i was banded by Dr. Jose Corvala in Tj Mexico 8/26/05. everthing seemed fine i lost 37lbs with hard work and exercise. now the port site scar has turned red and hot. Dr. Corvala wants to see me this week on Fri. I'm worried he will say it's nothing but really i feel it is something. i read one of the other bandster had this problem and it was a port infection that had to be removed. did i mention she had the same Dr. as me. well i will see how it goes. i have been feeling depressed worried about this. i don't think my weight loss would have been as good without my band nor would i have kept up for this long (4 months). pray for me

I'm still a little groggy from my anesthesia today, but I just had my infected port taken out today, and I will be 5 months post-op on Jan 5th. I kept putting off the band removal because I like you am worried that I won't be able to use my band optimally if the port was taken out (I had an american doc).

What I learned is that they can "cap off" the tubing and put a little cap on the end of the band when they remove the actual port piece. If they choose this technique, you should maintain your restriction that you are currently at. The unfortunate thing is that if you are not at your "sweet spot" yet and they remove the port, then obviously they have no way to adjust (add fills) during your 6 week to 6 month healing time.

The only thing I would have done differently is to make sure I got one last fill and was at my sweet spot and comfortably there (not too tight) before the band removal.

Keep on them don't let them blow you off. This is a serious situation. I will be posting pics tomorrow of my port removal site. Better to be safe than sorry. You have come too far, don't go back.

Best wishes to you and keep us updated.

What causes the port to become infected after months of being healed up. Is it from fills?

It is usually an infection that has been there ALL ALONG from day one of the banding. I knew something was wrong when the incision over my port did not heal properly for almost 5 weeks. It continued to ooze and the skin wouldnt grow back together. Then about 6 weeks post op, when the skin finally did heal - putting 2 and 2 together, now I know the skin healing wasn't a good idea, because now all the drainage/puss had no where to escape. Therefore it just kept accumulating slowly in my abdomen.

So it's not that the infection actually all the sudden comes up several months post-op. It is there along, and you get to the point where the pain/redness/hardness around the port just becomes too much to bare, and the only option is removal. As Delarla has posted so many times, antibiotics do NOTHING on this type of infection! The only cure is removal and resting the infected area (not putting another port in right away).

It was explained to me by my doc that the port is so prone to infection because it has square edges on it and lots of grooves where bacteria love to hide/grow. The tubing itself is very smooth and doesn't tend to have that problem. Another interesting piece of info is that the tubing is actually inside the abdomen (peritoneum). The body does a much better job of fighting off infection INSIDE the abdominal cavity. But the port is NOT in the abdominal cavity, it is sutured to the fatty tissue under something called the Fascia (a layer above the muscle and abdominal cavity).

Okay...enough anatomy and physiology for tonight, but I have a sneaking suspicion that some inquiring minds would like to know

I was thinking that they must be able to cap off the tubing and maintain your restriction - like they cap off an IV in your hand when you no longer need the hydration but are going to continue to need meds.

So you should be fine as far as not gaining during your recovery period and hopefully continuing to lose?

Yes, that's exactly it. Only time will tell if I have maintained my restriction. I'll let you know how it goes.

I also had a port infection which occurred 2 weeks after the original surgery. My doctor was able to open up the incision and drain it and then I packed it each day to let it heal from the inside out. I was also on major IV antibiotics thru home health. Everything did go well and I did not have to get the port removed. My advice to you as I am a nurse also, is to find a doctor close to you that does lapbands and forget Mexico. I see many patients daily that had some procedure in Mexico and have had major lifethreatening problems.

I talked to my surgeon about my upcoming surgery and asked him about erosions, infected ports, etc. and he told me that his colleagues and him have talked at great length about these things. The one thing they find overall is that most of the patients are diabetics. I was wondering how many here that have had major problems with ports or erosion were diabetic. Maybe there is a link there and perhaps there is absolutely none, but it would be interesting to find out.

It would make sense in a way that diabetics were at greater risk becuase of slower wound healing.

Please if at all possible go to a Doc here in the US. I am sorry about your infection but it may not be nearly as bad as you think. Maybe even strong antibiotics could help.

I don't think any of the recent problems here were with diabetics. I am not diabetic.

DDflin I sent you a PM last night. I am not a diabetic either.

Would make sense theoretically because diabetics are at higher risk for poor wound healing. Nope...have never been diabetic

I am a diabetic and got infected 13 days after lap banding surgery, 8 days in hosp and major antibiotics by I.V. now for next 4 weeks and 2x daily packing of my removal port site! with home care nursing . This is very interesting to know...about the diabetic majority!! I have lost 24 lbs. Since DEC 12th and am honestly looking online tonite for the first time to read previous posts similar to mine about infections and re-attatching my port to the in 4 weeks or so.

This was just a theory that my dr. says had been being tossed around at a medical convention he went to. When they looked at the statistics on erosion and infections they found that most patients were diabetics. I just wondered if there was anyone that related to this, and apparently there are some. It's just theory........but it does make sense.

The only thing I would have done differently is to make sure I got one last fill and was at my sweet spot and comfortably there (not too tight) before the band removal./QUOTE]

It probably isn't a very good idea to get a fill right before taking out the port. If you get too tight afterwards there is no way to remove any of the fill.