Band to Bypass Conversion Questions

[loosinit 2]

I had the lap band surgery in 2008 which was largely unsuccessful. I lost about 30 pounds and then gained it all back and a lot more. This band has been so frustrating and living with it is so difficult. I am now 200 pounds overweight and have considered either the sleeve or bypass for the last few years, but find myself paralyzed with fear about the healing and side effects since the bad would also have to be removed. Your experiences with the following would be greatly appreciated!

-Band to sleeve or bypass is a double surgery and requires additional healing time. Is the pain awful and even worse than if just one of them was to be performed? I'm very afraid of the healing process. How long until I could expect to be pain free?

-Sleeve or bypass? I had been considering the sleeve but my Doctor keeps pointing out that bypass is the gold standard and I have the best chance at losing the most weight and keeping it off. Are my chances for long term success really that different between the 2?

-With bypass, I have read there is Hair loss? How much? Does the hair grow back?

-With bypass we have to take supplements for the rest of our lives. Even if they are taken, are we still at increased risk for disease or disorders? I am hesitant to sign up for a surgery that could mean health problems further on down the road.

-Are there any other side effects that I should be aware of for either the sleeve or bypass? I don't want to get the surgery and then find out there was a major side effect I had no idea about.

Thanks!

[Matt Z 4,138]

Hey loosinit, I'm a band to bypass revision myself. So I can 100% relate! Lemme see if I can tackle these questions for you.
- Most times, barring any major complications the band can be removed and you can be revised to either in 1 surgery. Having been through this with the band already, recovering from the revision to bypass was a breeze. To be honest, pain was minimum overall. Being familiar with the pain and restrictions in movement from the band, were pretty much the same as with the bypass. Your healing time will vary of course, but, it wasn't any worse than the band for me.

-My surgeon refuses to do Band to Sleeve, because putting a high pressure staple line across the scar tissue caused by the Band, increases the risk of staple line leakage or failure. Plus, you aren't going to get the malabsorption with the sleeve that you get with the bypass, so going from the band to the sleeve, might not get you the results you want or expect. (My surgeon told me if I really wanted the sleeve that I could go to another surgeon on her team, but she wouldn't do it, I appreciated her honesty)

-Hair loss is a personal thing. My primary walked me through the reasons for Hair loss, and it's due some form of shock to the system from the surgery, she advised that as long as I kept my Protein intake high and kept up on my required nutrients that I might not see any hair loss at all. I'm 2 months out and haven't noticed anything yet, but we'll see in the next month or 2. But yes, the hair loss typically isn't a permanent thing.

-Yes, with the bypass you will be unable to absorb certain B Vitamins from food as you normally do. So yes, you will more than likely be on some sort of supplementation for the rest of your life. However, the only real risk is a Vitamin deficiency, which takes several months to even occur let alone become deadly. Unless you just never take any vitamins and never get your blood checked or never bother to pay attention to your health... then it's not really that big of a risk overall.

Side effects, the Bypass has dumping syndrome if you eat things that are too high in fat or sugar. Most don't see this as a negative side effect as cutting high fat, high sugar foods is actually good for your health. So dumping can be a great "coach" or "punishment" for not eating what you should be.

The Sleeve and the Band aren't drastically different in terms of how your body handles the process, there is no adjustment to your intestines so outside of the restriction there isn't much else going on.

Overall, I'm VERY glad I decided to go for the Bypass over the Sleeve

Something else to think about, because I didn't. Your surgeon won't know the condition of the band until they get inside you. For me, I had no real issues with the band itself, outside of typical pain with certain leafy greens or harder foods getting stuck, but when the doctor got in there, my band was 100% encapsulated with scar tissue and took like 3 hours to get out, 3 times longer than it should have, I wouldn't have been able to have the sleeve even if that's what we were doing. If I was going in for the sleeve, they would have had to do 2 different surgery's, one to remove the band, then after I healed up from that, one to create the sleeve.

No matter which way you go, good luck!

[loosinit 2]

Thank you so much for your detailed responses! I am a little concerned that my surgeon did not bring the issue of scar tissue sensitivity when going from band to the sleeve. He encouraged bypass instead of the sleeve but not for that reason, I hope he is trustworthy because that issue makes sense. So you think that the increased surgery time needed to remove all of the scar tissue from the band didn't lead to a more painful recovery? I suppose since I will be under I won't know if the surgery was 1 hour or 6

[Matt Z 4,138]

8 minutes ago, loosinit said:

Thank you so much for your detailed responses! I am a little concerned that my surgeon did not bring the issue of scar tissue sensitivity when going from band to the sleeve. He encouraged bypass instead of the sleeve but not for that reason, I hope he is trustworthy because that issue makes sense. So you think that the increased surgery time needed to remove all of the scar tissue from the band didn't lead to a more painful recovery? I suppose since I will be under I won't know if the surgery was 1 hour or 6

I honestly believe the pain was less after the bypass than what I remember with the band. I was under for WAY longer than I was expecting. I went into pre-op at 0630 and it was almost 4 when I was wheeled into Recovery. I didn't know until my wife told me. Your confidence in your surgeon is paramount! If you are questioning his decisions, NEVER feel that you can't challenge or question your surgeon, You shouldn't feel like you can't ask for more information or pose the "why" questions. If he won't be open with you about what he's going to be doing, what the risks are, etc... then, personally, I would look for another surgeon. But give him the opportunity to answer, it could have been a long or hard day. I've got a pretty solid rep with my surgeon, she did my band back in 2011 and we've been back and forth over stuff enough that I really wouldn't want anyone else doing the revision. Plus, she put it in, she got to take it out, so there couldn't be any "well your last surgeon..." comments. (not that she would ever, but, you know how that goes).

Hope you find the answers you need!

[shelly420 59]

I had lap band to bypass, and had no complications or pain at all, other than when I pressed on my abdomen. I filled my post op pain meds, maybe took 4 of them, and the rest are sitting in my cupboard, I just didn't need them. I was really worried about Hair loss because while my hair looks thick, if you get it wet, it deflates to pretty much nothing. My thyroid has always reeked havoc on my hair as well, with it continually getting thick, then then, then thick.... I am 4.5month post op now, and still have not had any hair loss, except the normal amount I have always had in the shower. I did take Biotin, but haven't taken that in awhile & still no hair loss. I also have not experienced dumping syndrome, and I have eaten my fair share of sugar post op. The worst thing I get is feeling uncomfortable enough where I have to lie down for 30 minutes, after eating something I shouldn't. Perhaps I've just been lucky, but from the start I kept telling myself I wouldn't experience all those issues, and my body followed suit. The mind is a powerful thing, if you tell it something is going to happen, it will happen. AT least that has always worked for me.

[loosinit 2]

Thanks for sharing! You’re right, some things can be controlled by our perspective. Can I ask how much weight you’ve lost? Are you glad you did it?