Hi there,

I am considering Dr. Kirshenbaum in Aurora, CO (www.lapbandrockies.com) I know that there are a few of you in LBT that went to him. I am interested in knowing your thoughts on him and if you have had any complications. I am just a little leary since the price is so low, there is little on the internet about him, and I will be traveling from WI to have this done. Any information you could provide would be much apppreciated...

Thanks!

Sheila:)

Were you able to lose any weight with a pre-op diet? i got the idea that helped with the opperation.

Dr. Kirshenbaum requires a pre-op diet that is basically just low carb. When I did this diet for two weeks I really did not lose any weight. Dr. K said that he was a bit surprised that I did not lose, and that he expected that people usually would lose. He said that losing weight during this time can help shrink the liver and it can help with the operation. He was concerned that he might have a problem in my case since I had not lost any weight on the pre op.

He went through with the surgery and he was able to do it. My surgery did take about 2 hours and fifteen minutes. The long time for this surgery might have been due, in part, to the fact that I did not lose any weight on the pre op.

I did the same preop diet Mark did (Low carb/high protein) and lost 10 pounds in the 2 weeks prior to my surgery. I was/am a carb addict though so maybe that is why I had more success b/c I cut out ice cream and pizza and all the other stuff I had eaten way too much of previously!

As Mark said....the purpose is to shrink the liver which has to be moved in order to place the band...it just helps the surgeon lift it, is my understanding.

On a side note...i was watching Good Morning America on ABC this AM and actually saw a COMMERCIAL for the Lap Band!! I was amazed! I'd heard some other people talking about it, but hadn't seen it.....I have a feeling its going to be the new thing to do! LOL Glad I got mine done now before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon!

I lost about 12 pounds on Dr K's pre-op diet. I am a total carb addict though and it about killed me!

In the weeks before I started pre-op but had my surgery date scheduled I must have had about a dozen "last meals". I just had it in my head that I was never going to be able to eat anything I loved ever again so I better gobble it up fast. I gained about 8 pounds between my consult and my pre-op diet.

Anyone else have that issue??

Oh yeah...I TOTALLY did the last meal thing too...except mine was during Thanksgiving AT My Moms house (and she always makes TONS o' food!)..so I think I gained about 5 pounds right before I started my preop diet! lol

The reason I ask was that Dr. Ortiz wanted me to lose 5% before opperation. I did it by going on protien only for a week then zero food for the next week. It was not as hard as I thought it might be. After one week of protien only I did not want to eat anything.

The reason I ask was that Dr. Ortiz wanted me to lose 5% before opperation. I did it by going on protien only for a week then zero food for the next week. It was not as hard as I thought it might be. After one week of protien only I did not want to eat anything.

ZERO food for a week?? That can't be good for you? Did you do supplements or anything during that time?? Tell me more!

Zero, this was not what Dr. Ortiz recomended. The request that I lose 5%=20 pounds before banding was hard to grasp. After finding out that it helped to make the opperation go better, I chose to make the 20 pound goal. I have tried the Atkins type diet in the past and not been able to keep the weight off for more than about a year or two.

It was not as hard to refuse food as I expected. After the all protien it felt strange, but I was determined to lose the 20 pounds. I kept up my Water intake and my family was supportive at first. During the second week when I went to zero food they began to try to get me to eat. It was harder on them than on me.

Anyway the banding went smoothly, I was up and walking around less than one hour after going into the opperation room. I belive that the walking was a big key to my quick recovery.

So far I am on track with weight loss. I feel like I have a life.

I totally agree about the walking. I was on my way home within an hour of leaving the OR. I felt great! Tired but good. I walked and walked and walked around my house and up and down my driveway that day and the next day. My dogs thought I was crazy but I never had any probems with gas pains or anything.

Hi!

I am in Denver! Thought I would log on at the hotel's business center and post an update.

We flew in yesterday. My 14 month old came with us. She was SUCH a good girl flying! Even the flight attendants were impressed. So much so that they gave her her wings then let her get her picture, on the captain's lap, in the cockpit! It was awesome!!

We did a little sight seeing this morning. Went through downtown, past the capitol, then went to Invesco Field and got some pictures. The statues of the broncos in front was really impressive.

I then had to get over to Dr. K's. Marilyn and Robin were very nice. They had all my paper work ready for me, I just had to fill out a few questions. I then met with Dr. K and two advanced medical students. Dr. K went over the procedure again with pictures and a model of the band on the tummy (a VG band - he was impressed that I knew that:) ) Then he went over the band rules and other helpful hints to be successful.

The one med student then took my vitals: breathing, blood pressure and pulse. My blood pressure was a tad high (yet normal) I think it's because I had taken some cold medicine, which can raise it. She said my lungs sounded clear, so I guess my cold got better just in time.

They then gave me a packet of information forms and a consent for anethesia form to fill out and bring back with me tomorrow.

Dr. K then came out to the waiting room to meet my husband. My daughter held out her arms to him, asking to be held, and he held her for quite a while, exclaiming that "he can't wait for a grandkid and thanking us for such a plesant surprise."

We then exchanged cell phone numbers so I can call him if anything comes up- he put me right into his palm pilot.

That was it. Everything went really well and everyone was really nice.

I'll post as soon as I can after surgery to let you know how it went!

Sheila

GOOD LUCK SHEILA!!!!

I'm sure everything will go smoothly!!! :mad:

Looking forward to hearing the news!!

Good luck Sheila! I will keep you in my thoughts!

Post when you can and let us know how you are! :clap2:

Ok Gang....need a little advice here. I called Dr. Ks office trying to make an appt. for my 2nd fill and I wanted to get it done under Fluro. Well, Marilyn just called me back and said he won't do it unless there is a reason for it (i.e. a suspected problem). So...I'm set to have another fill w/him on Feb. 19th the way I had the first one filled. I'm kind of bummed about it. I'm also having a hard time finding flights to CO that are affordable. So I'm trying to decide if I should switch to a local Doc and just start getting my fills here.

For those of you out of towners that are using Dr. K.....are you going back to him at all or starting w/fills locally??

I had kind of hoped to keep going to Dr. K cause i really like him and want the consistency, but I just don't know at this point if its going to be worth it $wise if I have to keep going back so often!

Help, advice, suggestions from the peanut gallery welcome....Thanks!

I can't honestly say one way or another. I know when I had my flouro fill it was to check for a leak. I do think that he will fill you more agressivley if you explain your circumstances to him. I would think as long as you are hanging around for at least a day or so after your fill he would feel more comfortable doing that. That being said... do you have anyone in your area that could unfill you on the off chance you get too tight?

There's mt 2 cents!