Hi, I had my operation on Feb 11th and in the letter to my doctor the hospital wrote "AP large band, 14cc, 5mls added". I thought there was no "fill" at the time of a installing a band. Does this mean they gave me my first fill at the same time as the operation? Does 5mls mean there is only 9mls of space left in a 14cc band? cc and ml are not the same thing, are they?

I am on a liquid diet, and having 3 slimfast shakes a day. Because of not wanting to eat too quickly and possibly throw up or have more wind, I am drinking the shakes slowly and they seem to be filling me up, although I am not sure if the 5mls are "restricting" me at the moment, or whether I am just more worried about recuperating from the operation than eating, and so managing just fine on shakes at the moment.

Thanks for any explanations!

Some doctors do fill at the time of surgery and 5ml is a significant fill. Once you are off liquids please be very cautious when eating....start the band protocol immediately with very small bites chewing well etc. And don't forget to ask your doc at your first appt.

I am a bit jealous as it took me months and hundreds of dollars to get to 5 ml!!!!!

Best wishes,

Mimi

Thank you for your help!

I had 3.5 in my band at surgery. I didn't know this until I went for my first fill. The doc always pulls out what is in to make sure there are no leaks. So I got an additional 1.5 at my first fill for a total of 5.

When I went in for my patient education class prior to my surgery the nurse told me that the doctor would prime the tubing that connects the port to the band. Meaning fill the tubing. I don't know how much that would take. Maybe????

Yes, I have discovered that a "ml" does equal a "cc". I had 4cc installed during surgery (07/01/08) so I also got off to a running start with pretty decent restriction. I am now at 11.5cc in a 10cc band (they tell me it will hold up to 14cc with the tubing and all). Plan on another fill in about 2 weeks. Last fill was in November 1cc. Lost about 6-7 pounds since then but now I'm yo-yo-ing the same 3-4 pounds so I'm going in for an adjustment. Still need to lose 30-40 pounds to make my "ideal" weight but I'm so happy to be off my insulin and BP meds that I will be satisfied to maintain, if that's all I can get. Good luck to all.

Hi all - just wondering but does anyone know how they decide if you should have a small, medium or large bad when installing? I have a small one but what if I need more restriction than it allows? Does that mean I just fail to reach a target?

It appears to me that it is much harder and more informative in America to get the surgery - I had mine done in England, no insurance necessary just pay up and lay down! I have an information pack to get along with but it tells me what to do but I'm the kinda person who needs to understand why I should or shouldn't do something! I wish I had more help beforehand.

Take care all, xx

Band size is determined by your surgeon during the procedure once they get inside and see your stomach. Not everybody is built exactly the same and a small band may be too small to fit around your stomach. According to my surgeon, both the small and large bands inflate to the same internal diameter. The bummer about the large band is that it generally takes longer to get up to a good restriction but once you hit restriction there shouldn't be too much difference between the two.