are the majority of people getting the band done laparascopically now? I'm a little upset because I got my band done early this year and was not even given the option for a scar-free band procedure. two weeks ago a friend of mine got it done and it was done laparascopically and she said that most of the doctors were doing it this way, she thought.

I paid cash for my procedure AND am left with a huge scar.:thumbup:

But don't get me wrong, I am still happy to be loosing weight. :thumbup:. I just would have preferred less scars!

I got banded at the end of july and I have 5 scars on my stomach ranging from 2cm to 2in. I didnt know there was a "scar-free" procedure. They said my banding was laproscopic. There's a pic of my post-op scars in my profile.

Hello Amy. for some reason I am unable to view the photographs. so yours was laparoscopic and still scars? I was under the impression that laparascopic meant through your mouth versus cutting on the abdoman.

Nope, not in my case anyway. And it definitely says "laproscopic" on the bills from my surgery. I have heard of them doing the procedure through the belly button to avoid scarring, but I dont actually know of anyone who's had it done that way.

Hi! I was banded 5/17/2010 Laproscopic. I have 4 incision scars and 1 port scar. They are little red slits. Sorry to hear you had to be cut open with big scars. Good luck with your band.

Surgery 5/17/2010

Starting weight 213 5/2010

Current weight 178.5 10/2010

Dr. Garcia Bakersfield, CA

oh my. maybe I misunderstood what that meant.maybe she didnt say laparscopic? I must be getting the words mixed up? thanks for sharing the photos, Amy. I wonder if the procdure through the bellybutton is very common?

Hey Amy,

How do I make my Ticker factory stay on all my replies or do I have to copy and paste everytime??

Thanks

Shawna, you have to put it into your signature. Go to User CP then go to Edit Signature.

Thank you so much

Laparscopic means that they use a laparscope to see what they are doing. It used to be referred to as keyhole surgery.It means the Drs make small incisions to do the surgery as opposed to an open procedure where they make a large incision and you are left with a large scar.

You are confusing it with the SILS procedure. Single incision via the bellybutton.

There is no way it can be done through the mouth. How would they get the band around the outside of the stomach.

the only thing done through the mouth is the procedure where they implant a balloon in your stomach.

Are you confusing laparoscopic surgery with single-incision surgery?

Most bands are installed with laparoscopically. Traditionally, this involves 5 incisions; 4 are tiny, and one (the port incision) is a bit larger.

Single-incision laparoscopy involves one incision through the bellybutton. It's not nearly as widely done. With most surgeons, it's not an option because they don't do it, for a number of reasons.

Open surgery (with the traditional single, large incision) is done in cases where laparoscopy is not an option; if my surgeon told me he needed to do it this way, I wouldn't even question him---some people do need open procedures, and I know he'd share a very good rationale with me.

Hello Amy. for some reason I am unable to view the photographs. so yours was laparoscopic and still scars? I was under the impression that laparascopic meant through your mouth versus cutting on the abdoman.

You're thinking of endoscopic. Laparoscopic means that fiberoptic cameras are used to guide surgery.

Mine was Laparoscopic. I still have scars but only 5 small scars.

My procedure was laproscopic. I have 4 very small icision and one much longer one where my port is located. The small scars are healed and fading, however, my port incision is healed but kinda puckered and ugly. I am only 4 weeks post op, so please tell me it gets better!

i had a laproscopic and i have 4 scars. they aren't fully healed yet.

My surgery was laproscopic, but I only have two small scars.

One through my belly button and one just under the middle of my breasts.