I Had the lap band put in about 2 1/2 years ago. I had it in for 1 yr. and lost 100 lbs. then it eroded into my stomach and had to be removed. The Drs. had wanted to put in a new band, but the damage to my stomach was far too extensive and they had to wait. Then several months later, we discovered the bottom part of my stomach was dead. I have been fighting this for a year now. I am ill most of the time, either with severe stomach aches or with throwing up. The Drs. then wanted to do RNY which would bypass the part of my stomach that is dead, but the insurance company will not cover. So I am getting sicker and still no recourse as to fixing my health. The only upside is that I have kept the 100 lbs off. I am hoping that somewhere somehow, someone will have an idea of what to do to help.

Oh my..that is scary. I'm due to be banded in May and now I wonder. How did the band erode your stomach? Did the doctor have any explanation? I do hope you find a fix and get back on the road to good health.

im really sorry to hear but i dont really know what to say

i just want to wish you luck and hope you feel better soon

Thank you for warning us of this and I really pray that you will be ok and regain your health.

It is nice to lose weight, however; if this is the price to pay not sure if it is worth it?

Perhaps, the next question to ask our doctor's is, "after reaching our goal do we get the band removed?"

God Bless...

How did the stomach die, Dee?

Dee Dee, wow, I'm so sorry you're going through this! Can you give us more information? What exactly happened before your band was removed, and how much erosion did you have? What did your doctor say when the band was removed--was there any reason to think that your stomach wouldn't heal properly? Do you have any other medical conditions that might have contributed to this problem?

This sounds like a really unusual complication, and we'd all love to hear more. Sadly there isn't much advice we can give, unless maybe suggesting new questions for your doctors. But this isn't something I've ever heard of related to banding, so you'd be teaching us, not the other way around.

Good luck, and good healing! :hug:

My heart goes out to you.:eekB: Please let us know more about your problem, and was this all band related. I for one would love for you to keep posting with us and let us know how you are doing. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hugs!

Dee Dee,

WELCOME to LapBandTalk.com.

In all honesty, we are SO happy to have you around.

Although we've had several members that have eroded, some had similear symptoms, while others had NO symptoms of ANY problems (strange?).

Can you please tell us what YOUR symptoms of erosion were?

And who is/was your surgeon?

...and PART of your stomach is dead - due to your band eroding??

you have just scared the crap out of me. ((((((((HUGS))))))))))

Wow Dee Dee, I'm so sorry you're going through this! Like the others, I'd love to hear more. What exactly is a "dead stomach" and what are your symptoms today? (((HUGS)))

Dee Dee, I'm so sorry. Like the others, I'm pretty much speechless.

Was your band eroded for a long time before anyone found out? DId you have it checked out every year with a barium swallow, etc?

I really wish someone would pay for that revision, if they think that is the way to go, so that you feel better.

And yes, like the others, this scared the crap out of me too.

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Hi All, Thank you for your very kind words of support. The symptoms I had was a burping of what was like rotten eggs and I could hardly eat anything, much less drink anything without wanting to throw up. That is when they decided to do some tests and discovered that food that I had eaten 5 days previous was still not digested. The band was removed and this was just over a year of having it in. The erosion was bad enough that I was in the hospital for 5 days with drain tubes from all the infection. That was almost 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I have been through 3-4 Upper GI's, 3-4 Hyda Scans and CT scans and several other tests and it is the very bottom of my stomach that is dead. This could be corrected with RNY surgery and is highly recommended by my surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Holloway of Scottsbluff, NE. But the insurance will not cover it even though 4 Drs. said it is medically necessary. My symptoms now are almost the same as the erosion time, only now the stomach aches put me in bed for a day and require RX meds to calm it down and no eating during the "attacks". I am thankful I lost the 100 lbs. but it is coming at a huge price. I will keep you posted on the latest tests, which I will get results this Wednesday. Again, thanks for all your kind words. Dee Dee

Hi All, Thank you for your very kind words of support. The symptoms I had was a burping of what was like rotten eggs and I could hardly eat anything, much less drink anything without wanting to throw up. That is when they decided to do some tests and discovered that food that I had eaten 5 days previous was still not digested. The band was removed and this was just over a year of having it in. The erosion was bad enough that I was in the hospital for 5 days with drain tubes from all the infection. That was almost 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I have been through 3-4 Upper GI's, 3-4 Hyda Scans and CT scans and several other tests and it is the very bottom of my stomach that is dead. This could be corrected with RNY surgery and is highly recommended by my surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Holloway of Scottsbluff, NE. But the insurance will not cover it even though 4 Drs. said it is medically necessary. My symptoms now are almost the same as the erosion time, only now the stomach aches put me in bed for a day and require RX meds to calm it down and no eating during the "attacks". I am thankful I lost the 100 lbs. but it is coming at a huge price. I will keep you posted on the latest tests, which I will get results this Wednesday. Again, thanks for all your kind words. Dee Dee

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Dee Dee,

I'm very sorry to hear of all your pain and trouble. I've never heard of anything like this before, but I would think that there should be some other surgery your doctors could code this as to get in there and fix your stomach. I mean, you don't need the whole RNY right?? They just need to get the dead part out? You might see if they'll approach it from that angle.

I hope you get a resolution soon!!!

Oh Dee Dee, you poor thing. :-(

First, I would definitely fight the insurance company. 6 years ago I had a breast reduction and they denied me, but I appealed and threatened to go to the insurance board with my claim and they paid for it. I think your going to have to play hard ball with them. This is medically necessary.

You had no other symptoms? And only a year out?

I really feel for you. I can't imagine the kind of life your living and no, to me it would not be worth it.

Gosh your situation has scared the bejeesus out of me.

I'm so sorry to hear of what you're going through. As Sarah said, I would think they could code it differently so that insurance would pay. It's ridiculous that they aren't anyway, but they can make us jump through all kinds of hoops. If 4 docs have said it's medically necessary, I don't see how they can deny it, but I'm with leenerbups, appeal to whomever you have to including the insurance commissioner or board. Please keep us updated, and I wish you the best possible outcome to all of this.

Emily