not been for the complications from the sleeve. Trying to find out what happened inadvertently led to correcting not only the initial sleeve complication but also the silent and secret health issues that definitely would have creeped up on me and taken me out had it all not be found when they were. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe hitting every speed bump on the way sucks and feels overwhelming, but at least now it's done. I'm already healthier than I have ever been, and I'm only getting healthier. I'm following dreams I previously let go, and being 45, I'm at the age where health risks start to increase anyway. Now I'm having it all taken care of and I can just do my thing and live my life. I said all of this to say.... don't talk yourself out of a life changing and life SAVING surgery because there's the potential for complications. Yes, they're scary. Yes, they suck. But YES finding and treating them early on (especially if you never would have known about them otherwise) is a blessing. We are doing these surgeries to get our lives back. And if that means finding and treating other issues that can/will cause us problems down the road, consider that a perk of the surgery.

Ps tomorrow I'm 3 weeks post op. had my band to sleeve revision on the 17th

A pre-op diet unto itself is not such a big deal, though I certainly question those who do the fully liquid diets as those don't seem to offer any benefit over a simple low carb diet, but do present potential negatives to the patient. If they have other reasons why they may want to do such a diet, other than selling a product through their practice, I have not seen them expressed - it's always the 'shrink the liver' thing. If it is the policy of the practice or hospital, I would question the seniors involved in establishing their policies; if a hospital recruits a respected surgeon to practice in their facility, it is the surgeon who establishes such policies, one way or another. It is really tough evaluating these guys - the surgeons themselves have a hard time at it unless they actually see their colleagues at work in the OR, or have occasion to see their work after the fact (not a good sign if another surgeon has to revise their work!) Some guys may be good at settling claims before they become official, so their record remains clean even if their skills may be marginal, others may have a clean record because they never do anything challenging while another may be more skilled and experienced but have some bad marks on his record because he takes on challenging cases and may have lost one or two. Which is better? Who are you most comfortable with? Patient reviews only scratch the surface (we aren't awake during surgery, and most of us aren't qualified to evaluate them if we were) only touching on tangential issues like bedside manner and office staff and rarely on long term outcomes - which is the most important thing. We need to look for indicators where ever we can. My preference is to look for DS qualified surgeons (those who actually perform them routinely, not just list them on their CV and then sell you something else,) for the reason enumerated in the post above, but also owing to the DS being a technically challenging procedure (that does use the sleeve,) such that those who adopt it as a primary procedure tend to come from the top half of the class. They also tend to have broader experience, as most started out doing bypasses and moved to the DS in search of a more effective procedure, so they don't have a problem recommending an RNY if that is really in the patient's best interest; with most other bariatric surgeon, if they recommend a bypass over the sleeve (or wanting to revise a sleeve to a bypass,) there is always a question as to whether they are looking at the patient's interests, or what is most comfortable for them to perform. Given that the DS has maybe a 5% market share, at best, this leaves another 45% or so of other surgeons who are also in the top half of the class that I have excluded. I don't know how to evaluate them, other than the basic number of specific procedures under their belt, and that isn't particularly helpful if you don't live near one of them, or can't travel to them. My surgeon is about six hours away from me, even though living in southern California there are bariatric surgeons on almost every street corner (though there are a couple of others I have found in the area since then that I would go to, though they came more from networking than from the usual vetting methods.) It is certainly an imperfect selection process, but it beats randomly picking whoever is local that's in the insurance network.

It takes several days for the bloating and swelling to go down... I am day 12 and I am still a little bloated. My other incisions look amazing. I am a revision from the LapBand and the incisions with this surgery are almost invisible. The only one that is going to be visible is the drain site for me. What is ugly about your incisions? Sometimes there is a collection of bloody drainage under the tapes and it apears they look bad... but once the tapes fall off... they look fine.

I ended up having RNY once it was determined that it was the best surgery for me given my severe Gerd. I wanted to have this surgery one time. It has been. One of the best decisions of my life. I no longer get any type of reflux, heartburn and no longer take medications for it. I would give serious thought before proceeding with the sleeve given your history. You may just end up with yet another revision. I have seen many people on this site have to revise twice before they finally get what they need, several have complications due to all the previous damage from the band, sleeve and reflux made worse. I would suggest talking to your surgeon and doing some research before deciding for sure. Good luck to you!

I spent last year cross fitting I'm taking a break while I heal from my revision. I weighed 182 when I started and a uk 18 I weighed 182 ten months later uk size 14. Cross fit puts muscle on quick but will improve your body. When you do something like cross fit you have to focus more on measuring/ clothes size especially if you are somewhere around the weight you should be because you probably won't lose and may gain some weight but imagine how fit, healthy and toned you will be! So hard when you have been purely focused on losing for so long, good luck!