I had my operation 15 months ago and have lost 115 pounds. My band is slipped and I am having this fixed on Dec 10th. What could cause this? How dangerous is it. I am having trouble getting Medicare to cover it. Any comments? I am in Richmond Va. and it will be done at St. Mary's hospital. Thanks in advance for any input.

Bill (pigpurple)

You should look in the Band Complications Forum here. There are many posts about slippage. It can be caused by a few things like excessive PBing, busted stitches/not enough stitches, etc. It can be dangerous depending on how far the band slips. I was self-pay for mine, so I am not familiar with insurance requirements. Talk to your surgeon or an insurance rep. I hope you are healed soon and congrats on the excellent weight loss so far.

Here's the answer I found in LapBand FAQ:

There are two types of slippage; anterior and posterior. This refers to whether the front or back side of the stomach slips. There is something else called concentric pouch dilation, but this is not the same as slippage. Slippage or prolapse is when the stomach slides up through the Band, making the pouch bigger. If this happens the Band usually becomes too tight, and patients experience symptoms of reflux (heartburn) as well as nausea and vomiting. This is because the amount of stomach being “squeezed” by the Band is increased, thereby obstructing the Band.

There are several causes. Posterior slippage was more common when the Band was placed by the “perigastric” technique. With this technique the back side of the stomach was free to slide up through the Band. These days most surgeons use the “pars flaccida” technique, which was developed to prevent posterior slippage, and has more or less eliminated the incidence of this problem.

Anterior slippage is when the front of the stomach slips up through the Band. We try to prevent this by suturing the stomach below the Band to the stomach above the Band, “locking” the Band in place in the right spot. In spite of this, slippage still occurs. It can happen because we haven't placed enough stitches, or they haven't been placed in the right place. Slippage can also occur if patients eat too much and vomit frequently.

Of course, all the other sites I visited stated drinking carbonated beverages as a cause--but it may have been the "technique" your doctor used in placing your band.

My very best wishes to you......:cry