Hello all. As some of you saw my previous post my husband recently put in a lap band for the first time after seeing my great results. Well I went to the Dr. Today because I thought I needed a fill but low and behold after the esophogram it appears I have a dilation not slip. So he emptied about 1.5cc out and I'm going to do liquids for a few days. My question to you all is..,will this work? Will I go back to normal again? I'm scared about needed another surgery but also scared to be without my band. Anyone been in my shoes? Thanks

My band has been loosened due to dilation. As I recall, we waited about two months to begin to refill and I was fine thereafter. People have different experiences. You don't have power over the outcome, but you do have power over being scared now. It seems premature to me. You might prefer to see how it plays out for you.

What is dilation? I've not heard of that.

A dilation is when the stomach that is above the band expands too accommodate food and drink that is not passing swiftly enough through the band. The top part of the pouch can extend beyond the circumference of the band and cause greater complications.

Think of your band as you might think of the center point of an hour glass. Though in the case of your stomach the top part of the hour glass is much smaller than the bottom half. As you put food in it slowly breaks down small enough to pass through the center or the band into the lower chamber for full digestion and dispersion of nutrients to the rest of the digestive system. If you put something in that's not being broken down or taking a long time to break down to pass through the center point (the band) and then you add more be it drink or food the top chamber unlike an hour glass will expand to accommodate thus causing a dilation of the upper chamber of your stomach.

The way to relieve that, is to widen or open the band to allow the food/drink to pass through to the lower chamber and give the upper chamber a chance to heal and return to it's normal size. You are on liquids during this time to allow for this. If you go back to eating solid foods, you could run the risk of the upper chamber not returning to it's normal size and remaining dilated.

I have had this issue happen to me before, and yes it's tough to be on liquids for a time especially once the band is open for a while but it's worth it to stay the course. You won't gain weight and you will reset your band and your mindset again as well.

Hang in there you can make it through this!

Ok. I think I've heard of this......Thanks!!

The stomachs muscle is meant to expand and contract....I used to have a beer belly so big it looked as if I was carrying twins! But from eating much less and less often, it has returned to normal (flat)

Eating too much too fast can and will expand the portion above the band....

I believe this to be normal to a certain extent...not the overeating, but just from normal eating - drinking every day, over time, will stretch it a bit.

I can tell when this happens to me when I realize I am able to eat more (portion size) than usual. And I am more hungry than usual.

So as preventative maintenance, and this is the only maintenance I can think of with the band, I will go full liquids for at least 3 days...gives everything a rest, and any stretching can contract. I do this every 6 weeks or so.

Your Dr. is doing the same thing in essence...removing Fluid to give it a rest, and telling you to lay off solids for a while...give it all a rest and let it contract.

So you guys think I will be ok ? I'm nervous...but I'm doing the liquid thing for now hoping it will work out.

A dilation is when the stomach that is above the band expands too accommodate food and drink that is not passing swiftly enough through the band.

Eating too much too fast can and will expand the portion above the band....

It may not happen for everyone who develops dilation, but the ballooning can occur just above and below the band simultaneously. There it was on my images.

I'm just so nervous hoping it will be ok

Just to follow up...the dilation corrected itself after the unfill :-)

Great!