Search the Community

I sure hope they get your paperwork corrected ASAP and you can get your revision, it's so frustrating!

I was banded in 07 and unlike many others on here I didn't hate my band, it changed my life and I will always credit it for that and never regret it. I lost 90 lbs and kept it off for 6 years with the exception of about 20 lbs that i fluctuated up and down. I decided to revise to sleeve for more consistency and I really just wanted a change and honestly I hated that feeling of being stuck !!! I was sleeved on 9/20 and I have to say I am loving life !!! I'm doing it right this time as far as vitamins and protein first and even though the 4 weeks of liquids post op was the hardest thing Iv ever had to do now that I'm on softer foods I couldn't be happier with my decision!!! I feel full !!! I haven't felt stuck, I haven't thrown up... Nothing !! Recovery was a breeze and I went back to work after 3 days off, I do get very sick from eating sweets which is a big change for me having had a huge sweet tooth prior to all this but I'm okay with that. I'm 10 lbs from my goal and I feel better than I have in years as far as health goes ... Anyway I just wanted to share for anyone who may be struggling with the decision to revise. I may have liked my band, but I LOVE my sleeve !!!!

Several individuals on this site have revisions from sleeve to RNY gastric bypass. The main motivator was severe acid reflux (Gerd) which occurs in sleeve patients but not generally in gastric bypass patients.

Hi there. I'm scheduled for December to have my band removed and a revision to the sleeve. Most days I'm 100% sure this is the right choice. But some days I'm not so sure. I guess I'm mostly scared of the recovery. I've had so many issues with the band as well, and I'm afraid of having complications with the sleeve. Please tell me others are going through this as well. Are there any post ops that had these feelings?

I have a 14 month old ... If approved for band to sleeve revision he will be 15 months, walking and about 24 pounds. I know you can't lift 20 pounds for 4-6 weeks.... Do you think 4 pounds makes that big a difference after about 3-4 weeks post op? I know I have to ask my doc and I will... But has Anyone dared to do this with a toddler??? Thanks as always!!!!

There is a specific forum here for band to sleeve revisions. This may help you out with many of your questions! Good luck to you!

I am a year out from my revision. Do check out the revision board here - there is a lot of great info there.

Anxious / Scared ! Surgery date is July 31st. I am both ecstatic and freaking out. I am revising my lap band to Gastric Bypass. This will be my 3rd WLS. The second was a revision for a flipped port. Im 27 , and overall healthy. I really hope I dont regret it...

Dear Lady J I had a revision from band to RNY, and my new doctor never expressed a need to speak with or consult with my original surgeon. You can certainly contact another surgeon. Sometimes US surgeons don't want to "touch" peopled banded out of the US, but my surgeon said that he would never turn away anyone who needs care. I too would like to know the name of your surgeon and where you live. take care, Karen

GERD after sleeve doesn't happen to everyone, or even to the majority, but there's a fairly significant minority who develop it after surgery - enough so that they usually recommend people go with RNY if they have GERD prior to surgery. Losing weight may help with that - but then again, it might not since it IS a known potential side effect. You could always try to lose the weight first and see if that does the trick - and if not, go for the revision (if that's what you want to do - you may be able to control it with meds, too...)

Hello Ladies - I am completely deflated due to a leaking port...I have gained a few pounds and am completely miserable....just waiting to get on the schedule for a revision of my port...I had lost about 80 lbs over the last year mostly in the latter half of the year so was really excited. I had no real issues and pretty much sailed on. I had only 2 fills for 2005 so I was feeling really lucky. I went in for the 3rd fill this summer and somehow my port started leaking. It took the doc 3 visits to confirm this was the issue - I am thinking that he was a little too rough and must have loosened the tubes...anyone experience this?

Okay bear with me here everyone but here is word for word what they have written on BCBS website: The first treatment of morbid obesity is dietary and lifestyle changes. When conservative treatment fails, a few patients may require a surgical approach. A 1991 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference defined surgical candidates as those who meet the following criteria: Patient has a BMI of 40 kg/m² or greater than 35kg/m² in conjunction with severe comorbidity such as cardiopulmonary complications or severe diabetes Super obesity described as BMI >50kg/m² Failure of sustained weight loss with supervised dietary and conservative treatment over the years Motivated individual with acceptable operative risk Surgery for morbid obesity, also known as bariatric surgery is based on intestinal malabsorption and gastric reduction. Surgery is considered successful if weight loss is maintained at greater than or equal to 50% of excess body weight for more than 10 years. Prior Approval is recommended for this service. Submit a prior approval now. The following surgical procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity may be considered medically necessary when the criteria for coverage listed below are met: Vertical-banded gastroplasty Gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y gastroenterostomy); this can be done by both open or laparoscopic approach Adjustable gastric banding (Lap-Band® procedure) for patients with a BMI less than 50kg/m² Criteria for Coverage: Patient is at least 18 years oldAnd The patient must have a documented medical history of failure to sustain weight loss with medically supervised dietary and conservative treatment for at least three years including within two years preceding surgery. Medically supervised treatment consists of physician documentation of the assessment of the patient, what health interventions are prescribed and their on-going assessment of patient's progress toward a goal of weight loss or control of an obesity-related comorbidity.And The patient must be a motivated individual with acceptable operative risk and must be evaluated by a licensed mental health provider to determine the patient's willingness to comply with pre and postoperative treatment plans, and a strategy to ensure cooperation with follow-up must be documented.And, in addition to the general requirements above, the patient must also meet one of the following weight criteria: BMI of 40kg/m² for at least 3 yearsOr BMI of greater than 35kg/m² in conjunction with at least one of the following:Hypertension requiring medication for at least one year Diabetes Mellitus type 2 requiring medication for at least one year Obstructive sleep apnea, confirmed by sleep study, which does not respond to conservative treatment Documented cardiovascular disease Pulmonary hypertension of obesity Or Super obesity described as BMI greater than 50kg/m² for vertical-banded gastroplasty and open or laparoscopic gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y gastroenterostomy). The following surgical procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity are considered investigational: Adjustable gastric banding (Lap-Band® procedure) for patients with a BMI equal to or greater than 50kg/m² Mini-gastric bypass (laparoscopic) Biliopancreatic bypass with duodenal switch Laparoscopic silicone gastric banding Biliopancreatic bypass (Scopinaro Procedure) Subsequent bariatric procedures, including revisions, in patients who regain weight due to failure to comply with lifestyle or dietary modifications are considered not medically necessary. Okay so if I'm reading this right to be covered for the lap band I have to have a BMI just under 50. Also the part where they talk about needing to have tried and failed doctor supervised weight loss efforts for THREE years!!! I haven't really had any doctor supervised stuff, at least not for a really long time. Other than with both of my pregnancies I had gestational diabetes and obviously had to follow the diabetic diet for both my health and that of my babies. I did lose forty pounds or more during each of my pregnancies and then within a matter of about two or three months I gained that amount back and more both times. I don't know if that would count but I'm guessing not. I do know that our hospital is now offering this six month weight loss clinic thing where you work with the dietician,doctor,and trainer. In the literature I read for it it says that it usually satifies most insurance companies rule for having doctor supervised weight loss efforts. Do the insurance companies really stay strict about the having shown you've tried losing weight with the help of a doctor? If so that sucks because if that was the case I would've been doing something about it with my doctor and not just on my own. The thing is a person can only see the dietician so many times KWIM? I know what I should eat, I just can't stick to it or I wouldn't be in the shape I'm in. UGH, I am soooooo upset. If I have to wait another three years I'll be devastated. Has anyone gotten around that? I just wish I had realized this.

:)Dr. Cobourn did my surgery 14 months ago on April 18th, 2006, and another surgery this past January to remove some scar adhesions (not due to the banding but because of several past operations.) I am down over 100 lbs. and the man is awesome! He has called me when I have requested him to and seen me in the office and emailed me personally when needed. Yes he sends his own emails personally! One of my friends who was banded lives on the BC sunshine coast and he personally emailed her to let her and other patients out there know he was going to be in Victoria on the Sat. morning and available to do fills or just to meet and talk about any concerns. He was there training more nurses and doctors to do aftercare fills and unfortunately she couldn't make it to the island but she was very impressed! Dr. Cobourn is an excellent surgeon! Donna VBG/87 Revised To Lapband/06 251/148/125 goal

I had a revised port put in by LB surgeon during TT. During this time he took out 2cc from my band. 3 weeks later they refilled me.

I am post op RNY almost 9 years but will be having a revision next week. I never wanted to have the sleeve but I have always been under the impression that the sleeve was an absolute no-no for those with GERD issues. The sleeve will make it worse or you can develop problems. If you have a strong addiction to carbs a sleeve will not be a good surgery for you. It doesn't have the restriction or malabsorption that RNY. It is really easy to graze since food slips right down w/o feeling full.

Short and sweet, I had the gastric sleeve on Jan 9th 2013. Lost all my weight, but below my goal and can’t keep anything down. Tummy hurts and has heart burn a LOT. Surgeon wants to do a GI scoop tomorrow, and possible do a Bypass revision….I am so sad…. I did not want the bypass, I was set on sleeve have had sleeve and been sick.....Need your thoughts, what do you think about your Bypass>>

Wonderful Decision!!! I had to have my band removed after 2 years of so-so weight loss and LOTS of throwing up, because it slipped and completely blocked my stomach. Now here I am 1 week from getting my sleeve and I'm with the previous poster. I am hoping that all the band to sleeve revision people are right and the sleeve turns out to be all the band promised!!! Good Luck on your journey!

I did it in June with a 16 month old who weighed 30+ pounds at the time. I sat on the floor as much as possible so he could come to me and changed him on the floor. My partner was very helpful and did most of the work. I was lucky enough that I healed quickly and was able to pick him up for short periods of time after only 2 weeks. It was 4 weeks until I could hold him as much as I used to. The biggest problem I had was avoiding his accidentally hitting my incisions. If you have the help and can stick to the restrictions, do it. Everyone talks about how much better the sleeve is than the band. Before I had the revision, I knew it would be better, but thought they were exaggerating (sp?). They weren't. It is a MAJOR difference that has changed my life and helped me reach my goal in just 3 months.

because I am revising from band to gastric bypass my doctor challenged me to find the secret calories in my diet. I took this challenge and started logging everything I put in my mouth and I found secret calories in a lot of food and portions. I lost 10 lbs during this last month. eating the same healthy food but weighing and logging.

I haven't been on here for a while as I developed achalasia and gastroparesis over the last few months. I had my band removed and most of my symptoms have resolved. The pain is gone and though I'm still on soft foods, I can swallow again and it seems that food is getting to and thru my stomach. It was as if my digestive tract was paralyzed. After my manometry came back showing nearly no motility, the surgeon decided the band was the culprit. Apparently there was a lot of scar tissue under the band and around the top of the stomach and esophagus. The removed as much as they could, but any further surgery is too risky...no revision for me! I honestly wish I never got the band, but got the sleeve instead.

I have Cigna. I knew the "revision" surgery I wanted was covered but when the paperwork was submitted it was denied. I called and found out that the denial was only because they wanted it done at a different hospital so we re- submitted the paperwork. It was approved immediately and my surgery was 5 months ago. Good luck

I had surgery on Dec 11, 2011 with Dr F Garcia at Hospital Mi in Tijuana. Was in the hospital from Monday until Wednesday afternoon and then in Hotel Pueblo Amigo until Friday morning when I flew home. I had a wonderful experience with Dr Garcia and Hospital Mi. The staff at Hotel Pueblo Amigo was also more than helpful with what I needed. I would go again in a heartbeat. My surgery here in the US would have been $40,000 but I paid around $6,000. I had a lapband to sleeve revision. Any questions just ask.

Unfortuatly band complications are the norm. Usually slips, port problems, esophageal problems, but erosion happens as well. Will you be revising to a better WLS?

Hi- You might want to check out the lapband to sleeve revision forum - its on the main page, scroll down a bit and you'll see it. Lots of other revision patients and interesting information. I am also a revision, 5 1/2 weeks ago with Dr Aceves. I can say without reservation (and without compensation) that he is fantastic. If you want a detailed blow-by-blow of my surgery experience with Dr. A, look at my profile - its there somewhere :-) I have had no complications from the surgery, and all the things I hated about my band are gone!!! No more port pain, no more food getting stuck, etc. The recovery is intense because of the immediate restriction with the sleeve, but it is worth it to get rid of that awful band. Good luck with your decision-- Lara

I had this same question before my revision 10 mths ago for my dr. He said for the majority of people, u have a set body weight point that no matter what, ur body weight won't get any lower. For some people (ull know who u are when u reach that point), ull have to slowly increase ur calories (a handful of nuts, some cheese, etc) until u learn to maintain. Not sure if my set body weight is what it is now (150). I hope not cuz my goal is 140. But it seems that it doesn't want to budge. Good luck!