My husband is in the military and we are stationed in Italy. I went through Tricare and they said I would go through Dr. Franco Favretti and Dr. Segato here in Vicenza Italy. They were both wonderful, very professional, they both spoke perfect English and there were no complications! I would reccomend these Dr's to anyone who is thinking of getting this surgery. The have done thousands of lap band procedures and his statistics are very very good. You can look him up on : LAP-BAND: Laparoscopic Obesity Surgery and click on surgery team in the paragraph to the right. Dr. Favretti has many American Patients. Vicenza is only about an hour from Venice, so you can come get the surgery then go see Venice!!:sneaky:

I had my surgery done by Dr. Favretti on March 7, 2008. He is wonderful and kind and has a lot of experience doing this surgery. A couple of friends have had the lap band surgery done by Dr. Favretti and both think he is wonderful. I work with the military and live in Italy.

Hi,

I'm scheduled to have surgery with this surgeon June 10th. I'm excited by scared. I don't speak Italian and wondered if there is a pharmacy close by the hospital for things like liquid aspirin.

Also, I wonderd what does he give for pain medication and how long will I stay in the hospital afterward? Did you lose any weight before the first fill? I can't fly back to the Italy until September for the 1st fill so I'm worried abou that too. I live on a little island in the Caribbean with no medical care and very few air flights in or out.

I appreciate you taking time to answer my questions.

Islandgirl

Hi! I am excited for you!!! You will do great! Here are a few pointers. If you take medicine every day, the nurses will tell you not to take them but Dr. Favretti told me to take them. So, bring a bottle of Water with you. In Italy they like to keep you in the hospital for several days. I checked in on Thursday and had let them know ahead of time that I really needed to leave on Sunday because of my kids. Normally I would have stayed until Monday.

They do not have TV's or phones in the room so bring magazines or books. Once they operate you will not get ANYTHING to eat or drink from the nurses until they remove your IV which will probably be on Sunday. So, just plan to be hungry but hey, it is well worth it. I was scared but am so glad that I did this surgery. It isn't something that works all by itself as you play an important role in it but it gives you the help you need to actually be successful. It has been 2 and 1/2 months since my surgery and I have lost 23 pounds. Remember every one is different. There are two other ladies at my school that have had this surgery done by Dr. Favretti. One lady had hers done in August and did not get a fill until this past April and she has lost over 100 pounds. I and the other lady have now had two fills. The first fill did not really help me. It was about 1.2cc. I went Saturday for my second fill and I now have a total of 3.9cc. We are both on the liquid diet for eight days but I can really, really tell a difference. This team of doctors is excellent and safe and careful. Also, do not take anything valuable to the hospital. Stealing can be a bit common. The hospital does its best to stop it but every now and then some one takes something. Please feel free to email me as often as you like and I will help you with any of your questions. :biggrin2:

Hi,

Thank you so very much for replying to my email. I wondered if you would mind giving me your direct email so that I could ask you questions outside of this public arena?

My email address is jbaumberger@gmail.com

More questions...

If I don't get to eat for 4 days won't I die??? : - ]

I've never gone that long without food. Do they let you sip on Water?

I will bring my meds. Should I bring my pill crusher too so that they go down easier? I have to take highblood pressure medication. I can't beleive the nurses wouldn't want us to have that med. Is it okay to drink water and if I sneak it will I vomit? Also, should I bring along a few cough drops to suck on for sore throat etc.?

After I get out, how will I find the kind of food I need? I will be in Italy for almost 3 weeks!!!!

Thanks for your help,

Islandgirl

I will have ALL of my luggage along because I have to fly to Rome on Saturday morning for a conference. Dr. F. told me I could leave on Friday???? My surgery is on Wednesday....what do you think is up with that? I opted to stay until Saturday morning.

I'm worried about pain. Do they give us something for pain in the IV?

When you are in the s

I was banded by these two amazing, wonderful, Dr. on the 19th of June. You really are in the best hands with these two men. They speak perfect english and took better care of me than I have ever had anywhere.

that sounds about right...i left after three days...most people have almost no pain...i have had multiple surgeries and always have more pain than most people and they do put pain medicine in the IV's. The first day was rough for me but not for my friend...she had no pain...but I always have pain with surgeries...I think it is just my body as it is consistently the same. You should be completely fine. Pain in your shoulder is normal and it goes away...there is an English speaking liaison who should come and check on you and you can ask to meet them. I would ask to meet them when you arrive and ask them to stop by and make sure you are fine. They took very good care of me and were kind.

Hi MeiQua,

Did you mean you had your surgery on June 19th of last year? Did you have terrible hunger pains? I'm surprised they don't put us on a liquid diet before surgery. I noticed in all of my readings on this website that most of the American doctors put people on a two week liquid meal plan.

Dr. F. seems very nice in his emails to me. I was very surprised when he, himself emailed me rather than a nurse.

Thanks again and I wanted to ask are you glad you had the surgery...did you lose some weight?

Islandgirl

Thanks for the encouraging words. Did you feels really hungry the days following surgery?

If I put a lock on my suitcase, should my things be safe? I'm having to bring along quite a few items due to the lenght of my time in Italy.

Also, is it very far to get to Venice if I get out of the hospital early? I'd like to see a little bit of Venice before I fly to Rome.

What really confuses me is that some people lose weight without a fill and others have to have several fills before they feel a restriction.

How was it for you?

Thanks,

Islandgirl

Hi,

And sorry to bother you again, but I leave a week from tommorow and still have so many questions. What I'm wondering "today" is what kind of clothes can I wear after the surgery. That is to say, will I be puffy in the stomach area and sore? I don't know if all that Fluid will stay in my 'cause you said the Italians like to keep us in the hospital for a few days with IV's. Also, should I bring along liquid tylenol for when I leave the hospital? Do any of the pharmacies in Rome or Venice have English speaking clerks? I tried to learn some Italian, but basically, I really suck at learning languages.

Thanks for your help,

Islandgirl

No liquid diet before surgery. Light lunch the day before then nothing till a day after surgery. They have found there is no reason for the liquid diet. They are about 10 years ahead of America in this surgery.