On Monday I had my lap band removed, my hiatal hernia repaired and gastric bypass done. One night in the hospital and back home at 7:45 the next evening. Not a ton of pain but managing with gabapentin and Tylenol with oxycodone available. Right after, I felt I had eaten 3 Thanksgiving dinners, that is slowly going away. I’ve stuck to water and decaf iced tea with one Muscle Milk shake. I’ll do more shakes but preferably not those horrid BA meal replacement shakes. Staff at Fair Oaks Hospital were the most awesome group of people I’ve been with and I’m very grateful for them and my doctors.
Now I need to learn how to properly feed my new postage-stamp-sized stomach. Thanks for reading!

Congrats on your revision and glad to read that you're recovering well!

I'm waiting on my revision now. Band to bypass here too.

Best wishes!

Congratulations!

Congratulations on your revision. Glad you're recovering well.

Congratulations on your revision! That's awesome that the surgery went so well and you are managing the pain well.

I want to get my lap band removed & get the gastric bypass at the same time. The surgeon's office that I called said the doctor only does one surgery at a time. I'd have to wait to get the band removed and wait for three months before he would do the gastric bypass. I don't want to go through two surgeries and my insurance will only pay for one surgery "per lifetime".

If you don't mind sharing, what did your surgeon charge for the two procedures? I've read it can cost around 10-12k to remove the band and 20-25k for a gastric bypass. I'm sure it has to be cheaper to do both at the same time then do the two operations separately.

Thanks for any info you can provide!
Holly

7 hours ago, hollywrites2u said:

Congratulations on your revision! That's awesome that the surgery went so well and you are managing the pain well.

I want to get my lap band removed & get the gastric bypass at the same time. The surgeon's office that I called said the doctor only does one surgery at a time. I'd have to wait to get the band removed and wait for three months before he would do the gastric bypass. I don't want to go through two surgeries and my insurance will only pay for one surgery "per lifetime".

If you don't mind sharing, what did your surgeon charge for the two procedures? I've read it can cost around 10-12k to remove the band and 20-25k for a gastric bypass. I'm sure it has to be cheaper to do both at the same time then do the two operations separately.

Thanks for any info you can provide!
Holly

Hi Holly, Unfortunaely, I have no idea what the cost was because I have not seen a bill yet, nor any statement from my insurance company (Blue Cross Federal Employee Plan). I have no doubt that one longer surgery would cost less than two separate ones. In my case they discovered that there were adhesions between the band and liver and there was some scarring of the esophagus. If they weren't doing the bypass right after I'd have had to live with reflux, pain, etc. due to that not being fixed. I suggest you find a better doctor who will take care of everything at one go (NOT medical advice!!). I can post the costs once I know them.

I'm glad you found a great doctor and are able to get it all fixed! I'll update after I see the bariatric surgeon.

If my insurance won't pay anything to remove it then I'll have to learn how to manage the issues in the short term & hope the integrity of the band holds up.

Getting my revision (band to sleeve) in may and I’m so excited!!!

Hi, congrats! Is your doctor removing the band and doing the gb in one surgery?

Just wanted to post an update. I am healing well, most of the glue is off but still have some scabs but those won't last much longer. Any bloating seems to be gone so that tummy is now all me. No lifting more than 10 lb for a few weeks yet but I'm anxious to get back to the gym - I feel my muscles are in a really weak state. I started the mushies today and am having a scrambled egg for breakfast. Two ounces is less than a whole egg! I assume it will fill me up though. So far so good. Down 32 pounds since March 7.

Happy to hear that your revision is going so well! Keep it up!

Update on the cost of my surgery, maybe TMI but I think details might be helpful. I have Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Hospital - insurance paid $28,326, my copay is $350
Anesthesiologist - insurance paid $2,435, my copay is $365
Surgeon - insurance paid $3,055, my copay is $458
Assistant surgeon - insurance paid $610, my copay is $91
Total out of pocket - $1,264

This doesn't reflect doctor visits to get approval, post surgery vitamins and other relevant items I may have forgotten.