I had to have my port replaced last year due to a leak in the tubing (was punctured during a fill) and I'm wondering how common this problem is.

Please answer the poll and discuss!

did you pay to have your port redone?

Or was it defective?i to just had my port replaced.

i was told it was defective.

did you pay to have your port redone?

Or was it defective?i to just had my port replaced.

i was told it was defective.

I had a wonderful month of being able to eat anything I wanted and without have to chew! Thought, something is wrong here. I went into today for my monthly fill and learned, I indeed put on 2 lbs. Very disappointed. Doc told me I might have a leak and that if no restriction this month, they do whatever test to determine if leaking or not and fix would be surgical. To say the least major disappointment. I was banded 3/18/08 and have lost 68 lbs so far, but, feel, wasted month and could have been down more - if I have a leak - am I responsible to pay - does insurance cover it? bummed!

did you pay to have your port redone?

Or was it defective?i to just had my port replaced.

i was told it was defective.

I just went to the doctors to have a flouro and they could not see the leak. So now they want to do surgery to fix wherever the leak is. If it is just the port they want $6,000 and if it is in the band it will be $12,800. I am self pay and cannot afford anymore payments. They are going to go ahead and submit it to my insurance but I think we all know they will not cover it. But I guess it is worth a try. If not I will not have anything done because I cannot afford it. I will keep you informed about the insurance as soon as I find out. Is the lapband company going to reimburse you?

Yes, my doctor is also in Federal Way, WA - Dr OH!!!! Love him although his bedside manner isn't great - but, he is top in his field - just praying I don't have a leak - a wee bit of restriction after last fill, but, nothing like a few of the earlier months - I like tight restriction even if I can't swallow my own saliva - I just want to get rid of the weight!!!! .. and have no willpower when it comes to eating!

That is what happened to me. One minute I had great restriction and the next day I had nothing. My band is still holding about 4cc but I do not feel hardly any restriction. I like having restriction too! I want to loose the weight also and it is hard when you pay so much money for this and not even a year out something goes wrong with the band and it is not our fault! Lapband needs to come up with a warranty or something cause this seems to be happening quite frequently. I hope my insurance will help but I think it is unlikely. Are they going to do a flouro to see where you band is leaking?

Having just voted and seen the poll results I am surprised at the high number of others who have had problems with leakage.. I was under the impression that i was one of the very few unlucky people who had damage done when having a fill..( I was punctured on my first fill!!)

Now really concidering having fills done only under x-ray although that would cost approx £250..in Uk (around $500..I think)..

I think I have a leak in my port tubing. Well, actually my Dr. thinks the tubing may have come off of the band. I can't believe they didn't make the tubing and the band on system. I have had 2 fills and now I don't have any restriction left. It takes about a month but it all leaks out. Oh well, just a minor bump in the road. This two shall pass

Hello, i am new to the site and really looking for someone that has had a leak and port revision. I don't feel like it is working and I am so frustrated. Please someone to talk to that has experienced please step forward.

First let me say if you are a self pay and you have complications you are going to end up having to pay more. I had my band put in Sept. 07 and I had to have it removed May 08. I had erosion (sp) and when the doctor went in to remove it I was in pretty bad shape. Now let me say for a month before I it removed I had an infection in the fluid of the band. I went to the Dr. everyweek for almost 6 weeks before the surgery. I had to be admitted to the hospital for more tests. I was a self-pay patient. I am now faceing almost $15,000 in bills from all that. My HMO is saying they won't pay for any of it. I had to be admitted for overnight...scope down the thoat and another MRI. The doctor probably spent less than an hour with me and his bill was $2100. So self pay beware if something does happen. Its cost me almost $40,000 and I had only lost 60lbs. But I am maintaining. Sorry for any spelling errors!:girl_hug:

My fills never seemed to last either. After all I've spent I deserve better than this! I wonder sometimes if its the Drs. I think they'd rather do the whole by-pass trip and re-route your whole insides.

SLOW LEAK

So I had an x-ray done today to determine where my leak might be, the radiology doctor could not see the leak which he said means I have a slow leak. I go back to see Dr. Oh on 10/16 and find out what he has to say. Does anyone have any experience with a "slow leak" and what they might have to do to fix that, is it just a whole new band or what not? I am not thrilled about having to have my band re-done, but if so I need to have it done before I lose insurance at the end of December. Sigh...

On a side note, it was cool to see my band/port on the x-ray today. Now I know what it looks like at least!

Miles2empty...I think I was supposed to have the leak test done the same day as you, but I never vgot the message from Dr Oh's office that they had scheduled mefor the test. Oh says I have a slow leak too. What made you (Oh) come to the concludion that you have a leak, did you have unsucessful fills and how do you think it started? Is your insuance covering the leak test (mine will not)?Sue

SLOW LEAK

So I had an x-ray done today to determine where my leak might be, the radiology doctor could not see the leak which he said means I have a slow leak. I go back to see Dr. Oh on 10/16 and find out what he has to say. Does anyone have any experience with a "slow leak" and what they might have to do to fix that, is it just a whole new band or what not? I am not thrilled about having to have my band re-done, but if so I need to have it done before I lose insurance at the end of December. Sigh...

On a side note, it was cool to see my band/port on the x-ray today. Now I know what it looks like at least!

miles2empty- I had a leak in my band and my doc could not find where it was. I definitely had one because I had 3.2cc in my band and 3 weeks later it was all gone. We did a test and put in 3 cc and within a week less than 1cc was left. I had my band replaced 3 weeks ago. I got an entirely new band. We didn't do any x-rays/contrast tests to try to find a leak because my dr. said it was pointless. The reason being because the band needed to be replaced regardless, and because if the leak is in the band itself (as opposed to the tubing) you may not be able to see it in an x-ray because the band is encased by the stomach that is pulled up and sewn all around it.

Before my doc removed my old band, he injected methylene blue dye and he couldn't find the leak. Then after he removed it, he injected saline into it and there was no leak. The band was sent back to Allergan to find out the issue and we're waiting to hear what they say.

My doc thinks that the issue is as such: The balloon that holds the saline is designed to withstand a certain amount of pressure from being filled and the fluid will not leak out. What he thinks happened with my band is that the saline did not evenly distribute itself around the entire band. Instead, it collected in one area of the balloon, thereby putting too much pressure on the balloon, which caused it to become permeable and the saline leaked out of that area. So there may not have been an actual "hole" or puncture per se, but only when there was extreme pressure on one part of the band, the fluid leaked out. This explains why he didn't see a leak when he replaced my band and also why I didn't feel any restriction with 3.2cc in a 4cc band because it wasn't functioning the way it should.

I wasn't happy about being rebanded, but I wanted to have a functioning band that would do what is was supposed to do.

RedTulpis3...

Where you self-pay or did you have insurance to cover your band and the replacement? It's not so much haveing another surgery that bothers me...I just can't afford another $13,000.

Sue