Band Slipped had to remove, Self Pay, Reband?

[pioneerheartland 0]

Hello, I am new to forum but not new to LAP-BAND®. I was originally banded in Feb 2008 and lost 100 pounds. Part of last few plounds was due to slippage, "significant" slippage, that resulted in removal of my band last Tuesday. I am devestated.

I am surprised as I was told of possible reposition of band, not removal. My fear is this, I am a self pay. If I were to pay for a second band, would I slip again?

What experience have you had with rebanding due to slippage? Is it worth it? I have read several articles stating LAP-BAND® itself is very risky as the years go by in reference to issues that may cause removal. I also read to new Realize band is significantly a better band.

Any insight would be great.

Sad and disillusioned in Tucson, AZ.

[lodwick01 1]

I'm Brian. I also had my lapband prolapse only after 6 months and after the first $10,000 insurance denied to pay anything else, therefore I owe $12,,000 now out of pocket for the removal.I continue to have severe chest,back,shoulder pain even after removal. Nobody seems to know whats wrong even after many tests. Personally after talking to several of my Doctor friends who work in the ER, they all tell me that having it out was definateley the smartest option. Think about it, after the band (plastic, very snug around the soft tissue of the stomach)for a very long time will perfarate the soft tissue and sometimes grow around the band. Think of this, getting a bad stomach virus as we all tend to get, is extremely dangerous because the highest pressure when getting sick will come from the lower half of the stomach and has to strongly force its way up through the band.

I'm just glad my band is out now after the sicknesses i had to go through daily and not having to worry about the errosion possibilities in the future.

[kittycat95 0]

Hello Tucson Mom! I am sorry to hear about your situation. I too just recently went to my doctor and was told that I have a major prolapse (band slippage) and that I will need to have my band removed, revised or replaced. I originally had my lap band surgery in April 2007 and had not had any problems up until just a few months ago. I was self-pay all the way so when I got this news recently (a couple of weeks ago) about the prolapse, I was devastated. According to my doctor I had one of the "old" bands that could not be snapped and/or unsnapped and therefore if he went in he would try to "revise" it and salvage it if he could and reposition it, but that he may not be able to and in that case would either have to remove it altogether or replace it. If he goes in with the decision to revise it it will cost me $6300 even if he can't salvage it and has to remove it. If he puts a new band on it will cost me $12,000 out of pocket added on to what I am already paying. I can't afford ANYTHING right now. So after much talk with him he more or less said that it was something that would eventually have to be fixed, but that right now if I could live with it, I would be okay. I am taking Vitamins (pre-natal - they are the best, B-12, iron) and drinking Protein Shakes. I have also gone back to the basics meaning the way I ate when I first had the surgery, and believe it or not I seem to be doing much better. I feel alot better and have actually gained a little weight (which is great because I had lost too much). So, I am just "dealing" with it the best I can for now and hope things continue to improve. Just wanted to share my story with you and hope it offers some insight, suggestions, etc. I wish you the very best of luck!

[Bobthedog 0]

Hi

I am sorry to hear about all these problems. I recently got banded, and was wondering if you had any tips to prevent slippage in the future?

[lodwick01 1]

Hi

I am sorry to hear about all these problems. I recently got banded, and was wondering if you had any tips to prevent slippage in the future?[/

I've learned, the most important thing is to keep your surgeon aggressive! If you begin having vomiting problems, don't let it go more than 2 weeks before asking him to take all the Fluid out.

My surgeon wasn't aggressive enough and after 3 months of vomiting issues and several doctor visits my band prolapsed. He would remove .5 cc at a time and it just wasn't soon enough. My stomach was just getting more and More inflamed so .5cc was nothing each visit.