I'am new to these board and wanting to know who has had Dr. Lopez for a dr. I'am having surgery with him on the 5th of June. Wanting to know what to ecspect. How he does things like food after surgery, fills, things like that. Any info would be great.

Hi Snowy Owl -

I answered your email, but didn't include any fill info in that.

Dr. Lopez is of the school that the patient knows when they need a fill. The criteria for a fill with him is:

1. You've stopped losing weight.

2. You're hungry between meals.

3. You no longer feel full on a smaller amount of food.

Two of those three things have to be true.

Most of Dr. Lopez's patients choose to have their fills done under flouroscope - this eliminates a lot of the "guess work" that doing blind fills creates. The Dr. can see how fast the barium flows out of the pouch, so has a pretty good idea of how tight you are before you leave the office. There is always the possibility of post-fill swelling, so he puts you on liquids for a certain amount of time - it varies by how tight he feels you are after the fill. I've had four fills - the last one was in October, and that still seems to be the right amount. I still can't chug ice Water like I like to, so I definitely don't want to be any tighter.

Good luck!

I am having surgery on April 15. I will let you know how it goes.

New to this site

Surgery with Dr. Lopez scheduled for May 21st any advise on what to expect from the experience? I am going to the Oasis Hospital anyone been there?

Thanks:D

I'm in San Diego. Dr. Lopez was a great choice for me, as he's nearby (about an hour) and his office is very accommodating. I have had all my follow-up care with him, and he is a warm and caring doctor.

The Oasis is where I had my surgery as well. My room was big and had a guest bed. It wasn't a 5-star hotel, there were a couple things that seemed a little run down, but that's just cosmetic. Every thing was clean, and I felt very comfortable. My Mom went with me, which was a great comfort.

Take slip-on shoes, and learn the Spanish word for "ice" as you'll want some after surgery. Most of the nurses speak English, at least some, but I had some troubles getting ice for some reason. All the staff were wonderful, including the pulmonologist and anesthesiologist. Dr. Lopez has changed assisting surgeons since my surgery 1/23/03, I believe - my assisting surgeons were Dr. Martinez and Dr. Ortiz, who are now in practice together. Everyone was really great.

If you have someone traveling with you, make sure they bring a good book or some other entertainment, and maybe even some snacky stuff. The food at the Oasis is a special diet (the Oasis is mainly a cancer hospital, I believe, and the food is geared to their needs) - most of it was not palatable to Mom. There are places to eat around the hospital if your companion is willing to walk around some. Mom did go to a big grocery store, but I think she was hungry for a real meal, and wouldn't look for a restaurant.

I was pretty uncomfortable after my surgery, but was anxious to leave the hospital. I wasn't very good about taking my walks that everyone recommends - I hit the diningroom at least twice, but my room was absolutely as close to there as you could get, so it wasn't much of a walk. But it was enough for me!

I had my surgery on a Thursday, left the hospital Friday and Mom drove me home. I went back to my desk job on Monday, and except for leaving a few hours early that first Friday, made it through my recovery uneventfully. I held my stomach a lot when I walked, and it was about 3 weeks before I could get in and out of the car without some pain. I lived the first two weeks on the couch - it seemed more comfortable than the bed - easier to move around on.

Have two weeks of liquids ready and in the house in case you're not up to grocery shopping the first two weeks. Many people bounce right back - I was medium, I guess. A little more pain than I'd expected, but I met most of my commitments.

I'm down 96.5 pounds in 16 months without struggle. I don't diet, my exercise level is deplorable - I am working on the exercise part. I have had 4 fills in the first year - the last was early October, and I am at 2.6cc. In June I tore my port sutures reaching really hard for something, and my port flipped. I had repair surgery for that in early November as an outpatient.

Other than that, my journey has been unremarkable, except of course for the miracle of losing 96.5 pounds without fighting for it every inch of the way. I still have 70 or so to go to reach 135, and would be thrilled (at least for a little while!) to reach 185. I've no doubts that I will easily make 185 by August of this year. Anything less will definitely be gravy.

I had my surgery in Mexico with Dr Ortiz who also uses the Oasis Hospital. The hospital is small but very nice.It is all done in pink, the rooms hallways linens bathrooms but it is nice. The nurses there are awesome. They all speak perfect english and they wait on you hand and foot.I never needed to ring my nurses button once. You will find your care there will be better then here in the US. If you are taking someone with you just know that the hospital cafeteria is all vegetarian. There is no meat! My hubby is a huge meat eater. I new this ahead of time so we brought some Snacks with us for my hubby. There is also a Domino's pizza close by that he walked to one night to get pizza. I hope this info helps

Best of Luck to you

Michelle

4/6/04

265/244.5/160ish

Dr Ortiz

Donali, I'm reading old posts looking for information on port pain. I'm quite sure I hurt myself at the gym. I didn't do anything drastic, but I did five minutes on an eliptical machine that has arm posts that move along with the legs. I hurt for a couple days, then yesterday decided to simply do the treadmill - big, fat mistake. Today is the worst pain since my surgery. Now I'm reading that you ripped a port stitch. I called Dr. Carmen. She said if liquid comes up through my incision, or if I get swelling, or infection then I'll need to see a doctor. How did you know you ripped a port stitch? Damn it. Why couldn't I just relax like they told me instead of hitting the gym?

Long answer on your picture post - short answer here.

I had a severe burning sensation when I tore my sutures that lasted several hours - that same kind of burning sensation when you isolate a muscle and work it with heavy weight - leg extensions do that feeling to the muscles right above my knees.

I think I would have been okay, except the port actually flipped, and felt like it was sideways, and was super super painful.

Take it easy for a couple days, take liquid Tylenol, and then see how you feel.

Hi I just read that someone hurt themselves on the treadmill. I was banded on 5/25/04 and have been doing treadmill half hour at 2.2 speed no incline four times a week is this too soon?:think

Magnolia, I don't know if it was too soon, but I was doing the treadmill 2 weeks after surgery and ended up with a severe port infection. My port had to be removed. I doubt it was from the exercise, but once my port gets put back in, I'm going to walk much slower with no incline.

Magnolia: I waited at least a full month before I did any kind of exercise routine. Then I started out doing 10 to 15 min on the treadmill three times a week to where I now do 50 min power walking 6 days a week. So my advice is to take it easy the first month and then work up to your exercise routine gradually.