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HI, Dr Aceves did my band to sleeve revision about 7 weeks ago. I was self pay for both the band (done in the US) and the revision. Never in a million years did I ever think I would go to Mexico but after researching revisions and how many the surgeons did I went with him. Obviously it was also 50% + or - of what most surgeons wanted in the US. There is also a Dr. that I wanted to use in San Francisco but ended up going with Dr Aceves after talking with several of his band to sleeve revisions. I don't know anything about any of the other doctors in Mexico and would suggest that you find out how many revisions the surgeon has actually done. I would also not shop for a doctor in Mexico based on price. Mexicali is much different that TJ or Juarez but have read that several who have had the sleeve are also happy their surgeons in those areas but don't know if they had revisions. There also is a lot of good doctors in the US I am sure. I read a post earlier from someone complaining about those who talk about how great the Mexico surgeon is/was and was actually questioning if the posts were actually "true". Sure wish she lived in my shoes maybe she wouldn't be so judgmental. We actually pay A LOT of money every month for our health insurance and WLS is not covered. In any case good luck and my advise would be to do it as soon as possible so that you don't continue to gain weight.

I have gained and lost weight for the past 25 years. I tried it all: Diet pills, HCG, weight watchers, Nutrisystem, you name it I tried it. Last year I decided I wanted to check into the lapband after a friend had success with it. Went to a seminar in June 2012 and made my decision 2 weeks later. My insurance did not cover the surgery so I went through True Results. They had me checked for a hiatal hernia which was covered by insurance and I paid just for the lapband. I started my preop diet for 2 weeks and lost 6 lbs. I was banded with plication on August 13, 2012 weighing 199 lbs. At my 2 week preop visit I had only lost 7 lbs. I had my my first fill in October and a second fill in November before Thanksgiving. Not really any restriction from those two fills. Around the first of January 2013 I started having really bad stomach pains. I would throw up every time I ate dense Protein. Anytime I hate the pain was horrible. I called my surgeons office and the response I got was "if it hurts that bad go to the ER." Well that really pissed me off. I finally got in to see the surgeon who checked me through fluoroscope X-ray. Everything in place. Mind you I didn't get to talk to him in an exam room. There was about 8 people on the other side of the door who heard everything we were saying. He said my body was most likely rejecting the band. He said we could remove it and do the sleeve. And it could be done in one surgery. Then he asked if I was using insurance. When I stated I was going to try since I was having complications, he then states we needed to do it in 2 surgeries. That raised a HUGE red flag with me. When I went to check out his insurance coordinator whispered to me to get a second opinion! That was really worrisome. And the fact that I had only lost a total of 22lbs bothered me greatly. So I went to see my PCP and she recommended a surgeon who she had worked with for a long time. I called their office and explained my problem. They told me there was $900 assumption fee the surgeon charges. I was willing to pay it. At that time we did not set up any appointments. Imagine my surprise when I got a call early the next morning from their office. The surgeon wanted to see me and he was waiving the fee! I went in the following week on February 19th and was so glad I did. I absolutely loved the staff, nurses and surgeon. I had a long talk with him and explained all my problems. He was very sympathetic and made me feel at ease. After my talk with him I met with his nurse/scheduler and we scheduled my nutrition&education class, pre-op visits, surgery and post op visit. The nutrition&education class was 5 hours long and was very informative. Never had that with my lapband surgery. We got a binder full of information and samples of Vitamins, Protein drinks. I did a one week preop diet and had my revision on March 7th. The hospital and nurses were wonderful. The rooms looked more like hotel rooms with a hospital bed. Everything went well. I was up walking the halls that evening. I had my barium swallow the next morning and had no leaks. Got down my 8 oz of Fluid and was out of the hospital by 12:15. So here I am 12 days post op and wish I would have gotten the sleeve to begin with and asked my PCP's advice on surgeons. I have my 2 week follow up tomorrow. If anyone has any reservations about the sleeve, don't. I can't tell you how great it feels not to have stomach pains, not to throw up not to mention having a wonderful surgeon who cares about his patients. If you have reservations about your current surgeon and don't feel you are getting the care you need, seek out another one. Had I went with the first surgeon again I think I would have been very unhappy. He is in it for the money and nothing else. Something else my current surgeon said was that he doesn't do lapbands anymore unless that was all the patients insurance would pay for. And that he has seen so many removals due to complications in the past year. So if I would have saw him first I would have never had the lapband, would have had only 1 sugery and I would be at goal now. I am a self pay for the revision to sleeve and believe me it was worth every dollar.

Hi-- I have not seen anyone on this board talk about a revision beyond the initial sleeve. But, I think we would all like to hear your experience and what your doctor says about your sleeve. Also, if you can include details on how big your pouch is and any reason your doctor thinks the surgery didn't work for you. Good luck on your surgery--

Hello, Before your doctor does the surgery they can request a fluoroscopy study. When they do this they will insert contrast into your band while you are under x-ray and then they will be able to see where exactly the leak is. It can be common to have a leak in the port or the tubing connection. The leak/whole I had actually was on the band itself. I have seen three surgeons and none of the three have seen a leak in this spot. Depending on where the leak is at will depend on the type or surgery needed. If the leak is in the tubing/port then it can be pretty simple, if it is beyond the connection point in the tubing or on the band then the entire band, tubing and port need to be replaced. I hope that this makes sense. Of course depending on where the leak is at will impact the cost. By doing the fluoroscopy you will know where exactly the leak is and be able to plan better. Also, if the entire device needs to be replaced you may decide to convert to a VSG, etc. I had looked at revising to a VSG, but in the end decided no VSG and I didn't get a new band in either. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

My story us similar to yours. ..i lost 30kg in first 2 years and slowly gained it back. Next month i am having surgery revision to a mini gastric bypass. My very experienced weight loss surgeon said there is no point trying the sleeve. If the band gas failed the sleeve wont be right. Also the band has been eroding my stomach, caused a hernia and affected my esophagus. A dangerous and unsafe procedure in my opinion. I can never recomnend the band. ..ive spent so many nights in emergency!!! Cant wait for the bypass. Sent from my GT-I9505 using the BariatricPal App

I have had unusually bad problems with GERD post-surgery. Please note that I'm still happy that I did the sleeve, however. I was always a GERD patient, but 2x Prilosec a day would take care of it for me. However post-sleeve the acid become intolerable, and I was vomiting stomach acid repeatedly 3-4 days after coming home. I can't say this has totally resolved for me, but it's calmed down to a level that for now is manageable, particularly when I got past the liquid phase of the diet and could get some food in my stomach to absorb the acid. Since getting sleeved my GP has informed me that stomach acid is the single most common reason for people getting the sleeve revised. Things that helped: * When I got to full liquids, I added low-sodium V8 to my liquids list. For some reason this helped to quiet down my stomach a bit, which led to my belief that I might have been suffering from low acid instead of high. I'm still puzzled about this; if you do some Google searching you will find that they have quite similar symptoms. Part of me thinks the increased acidity of the V8 just helped activate the Prilosec. * An old household remedy - a shot of apple cider vinegar right before bed, followed by a teaspoon of honey to soothe the flavor a bit. Please note there is, so far as I know, absolutely no scientific evidence that this does anything at all. But I started doing it the day I started feeling better, and superstition or not, I feel not desire to wake up choking again, so I keep doing it. * Once I got to mushies, eat every 2 hours. This means my calorie intake is higher than most peoples' around here (I get about 1500 calories a day), but given my weight this actually still allows for great weight loss - in 4 weeks I have lost 41 lbs. Eating small amounts regularly - which is not what's recommended by many nutritionists - has helped keep my stomach calm. My doctor promises that, as the inflammation goes down and time passes, my stomach will reduce its production of acid and this will get better. I remain hopeful. But as I said at the outset, even with the acid, I'm glad I did this. Don't disregard it as a factor though - it's a real issue that impacts many sleevers and could cause you to need a revision, so it's something you should discuss with your doctors.

So I’m looking at a surgery day in February I’m have a lap band revision to bypass at the moment and I’m wondering after surgery how well do u digest fat

My answers below in blue. First, for those of you that have lost the weight, is the port identifiable under your skin? I have a mental image of seeing a small circle protruding from some part of the body where the fill port is pushing from the inside out onto the skin. Hopefully this is just a crazy, paranoid question but I might as well ask. I'm down about 175 - 180, still have 30 - 50 lbs to go. So far my port is not visible, but I can easily find it by touch. Where mine is placed, I'm not sure it would be visible unless I actually became underweight. The boxing class does not allow blows to the head but body-blows are acceptable. Same for the martial arts classes. Considering I'll have a port near/at the surface of my skin, should I rethink my exercise choices and take up Yoga instead? I was an avid Aikidoer pre-op, but gave it up post-op. For one, the port area is sensitive to the touch, even when you're healed. Not to the everyday touch, but direct pressure smarts a bit. I talked to my surgeon's nurse about this and she thought I was crazy for even thinking about it. It amkes sense, a direct hit could do some damage. I'm not thinking of trying to do this in the next week or two after surgery - more like six months or so (or what ever the doctor recommends). I'm just wondering if anything changes as a result of having a port... Women mostly find that some sexual positions become uncomfortable. I take it "Mike" is not used in a female way. :biggrin: Some people have their port placed in an area where it does show, so they either deal with it (I have seen them to where they show through clothing), or seek revisions to low profile ports. If it's something you're concerned with, maybe talk to your surgeon now about a low profile port. Can't think of any other times that my port is even something I remember I have... Hope this helps.

I had lap band surgery in May 2017. I have a full band, no restriction, and have lost no weight since the procedure. I switched to a new doctor who seems to think the band has slipped and we have discussed revision to the bypass or sleeve. I am just wondering if I will have to go through the 6 months of nutritional visits, psych exam, etc...again since I just completed all of those requirements about a year ago. I just hate the idea of starting over with all of that. I have Molina Medicaid in Ohio. Any input would be appreciated!. Thanks! Sent from my Pixel XL using BariatricPal mobile app

I had the revision to the sleeve on November 18 it was called a Duo Denal Switch and only lost 25 # so far. You should talk to your surgeon about it because the same thing happened to me. I lost 50 pounds and gained 15 back. The new surgeon advised me my sleeve was not done properly. I am happy now except my dr told me to eat 6 times per day and I find this very hard to do because I don't know what to eat anymore and I find when I don't eat 5-6 times per day I don't lose weight but when I do this consistently I lose a pound per day.

I'm considering a revision with Dr. Aceves and am also considering going on my own. Do you think that would be OK?

It makes me sad when I read that people r having to give up whole food groups forever. Never dieting again is the reason I had wls in the first place. I must have a sleeve of steel cuz I can eat EVERYTHING. The first few months ice cream gave me tummy cramps and diarrhea but now I can eat it just fine (5 1/2 mths post band revision). I would be very sad if someone told me that after surgery I could never have beef, pork, or chicken again. Good luck!

Good luck! I have seen a lot of people have these types of revisions on here with a lot of success.

lap band or gastric sleeve EnergyTank I am biased because i have the sleeve i have happily been in "sleeveland" for 2+ years i have heard that the lapband is becoming extinct my dr and many other docs don't/won't even perform the lapband there is a thread called band to gastric sleeve revision what does that tell you?? many people have had problems with their lapband erosion with the lapband et al lapband had to be removed "lappers" please don't be mad at me, just stating my thoughts"" then people usually/frequently will get the sleeve me/many/most sleevers here never had any complications there can ALWAYS be complications with any surgery but.....i think 99.999999% of people (like me) had no major issues post surgery i can see you are a smart cookie, and will hopefully make the correct decision to have the sleeve good luck guy kathy

Im in Wisconsin and had gastric bypass in 2002 and a revision in 2010.. [ATTACH]3559[/ATTACH]

'' It took me somewhere between 20-25 minutes, no liquids. I'm quite good about no liquids. Now, at dinner, I had 4 small grilled shrimp, about an ounce of pork and less than an ounce of thin cut grilled beef (we went out for vietnamese) and I was STUFFED. That was about 4-5 oz total, that seems more like it. I guess cottage cheese and the soft brie were just a bit more sliderish than I would have guessed. Dorrie -- I would kill to feel restriction after 4-5 bites. Wow!! I am seriously wondering if I am going to have to be one of those people that revise to RNY in a couple of years.

I've slipped again--it's the second time. Going in for revision Thursday. I don't want it removed, I want him to fix it or put in a bigger band. Ugh!

Maybe get a revision to the DS.

I'm beyond open with my son. I was a single mom before meeting and marrying my husband so it was just me and Lil C for over 8 years. He knew about my band surgery, he knew about my mom having lapband surgery in 2007, and he knew about my revision. He knew I hated being fat, he knew I hated shopping, and he saw me struggle for years with my weight. Heck, I drug his happy hiney to Weight Watcher meetings, and he had "different" dinners than I did off and on because of all the diets. My son is a worrier as well, and I just told him I was doing this so I could live longer, and not hurt when I walked. He saw me take "breaks" when we ventured to the mall. I couldn't play outside with him when I was fat, and playing baseball with him is something he wanted me to do. However, I could never play for very long. My son is 11, and he's embraced my wls journey. He knows that is not appropriate to discuss what happens in our household. He doesn't talk about my surgery or anything else that goes in within our family. I told him before my band surgery that if I talk about it's because I want to share my experience, but it's my experience and not his to share. It might not work for everyone, but I don't think keeping things from my child is appropriate. I want him to know that I'm open with my life, and in return I have found that he is super open with me. It's just our relationship. The best thing about the entire process is that he is so supportive and really helps when it came to my super tough recovery. Even now, he's a trooper when it comes to sharing Entrees at restaraunts. I even showed him VSG videos from youtube.com because he's a pretty inquisitive little kid, and showed him several pictures of the actual surgery. Information, and educating him on what I was going through really helped him understand it.

Dr Aceves did my revision from band to sleeve 9wks ago...I am an RN in a hospital here in the US..There are minor things I would change about how things were done. But, overall, it was the BEST decision I've made and couldn't be happier!!! I didn't have much pain..thought the Lapband hurt 100x more..at least, that's my experience. I felt great and was up walking within a couple of hours of waking up. I used to be a labor and delivery nurse and I would always tell my patients that the best mamas are the ones that take care of themselves!! Best wishes to you and thank you for sharing w/us!! Please keep us updated....most of us have been there!!! Erika

Hello everyone! Haven't ever posted on here so I might be a little shy or nervous! Lol Just getting back on YouTube (where I first documented my journey) and saw all the rough stuff everyone has been through.. I had a slip and they were able to fix it by just removing saline. A couple of months went by and the same thing happened. I ended up having revision Surgery on Dec 2nd. The doctor wanted to do it in 2 steps but my insurance company wouldn't go for it. After he got it approved for me to get a sleeve he ended up doing 3 surgeries in one. I had my band removed, a sleeve, and a huge hiatal hernia fixed/removed. It was the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life!! Today I am 5 days post op and dying for some food that I could chew!! I snuck two saltines and chewed, chewed, chewed... Anyone ever had a problem with this? I'm gonna try to keep posting regularly! Thanks for reading!! Stay strong and healthy!! Cris

The revision actually kicked my butt more so than the original lapband surgery. My dr only made on incision but found he had to replace the entire tubing instead of just the port so it turned out to be bigger than anticipated. I was off work for a week and even now, 3 weeks on, I have some swelling if I over-exert. But it may look like the band is back to working, which is good. So in the end, it was worth doing.

I didn't have the port tubing come undone but I've recently had port revision for a leak. So shoot me any questions you have. And yes it's ridiculous that he didn't listen to you the last time, but I guess they assume it will get better and only get concerned when it doesn't. I wish you all the luck with your revision and I hope you get a working band again soon.

Oh Melinda...I'm so sorry that you've had complications. I'm 16 months post banded and have had much success. Posts like yours worry me that things can just as easily go wrong for me as well. I see that you mention that you had no warning or other complcations. Did you get regular follow up with the surgeon's office? I don't know what I'll do if my band goes south. It saved me and I can't imagine not having it. Please keep us posted on how you are doing and if you revise to another WLS.

I just got back my blood test and everything was good but my AST was almost out of range and my ALT was out of range at 35. I noticed it climbing every blood test. I'm at 1 year 7 months after my RNY revision. I was so concerned so I did a search here and found this. Thank you. I don't drink or do any of those "don't do this or it'll hurt you liver" things, even the diet no nos are not foods that I normally like, so I wasn't sure what is causing this. I have a check up with my bariatric team in a couple weeks but seeing this calmed me. Thanks again!