Banded in 2007...I lost 75 lbs...doing O.K. But never got to goal. Started having problems 2 years ago.

I went to my band doctor..he wouldn't listen when I said there was something wrong. 3 months ago went to a new surgeon to have an endoscope to find out what was wrong. He found the band was originally placed too low. I have a prolapse of my stomach through the band and esophageal dilation. New surgeon said the band needs to come out. One problem is..no insurance...I would have to be self pay about 16k.

My question has anyone had the same problem and what did you do to fix it? Is there a way to NOT have to have a revision to another WLS?

I don't want to rush into another surgery if leaving it like it is but don't want this problem to harm my body.

Anyone?

Thank you for your time.

Prolapse? I'm trying to picture this in my mind? So the band slid north or south of where it's supposed to be? In other words, is the stomach now above the band or is the band above the upper esophogus?

Can you get a 2nd opinion?

tmf

Prolapse? I'm trying to picture this in my mind? So the band slid north or south of where it's supposed to be? In other words, is the stomach now above the band or is the band above the upper esophogus?

Can you get a 2nd opinion?

tmf

I am wondering this myself tmf...

Prolapse of the stomach through the band usually means the stomach has literally gone through the middle of a band. Because the band is meant to be placed high on the stomach, usually it means the band has slipped downward and the stomach has come up through the middle of the band.

To househuntress: This definitely isn't anything you want to mess around with. In fact the longer you wait, the more damage that is being down to your stomach and esophagus.

I knew a woman who had this happen and she was able to simply have her band replaced rather than removed. Perhaps discuss this option with your surgeon?

Banded in 2007...I lost 75 lbs...doing O.K. But never got to goal. Started having problems 2 years ago.

I went to my band doctor..he wouldn't listen when I said there was something wrong. 3 months ago went to a new surgeon to have an endoscope to find out what was wrong. He found the band was originally placed too low. I have a prolapse of my stomach through the band and esophageal dilation. New surgeon said the band needs to come out. One problem is..no insurance...I would have to be self pay about 16k.

My question has anyone had the same problem and what did you do to fix it? Is there a way to NOT have to have a revision to another WLS?

I don't want to rush into another surgery if leaving it like it is but don't want this problem to harm my body.

Anyone?

Thank you for your time.

I have the same problem, my band was never positioned properly, I was told this the day after surgery by the surgeon, he had difficulty positioning the band, because of a past hernia repair. After two year I only lost 40lbs, I was very diligent with diet and exercise. I kept getting fills, hoping the weight loss would start again, but it never did. What happened was I became too tight, and after time, my esopaghus dilated and I developed a pouch at the top, thus I was able to eat more, basically now I have two stomachs. Long story short, I had a scope done and diagnosed with the above, treatment is to have a complete defill, wait one month. Tomorrow I go for my 1st (again) fill. My surgeon will monitor and see if my symptoms return (GERD, choking), if they do, he will then recommend repostioning the band, if he cant, the band will come out!

i pm'd my dear friend jean mcmillian about this thread

as i belive something similiar to this happened to her and she recently revised to the sleeve..i am sure she can offer some insight.

The stomach slides up over the band, sounds simple but is absolutely horrifying to live through! There are some people who have a total unfill, go on liquids for a long period, and the prolapse/dilation can possibly resolve. It seems those that resolve are fairly rare and them remain at an increased risk of repeat prolapse. You don't HAVE to convert to anything. You can have it removed and do nothing, essentially go back to a normal stomach if you'd like. My surgeon said no way would he repeat band me after a prolapse, not safe. My band came out August 1, I convert to bypass Feb. 11.

Good luck!!!!!!

A prolapse is a kind of band slip. Sometimes it can be treated with a complete unfill, sometimes the band can be repositioned or replaced, and sometimes it just needs to come out. I'm not sure how your surgeon could diagnose a prolapse via upper endoscopy, since that justs shows the inside of your upper GI tract. I've barium swallow x-rays (upper GI studies) done to check the position of the band and condition of my esophagus and stomach.

When I had a bad esophageal dilation about a year ago, I first had an upper endoscopy that didn't show dilation at all. I had to insist on a barium swallow, which did show the dilation. I had a complete unfill, and that resolved the dilation. I think the longer you leave the problem untreated, the harder it is to resolve, so whatever the final outcome of this is, it seems to me that a complete unfill would be a smart first step for you.

I can remember one bandster who had surgery to reposition a slipped band (her original surgeon was a quack) and ended up revising to the sleeve eventually because of more band-related problems. I hope that's not how your story turns out.

When you say you don't have medical insurance, do you mean no insurance at all, or do you mean that your current insurance doesn't cover WLS? If it's the latter, I'd give the insurance folks a call and ask about coverage of corrective surgery, because I've heard of self-pay WLS patients whose insurance did cover corrective surgery (if not revision to a different WLS procedure) because the problem was a threat to their general health.

Good luck!

@househuntress

I have the same problem except maybe not the prolapse. It appears that prolapse is a reverse slippage - is that correct?

I was told over 2 years ago that my band is too small. I only had one fill and then had it taken out. I haven't anything in my band for more than 2 years. My esophagus has narrowed to the point that almost nothing stays down. I had a procedure to open it up but it didn't work and I need my band out.

I throw up about 70% of almost everything I eat. I'm always hungry. The enamel on my teeth is starting to erode. Basically if I eat and then bend over the food "falls out". Whole foods are the worst to get down. It's terribly painful and as much as I love fresh fruits and vegetables I have an aversion to them because of the pain and vomiting. Unhealthy processed foods seem to go down within reason.

In addition, I have acid reflux so bad that I have to take Prilosec on a daily basis. If I miss a dose and cough I projectile vomit... completely uncontrollable. The pain is so terrible that most nights I have to sleep sitting up.

I contacted the doctor that put it in and he insists the band isn't too small. He won't do anything to help me unless I pay him more money. It's not covered under my insurance.

The worst thing is I've not lost hardly any weight. I would imagine it's the processed food that's making it so much worse.

I hope you find some relief.

Christy

Prolapse is where the stomach slips upward and a portion of it hangs over the band, creating a pouch that may not empty...you can imagine how decaying food in this second pouch can cause major problems.

Thanks Jean for the clarification.

I had my band surgery in Nov2009 I recently had my annual Upper GI and it was discovered I have a slightly dialated esophagus when I went to my clinic the doctor removed half of the fluid in my band and I have to go back in 6 weeks. I called the Nutritionist at the clinic to see what else I could do . I am worried about gaining back weight I asked about going back to the pre and post surgery diet and she said that would be fine but she also said she told the Doctor I was a good patient and felt that I would comply and not need to have all fluid removed. Please Any suggestions from anyone who had this problem would be helpful I am scared and don't want to end up having to have the band removed. would it help to go back to liquids then soft and work my way back to regular foods? should I start to portion the soft foods at half a cup or go less?

My friend that had her band done the same time as me had all the fluid taken out, was on full liquids for about 4 months and it did reverse the problem. The esophagus dilation just needs time of no hard foods going down it to recover in most cases. As far as the stomach prolapsing that possibly could be corrected also with resting the pouch and not cosuming foods. It's worth a try if you can do it on full liquids for a while to rest your esophagus and stomach. My friend is okay now but she did lose major weight on full liquids for 4 months lol

I had my band surgery in Nov2009 I recently had my annual Upper GI and it was discovered I have a slightly dialated esophagus when I went to my clinic the doctor removed half of the fluid in my band and I have to go back in 6 weeks. I called the Nutritionist at the clinic to see what else I could do . I am worried about gaining back weight I asked about going back to the pre and post surgery diet and she said that would be fine but she also said she told the Doctor I was a good patient and felt that I would comply and not need to have all fluid removed. Please Any suggestions from anyone who had this problem would be helpful I am scared and don't want to end up having to have the band removed. would it help to go back to liquids then soft and work my way back to regular foods? should I start to portion the soft foods at half a cup or go less?

Your surgeon and/or nutritionist are the best people to advise you about your diet progression at this point. Until you get clarification from them, I would follow whatever your post-fill protocol is, such as 24 hours of liquids, 24 hours of purees, 24 hours of soft foods (foods you can cut with the side of a fork), then carefully transition back to solid foods.

Thank all of you for replying. I did have an upper GI and that's how they found the dilation and yes my stomach has pushed up through the band.

My new surgery said the best for me would be to have the band out..in his experience once the esphogaus is dilated and a prolapse through the band it usually never stays fixed. He said living on protein drinks is not and option and never should be considered a normal way of life after any WLS.

With all that said...because of no insurance and having to pay out of pocket ....I will have to put the sleeve surgery off for a while. If you've had the same problems and everything resolved on its on and loosing weight again please reply. I would love to hear about a happy ending.

Thanks again.

Do you or the doc know why and how this happened? It's one of the many fears many of us have?

tmf