OK lets start from the beginning. I was banded in apr. 2008 in Tucson, AZ.as a self pay patient. Over the next 12 months I lost over lbs. (my staring weight was lbs.) after that i was in maintenance mode. I relocated for a new job in TX. in jun. of 2009 and found a new lap-band®®®® doctor to take care of my fills and for any issues. In nov. of 2009 i went to the emergency room on a Friday night at the direction of my doctor to have a deflation of the LAP-BAND®®®® for what I thought was a very bad case of being stuck. It didn't help and a CT reviled that the band had slipped. surgery was scheduled for the repair the next morning. Morning started out fine prepped for surgery and out I go. During the procedure my aorta was nicked and I had to be opened up to repair this. I used up 18 units of blood during this surgery and another 4 units while still sedated in the cardiac ICU. During this surgery they removed my LAP-BAND®®®®. I don't really know why. but its' gone and due to the recovery from the surgery the weight is back. along with all the co-morbidities that went with it before. Now I know you may think this is nuts but I am having the band reinstalled in about 4 weeks. This time with insurance paying for it. I do believe in this tool it has worked for me before and will do so again. For those of you wondering if I pursued legal action, I did with no luck at all. was told by various layers that there was nothing they could do for me. Something about the state of TX. having to many laws protecting the doctor. So I would like to hear what you all think. I know it's kind of a broad subject but I just needed to tell the story and get some feedback.

Good luck to all of you in your weight loss endeavors.

I'm sorry for everything you have gone through. You seem like a strong person which is great, it has gotten you through everything.

I live in TX and understand the law of not able to sue the doctor. My husband was in a car accident and the first doctor said he was okay and sent him home. Three months of misery he finally got into another doctor and was told he had a broken neck which they did surgery the next day. In the state of TX when Bush was Governor he passed the law that a doctor could not be sued if there is no permanent damage. Since my husband found another doctor who corrected the problem it protected the initial doctor from any legal action for malpractice. Understanding that doctors are people and people do make mistakes is what we were told was the reasoning behind that.

Stay strong!

You seem to have thought your decision to have the lapband again through. I wish you all the best. You deserve it after everything you've been through!