Hello. I’m new to this forum. Got a lapband in 2011. Overall it’s been successful. Starting weight was 255, I now weigh 198. My weight is stable.

But…. I am now having a large amount of reflux and nighttime coughing. I’m worried about my esophagus and I am starting to consider revision surgery.

But… my BMI is now 33. Which is great, except I’m discovering that is too low to qualify for revision surgery through insurance. But if I get the lapband taken out without any other help, the weight will not stay off. And I’d much prefer to just have one surgery instead of two.

I’m only about 6 lbs under my insurance’s minimum BMI of 35. What do people do in this case? Wear ankle weights to the doctor? Just try to gain the 6lbs through milkshakes? Any advice appreciated.

In general, if the surgery is to treat a complication, then it is not considered a weight loss procedure, but a procedure to treat that complication, so the basic WLS rules don't apply (including the "one WLS per lifetime" rule that some insurance imposes.) It's mostly a matter of how it is coded in the billing department, but the surgeon and his staff should be able to handle this. If not, find a different surgeon who can.

Good luck,

I got my lapband in 2012 and got down to 206 from a high of 293. When I complained about my horrendous reflux the doctor took the fluid out of the band. The reflux eased up but I put on 50 pounds very quickly. I am in the process of qualifying for revision surgery. Federal BCBS requires the whole program again to qualify for the revision to bypass. In my case the revision is totally considered bariatric surgery.