So I was reading my post op x ray results and it mentioned esophageal dilation so I checked out the pics and sure enough it appears I have a pouch that flows down in what is left of my stomach. Anyone know anything about this ? I assume from my band removal.

I have the same thing. In fact my doc says that every band to sleeve revision he's done results in a pouch above the sleeve. He told me that when he does the sleeve it looks normal, but because that upper tissue is stretchy from over dialation with the band, it makes a pouch. That makes it really important to measure out your food as it is easy to eat too much and when the food proceeds down the sleeve it could really stretch out over time.

i was told by 2 surgeons that they do not cut through the tissue that was banded but they cut around it, creating a pouch up top. i was not told this up front. i was told that when I asked both surgeons.

Thanks ! I'm going to talk to my surgeon tomorrow about what this could mean long term .

Please let us know what your surgeon says!

My surgeon says that it's not uncommon to see this but the good news is it shouldn't effect anything with my success with the sleeve or my eating. He said to be aware of heart burn/ reflux but I haven't had one bit since surgery

I had asked my surgeon pre-op how he would sleeve the tissue where the band was. He does band to sleeve in one surgery. He said the band is up very high and they don't sleeve that part. This confused me a bit, and I asked a few more questions. In the end I understood it to mean I would have what you describe. I do keep in mind that there is probably some stretchy stomach up there at the top where my band was. And to keep an eye on my portion sizes.

So far so good. My sleeve is SO much better than the band. I feel very satisfied on 3-3.5 oz of food. (9 weeks out) I have only had nausea once to twice ( I think I over ate), zero vomiting, and I'm not having the heartburn I was having with the band. I was asked to do a swallow study (not standard post -op, barium X-ray) so they could have a record of my anatomy. The reason being I was a revision, and my sleeve is not the same as a virgin sleeve.

I know this thread is kinda old but I read it just before my revision so I called my surgeon in and asked him about this. I asked him if I would have a pouch and if he sutured around where the band was. He said absolutely not. He said he sutures throughout it not around. He said, "if I were to give you a pouch, then I did not give you a sleeve, and that is our goal today". I was pretty pleased with that.