after i read about penni's erosion story, i got upset. the next day i had an appointment with my doc. i told him about all the erosion stories and asked him what he thought.

he said that it is VERY important when placing the band that there is layers of fat between the band and the stomach to keep the stomach from eroding. he said that many doctors, and especially the out of country doctors, do not follow this procedure and therefore have many bands that erode (he has never had a band erode).

have any of you ever heard of this? do you know if your doctors follow this procedure?

I just posted on Lisa's erosion thread that I find it interesting that the U.S. docs are using a different placement technique from the Mexican docs, who proctor U.S. docs.

Apparently there is not a standardized surgical procedure, and apparently these new techniques aren't passed on to ALL docs...

????

Inamed does a certification program in which they proxy and/or assist doctors during Lap-Band surgery. If a doctor moves, he has to be recertified. I don't know if this certification is required or optional, but my surgeon is in the process of being recertified after moving, and I feel a sense of added comfort knowing it.

My mexican doc actually had to cut layers of fat from around my stomach before placing the band.

I have a feeling that some of these great U.S. docs - learned their techniques from foreign surgeons. Remember it's only been going on in the U.S. for a few years - in other countries it's been around for over 10.

Just looking for a doctor to do fills for a person that has had surgery out of the country - it's easy to see that they have a very bad attitude towards foreign doctors, especially Mexican ones.

There are good and bad doctors everywhere. Who among us have not heard horror stories about what a doctor did or didn't do for one of our loved ones.

Do the research, listen to what is being said on the board by these women that have had problems - I wouldn't go where they have gone for their procedures. Unfortunately they have had to pay the price for the rest of us. We should all be grateful to hear their stories. And appreciate their willingness share specific information.

I believe that in the US most doctor's do not treat/see obesity for what it really is - an early death sentence. When a person has symptoms of heart problems or early on in a diabetics diagnosis - doctors recognize what the outcome would be if they did nothing, so they do what they can to prevent further damage. With heavy people that is not the case. They can see (or refuse to see) the writing on the wall - and (most) do not help. They continue to prescribe diet and exercise as if we have never heard of it before. They need to think outside the box and suggest alternatives.

I know that the specialists (Bariatrics) now do state that without some sort of surgery or alternative treatment the failure rate of traditional prescribed wgt loss measures - is almost 100%. So there is progress - but you won't find it with your regular family physician.

Patti

Patti -

Please note: The erosions on this board are from Mexican doctors that PROCTOR for Inamed - YES, THEY are teaching the U.S. docs how to do this procedure.

Hence my rhetorical question above...

If you can't trust the docs INAMED uses to teach other docs, who can you trust? We DID our research, and went with who we felt were the very best surgeons.

Donali - I sure didn't mean to imply that you hadn't done your research. I'm sorry if it "read" like that. Happens sometimes in emails.

I'm sorry to say I just don't think you can trust a lot of the info out there. It is a business. Businesses like to make money. Lot of great marketing companies out there selling images and incredible profiles.

Take care and thanks for watching the Newbies backs!

I went to my Doc's office today for my monthly check up and mentioned the subject of erosion. He informed me that out of 1000+ lapband procedures he has performed, he has only seen one case of erosion. This case was before the newer technique of "buckle" placement. He kinda of let it be known that I should watch where I got my info from. lol He has suggested that reading too much about these "issues" will cause unnecessary worrying. There is some truth to that. But I guess like everyone else, I have my concerns.

But then what happens when you lose wt and the fat disappears on its own?

I don't think it is the surgery procedure as much as the environment and infection control measures that they have in Mexico that cause the problems. diana

That is what I was going to say dipic02! They may have wonderful surgeons but someone or something in the operating room is causing the infection. We have a problem at our local hospital here a few years ago. Everyone who had joint replacement surgery were getting staph infections. They tracked it down to a defective autoclave machine (the machine that sterilizes the instruments).

Nanahanna (Sharon)

thank for all of your comments. i guess more research is needed here (for me anyway). i will contact inamed and see what they have to say.

hope all had a wonderful holiday. i got see my doc on monday for my first fill, and am a bit nervous...wish me luck!!!

I don't think it is the surgery procedure as much as the environment and infection control measures that they have in Mexico that cause the problems.

Erosion is not an infection. I had no infection with my erosion

It is odd to me that so many MX docs have more erosion then US docs since most MX docs are the ones who train the US docs.

I talked to my doc about this issue today.

I have the Vanguard band. From the research I have done, and what he has told me, it was specifically designed to help minimize erosions. Here's the skinny...

The "standard" band is a low volume, higher pressure device. When "inflated" it gets hard, even though filled with saline. This contributes to erosion. The Vanguard band is a low pressure, high volume device. It has many pillow-like sections in it, and does not get as "hard" when it squeezes the stomach.

Unfortunately, it can also hold more air (in the pillows), and because of that it can take a little longer to find the sweet spot on some patients for maximum weight loss. The air is mostly extracted, but some can hide in the pillows. It also requires substantialy more saline (up to 11 ml), but for most folks the sweet spot is between 3.5 and 6. I got 3.6 today.

Traditionally, it is used in men and larger patients, but my doc is considering using it in all his patients due to the "improved" design to help minimize erosion. It is the "newer" technology of the two.

It does not mean that a Vanguard patient will not have erosion, it means that they will be less likely to compared to a patient with the other lapband, when both are installed in the same fashion.

That is the info as it was shown and told to me.

A little too ironic, don't ya think?

This Inamed boys' club mixed with the Mexican doctors makes me ill. My US surgeon said he took what he learned from Lopez and improved upon it. He believes if Lopez practiced in US hospitals, that he'd be #1. However, Mexican standards fall far below the US, so their surgeons can take short cuts and do things that would never happen in the US. Makes me wonder if Lopez & other Mexican surgeons were practicing in the US, where they were forced to insert bands according to guidelines in an organized system, if these problems would be happening.

No use calling Inamed, either. That's nothing but talking in circles. Sure, they're nice, but has anyone ever noticed that they'll keep you on the phone for an hour but never really say anything?

Grrrr.

No use calling Inamed, either. That's nothing but talking in circles. Sure, they're nice, but has anyone ever noticed that they'll keep you on the phone for an hour but never really say anything?

Grrrr.

I DID I DID I DID I DID!!!!