One would assume that a 4cc band has a maximum fill capacity of 4cc, but I have seen posts that indicate the capacity is in fact 4.5cc or even 5cc. Can anyone confirm whether a 4cc band can in fact be filled to MORE THAN 4cc? Is this a recommended practice?

I'm also interested in knowing the rationale for surgeons selecting the 4cc band over the 10cc band. It would seem to me the 10cc band gives a greater range of fill capacities, therefore a broader range of sweet spots. Did the 4cc band come out before or after the 10cc band.

My surgeon uses the 4cc band and the 10cc band. He decides which to use one he is in surgery and looks at the anatomy of the stomach. I have the 4cc, DH has the 10cc.

As for the amount of fill they can hold, I have no clue since I'm fairly newly banded.

i asked that question of my surgery doc and then again with my fill doc in USA. Surgery doc said it actually will hold 5cc and called it a 5cc band on my surgery paperwork. My fill doc said that they are meant to be filled to 4cc and that some writtings suggest that a doctor could fill up to 5cc but that would really be stretching it.

My doc says he goes up to 5cc's in a 4cc band.

last friday morning i had my 2nd fill bringing me to 2.5 in a 4cc band. i can only eat extememly soft food. I cannot even eat a hardboiled egg unless i mush it up with milk. If i try to eat anything like minced chicken it is a 45 minute process with mini bites...If i do get to big a piece going down it is 10 min of pain and threat of vomiting with hot flashes. ANY ONE HAVE THIS GOING ON?:help: I like the fact that i am eating about 1/3 of what i was prior to last week but my calorie count per day is only about 700. I would like to just revert to Protein shakes for Breakfast and eat my small itty bitty portions later in the day of soft food. But is it bad to not eat reg food at this point and should i have some Fluid taken out?

before i was not loosing but maybe 1 lb every two weeks.

I do liquids in the morning. Nothing solid until around 12:30, I am just too restricted for solids in the am. I have 1.6 in a 4.0 band. I was up to 2.0 and have to have some saline removed, I was having reflux and difficulty keeping down solid protein. I had some removed and feel much better but still tight in the am. I am going to see the doctor again in a month or so and will consider a slight fill then.

As for the original post, I was told the 10cc band would be too large for my stomach. ~Mandy

According to my surgeon, if you don't have as much too loose and not as much stomach fat he uses the 9.75cm band which holds 4cc's but he will to 5cc's because if he used the bigger band I would never get enough restriction because it's bigger. They use the bigger band for bigger stomachs and if you have a little more too loose according to him.

last friday morning i had my 2nd fill bringing me to 2.5 in a 4cc band. i can only eat extememly soft food. I cannot even eat a hardboiled egg unless i mush it up with milk. If i try to eat anything like minced chicken it is a 45 minute process with mini bites...If i do get to big a piece going down it is 10 min of pain and threat of vomiting with hot flashes. ANY ONE HAVE THIS GOING ON?:help: I like the fact that i am eating about 1/3 of what i was prior to last week but my calorie count per day is only about 700. I would like to just revert to Protein shakes for breakfast and eat my small itty bitty portions later in the day of soft food. But is it bad to not eat reg food at this point and should i have some Fluid taken out?

before i was not loosing but maybe 1 lb every two weeks.

Before you had your second fill, how was your restriction? And how much fill did they give you on your second fill? Happy you got restriction! :clap2:

Before i was at 2.1 suposedly but weird that when he pulled the fluids back out before the fill it was only 1cc. So he said probably the other 1.cc was in the primer. I guess that the band takes 1cc before it even starts to close. So before this fill i could eat to much. I was able to eat fairly large bites and didnt have much restriction. I was also able to eat about 1&1/2 cup of food. Now i can only eat about 1/3 cup of food and it has to be mush. Is it true that we do have some evaporation in our fills? I think if i was just a tad less i would be fine. In the meantime i have dropped 5 lbs in 1 week and dont mind the drop but cant continue this fast.

I appreciate your replies and now understand why I received a 4cc rather than a 10cc band. I'm doing very well at 3.5 currently, but I plan to request another 1cc on my third fill on 12/5 to take me to 4.5 total. They do the fluoroscopy immediately after the injection and if 4.5 looks to be a problem I'll have them remove 0.5cc and leave me at 4 total.

I love my band; it's the best thing I ever did for myself.

I have a 4cc band which my Dr (Felix Spiegel your Dr) said is considered the small band, the next in size is a medium 6cc band and the large is a 10cc band.

Dr Spiegel said the bands are used according to the size of your stomach the larger stomach requires a larger band, and so on.

I was told by a friend who had hers done by Dr Spivak that the bands should only be filled to one less cc than the actual size, ie,,,4cc should only have 3cc to avoid reflux and other complications.

Sounds like good sense to me,:nervous but I know others who have more of a fill in their bands.

I had 3cc until I had a procedure done thursday (not due to any problems with my band) they had to unfill it the P.A. said I had good restriction with just 2cc (she could see that thru flouroscopy)

so I left with 2cc. She told me that we shouldn't pay attention to numbers (the amount of CC's) in our bands but pay attention to how much restiction we have, so I learned somethig new.

This band has been a constant learning experience, Iv'e had mine since 2-05. I suggest we all ask every question we have to our Dr.s and hopefuly we will get answers, I do, after all he put it on and he should know. I must say my Dr has taken excellent care of his patients, we have the support group meetings, and the procedure I had done on thursday was a Endoscopy which enables the Dr to see whats going on inside our stomachs and esophagus. This was a one year follow-up procedure that I think is a very good idea. :biggrin1: