What's the difference? What's better? I have my surgery set for July 31st so I still have time to talk about plication I just recently heard the word.

Hi, It was offered to me by my surgeon when i went for my consult....im in the testing phase and am planning on doing it with the lap band.

Plication is when they fold your stomach in on itself and stitch it closed so your stomach looks like a banana. Its like the sleeve but they do not cut part of your stomach away. My surgeon explained it like this ,because i wanted to know what is actually done to your stomach with plication.....he said, your stomach is like a book and is made up of layers...they stitch the cover of the book together so they are not stitiching thru your entire stomach. I was also told because they don't "invade" the stomach it is potentially reversible....my doc is part of an investigational study documenting the cases he has....

so that is my understanding of the procedure....i've put up a couple of requests on here as well about plication and have had several responses....perhaps you can locate them...im still trying to figure my way around here...

i've seen several people here who have had it and many of them have not had any fills in the band because the plication is helping them...im sure many of them will share their experiences....everyone i've spoken to on here has said good things.

It is not recognized by insurance yet since it is still relatively new to the US but has been done in other countries for some time from what i've found online.

I got Lapband with plication and in my opinion (and only my opinion) I feel the plication kept me from being "starving" before reaching the correct fill amount. There have been times when I've been hungry, but I've read others "wanting to chew my arm off" or "this just seems like a diet". I've never felt like that. Reducing my daily calorie intake to less than 1200/day has been achievable. And without too much struggle. But again I'll say this is only my opinion and I don't have the experience of having Lapband without the plication.

I got Lapband with plication and in my opinion (and only my opinion) I feel the plication kept me from being "starving" before reaching the correct fill amount. There have been times when I've been hungry, but I've read others "wanting to chew my arm off" or "this just seems like a diet". I've never felt like that. Reducing my daily calorie intake to less than 1200/day has been achievable. And without too much struggle. But again I'll say this is only my opinion and I don't have the experience of having Lapband without the plication.

How long since you had the banding...have you had any problems or has your experience been a postivie one??? Do you have any addt'l info from your surgeon about the plication and long term results etc....

Still trying to get as much info and feedback as possible....thanks!

I just had surgery in December. No complications. There's very little data as it is still considered new. I believe I've read in other posts that it's not approved by FDA and that's why it's not cover by insurance. But I have not independently verified that. I remember looking up medical studies and reading about it. I believe a pretty detailed one was by Duke University. But you have to be willing the slog thru the technical stuff when reading those.

CarolinaGirl also had plication. Hopefully she'll respond and have more info. I'm responding via phone so it's not easy for me to reference other material.

I have the plication with my band as well. Unlike Tara though it has done absolutely nothing to curb my hunger. My doctor suggested it for additional weight loss and also helps keep the band in place. Anything to keep things where they need to be was an OK in my book. He also told me 90% of his band patients have this procedure done as well. Wish you the best

Disclaimer...I don't have it. It wasn't offered when I got mine in 2009, but the results look very promising. Heres one surgeons website talking about it.

http://drsimpson.net/Gastric-Plication-weight-loss-surgery/iLap-surgery/iLap-surgery-new-hope/iLap-surgery-new-hope.html

"

Lap-band surgery plus Gastric Plication may be the perfect surgical combination for super morbidly obese patients. Because Gastric Plication causes a quicker more complete satiety, the patient can eat much less food. The lap-band further limits the amount of food that can be initially ingested. But its most important job is to heighten the sensitivity of the nerves at the top of the stomach. Those are the nerves that send the signal to the brain that you are full. So the combination of Gastric plication with Lap-band surgery results in fast satiety with much less food than the individual surgeries. iLap surgery is a double restrictive procedure that is adjustable to keep it working over the long run as is required by super morbidly obese patients. It can result in the same weight loss as the Lap-band over gastric bypass. But the small intestine is untouched and completely intact so it will deliver all the nutrition and energy in food consumed by the patient. The energy a super morbidly obese person desperately needs to get on their feet and move. Lap-band and Gastric Plication surgeries can be reversed because none of the stomach or intestines are surgically removed. Because both surgeries are less damaging than gastric bypass, recovery time can be much shorter. Physical therapy and exercise may be able to be done sooner after surgery and with more intensity, possibly improving the patient's prospect for living."

Best of luck in your decision!

I have not had the band yet, and when I started my journey in Jan. I had never heard of it. It was not until about 2mths ago when my Doc moved to a different hospital and I decided to stay at the same office with a different Doc, did I hear about it. The Doc said that it could help with more weight loss in larger people and also helps to keep the band in place. He also said that they do not bill extra for this that it will be included with the lapband price. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to go back to my orig. doc and when I asked him about plication and why he had not offered it, he said that he just automat. does it with the lapband, does not even ask. That kinda put me off, but I really like this doc and respect his opin. and experience. So all of his patients have had it done even if they did not know it.

I have not had the band yet, and when I started my journey in Jan. I had never heard of it. It was not until about 2mths ago when my Doc moved to a different hospital and I decided to stay at the same office with a different Doc, did I hear about it. The Doc said that it could help with more weight loss in larger people and also helps to keep the band in place. He also said that they do not bill extra for this that it will be included with the lapband price. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to go back to my orig. doc and when I asked him about plication and why he had not offered it, he said that he just automat. does it with the lapband, does not even ask. That kinda put me off, but I really like this doc and respect his opin. and experience. So all of his patients have had it done even if they did not know it.

I'd suggest maybe he was referring the the procedure where they simply fold a small portion of the stomach over the band and attach it with a couple of stitches. To help secure it in place. Thats very common now. Plication is different than that. Very few surgeons currently even offer plication.

What's the difference? What's better? I have my surgery set for July 31st so I still have time to talk about plication I just recently heard the word.

no one WLS is better then the next..all WLS require work and a mental change and a def change in eating habits and begin to exercise to make the most of whatever surgery one gets.

the plication as my dr told me is my stomach folded into itself and stitched to make a small banana like (sleeve) if you will..it will (and has) helped me eat less and since this is a new procedure and still in early trials, i had to sign waivers on it...my dr did it pro bono for me....i was super morbid obese and the

dr wanted me to have the bypass and i said no.....so he offered me this with the band but STRESSED that if didnt follow the lap band rules (eating my allotted amounts, stop eating junk food and begin to (move), no WLS would help me......

most WLS can and will help one lose at the beginning (the pre and post op diets helps with fast mainly all Water weight loss) and its amazing and its a confidence booster......and then when people REALIZE that they cant eat what they use too and just push it and overeat anyhow or not follow the rules, then the surgery isnt working..and 10 or more posts a day on this forum saying what am i doing wrong etc..

get whatever one you want but understand that its not a miracle....it will help you if you help it...i am living proof of that......but i also know/understand if i dont do my part the bypass, the sleeve or the DS or the band or plication wont work..people rush into WLS in my opinion thinking i had surgery and now i will automatically lose 100 pounds in a week..doenst work that way....a total mindset and attitude change is a must for success..esp when one was as large as me when i started..i either did it the right way, or got bigger...i had no other options.

I am ready to do this. I am 100lbs from my goal weight of 135lbs. I have healthy eating habits but I eat too much. I can't control my portions ill have the steak and veggies but overdo it on the portion size of the meats. I'm not a huge picker but occasionally those cookies will torture me and I overindulge plus I eat super fast. I lose control over how much I eat. I am hoping if I continue to eat healthy protein and veggies the Lapband will help with the feeling full quicker so not only do I not go for seconds But i can't even finish my first a plate. There is this supposedly "new" belt type thing you wear on the outside I tried this its actually approved by insurance comp I didn't pay a penny for it, but it hurts soooooooooooo bad to wear this thing all day I had bruises I think you don't feel hungry bc your in pain. It did help me to eat less but I couldn t utilize properly bc it cut in so bad. I haven't come to the Lapband decision lightly. It's been a 2 year decision on and off again before I went for my first consult and finally after my 3 rd child and a 115lbs weight gain over. 9 year period I am ready to make changes and eat less. I don't want to be the "fat" mom. I want my kids to see me eating right and pick up from my healthy eating and portion sizes and I'm hoping from the less weight and healthy eating ill have more energy to exercise on a daily basis not just once a week sometimes twice.