Hello All,

I was banded in 2002 by Dr. Yau and have had great success losing nearly 100 lbs and have been very happy with my band.

Occasionally, over the years, I have had abdominal bloating and servere pain. I asked Dr. Yau if these symptoms could be from the band and he dismissed my fears saying that the band could not be the cause of the issue. My family doctor was unable to diagnose the issue and issisted that I should have Dr. Yau check the band. Well it all came a head and I ended up in hospital with some sort of intestinal blockage. I underwent open abdominal surgery. The staff surgeon said it was the band but Dr. Yau doesn't buy it and has been adamant that the staff surgeon was mistaken. In any case, my family doc is getting all the surgical reports and investigating for me. But as you can see, I have reason to feel scared and lost. I've recovered from the open surgery and went in today to have my fill put back (Dr. Yau removed the fill while I recovered from surgery). I told the fill tech that I was experiencing pain in my port area, and asked if I should be concerned. She said I did not need to be concerned about the port. She gave me the fill and even mentioned that there was swelling around the port. Well, my port is now very painful and visibly swollen. It's the weekend, I'm worried and don't know what to do. I don't feel I can go to hospital as they are completely lost when it comes to the band. They didn't even know how to defill me when I went in and needed an NG tube. Has anyone else had a swollen, painful port area? I don't have a fever and generally feel fine physically otherwise. Any advice would be appreciated.

Flo from Toronto

My port area hurts a bit now and then especially after them poking around trying to find it. Could it be that they manipulated it more than usual to put the fill back in? If it's not red around that area, then chances are it's not infected. I would keep an eye on it and if it keeps bothering you, why not go to Scarborough Grace, isn's that there Dr. Yau works out of and most people say they will page him if they think it's band related. In any event, if you make it through the weekend, I'd be calling TLBC first thing MOnday morning and let them know what is going on.

Thanks for the input. In the past 24 hours it has gotten red and more uncomfortable...sigh. I am going to try to make it through to monday morning and call tlbc then. If I start running a fever, I might make my way out to scarborough...though my last experience there was terrifying. I'll be sure to post the outcome should any one else have these issues. Sorry if I sounded so desparate yesterday, but frankly I was. I feel a bit better today knowing that it is most likely an infection. At least I think I know what's going on and what to expect (even if it is a horrible disapointment).

Flo from Toronto