whats the difference. i heard it was better, but not so many Dr. will do fill. i am in N.Y.

I am looking into the Swedish Lap-Band surgery also.

I am in the Minnespolis, minnesota area & the hospital I am going to have surgery at is involved in a study. The study is so the FDA can make the surgery legal to all in the US. Right now it is not legal as far as I know at all.

There are a few hospitals in the US that are performing this study, and the surgeries for my state are going to be done in October.

The Swedish lap-band surgery is the same, there is just a slight difference in the locking mechanism & the port of the Swedish compared to the other.

Surgery is still the same, post-op is still the same, no changes.

Good luck!

I have a AMI band know as a swiss band distributed by CJ Medical of the UK. It sounds alot like what your discribing, it has a titanium port and a smaller "buckle".

I had my placed in Mexico. I'm curious if its the same one. I just had my fill with no problems.

Vera

Hi everyone. I am a candidate for the Swedish band study here in Minnesota. I just found out today that I DON'T have a hiatal hernia so I qualify! Whoo hoo. I've done some research into the differences...what I've found is that the Swedish band is made of a softer material. It's not a preformed ring like the Lap Band is. It's been used in Europe for as long as the Lap Band. One of the doctors in Mexico likes it better than the Lap Band...but because it hasn't been approved in the US there are few doctors here that are able to do fills.

I just found out that my surgery date will be October 6th. I have one week to do all the pre-surgery stuff. It will be crazy, and I'm not sure my head is going to be ready. The nice thing about the band is that you lose slow enough so your mind can wrap itself around it all.

Megan

Megan

Congratulations

Do they have a name for your band? I'm very happy with my AMI. I'm wondering if your getting the same as mine? Tell me more about the research? FYI

The AMI brochure reads:

AMI soft gastric band implant

Soft against surrounding tissue Expected to reduce the migration rate

Safety lock mechanism Opens automatically in case of extraordinary strong votiting and / or muscle spasms and therefore prevents tearing of muscular layers of the distal esophagus and / or the upper portion of the stomach wall.

Long, soft expanding neck Provides a soft, gentle, safe placement of the implant, around the posterior wall of the stomach. Reducing the chance of experiencing, unexpected small bleeding on the posterior side of the stomach!

Full Titanium Instiller Port.

Vera

Go Megan, GO Megan Go megan!!!!

Wow! You will be a banded person in less than 2 weeks. We are rooting for you!!!

By the way, the description of the AMI band sounds so sexy!!!

It reminds me of the old advertisements about the "Corinthian leather" that Ricardo Montablan used to do for a car company........

But Megan, you are probably too young to remember!!! I am an old bird!!!

Babs in TX

334/285/180

6/23/03

How Exiting Megan!!!!!

I have one week to do all the pre-surgery stuff. It will be crazy, and I'm not sure my head is going to be ready.

not to worry you will have the time after your surgery while you are healing to get adjusted before you 'get adjusted'! i think you will do great you can tell you have really been researching and loking at yourself to make sure this is right for you.

you will do great!!

Ahhh, shucks everyone...thanks for all of the cheeleading and support. I'm so glad I found a place to talk about all the various issues. You are all so awesome and I love to know that I won't be alone after having the surgery.

Here is the information from Dr. Joya in Mexico about the two (or three) different bands:

"We are not limited to only operating using the American LAP-BAND, We also have used the more internationally popular Swedish and French Bands. What is the difference between the 3 bands? Basically all 3 bands do the same job as described above. The main difference is material, feel, comfort, and durability. We have found that the Swedish Band is the softest and most flexible of the bands. Personally we prefer the Swedish band, as it provides for longer lasting fills, and the material which makes up the band is not the hard plastic used with the LAP-BAND. All 3 bands last about the same amount of time, and all 3 are fully removable. We have samples of all 3 bands in our office so that you may choose one prior to surgery. We have no problem placing any of the 3 bands, we just recommend the Swedish Band especially for those patients who are substantially overweight. (More than 100 pounds) "

from : http://www.drjoya.com/engmain.html

I sure hope I don't make anyone crazy with the idea that the Lap band isn't the greatest thing in the world. If my surgeon weren't doing the study, I'd be the first in line for the Lap band, believe me. This is just one doctor's opinion. So, there's a bit more info for the researchers out there :-).

I'll keep you all posted about my progress. Thanks again for all the support.

Megan

Please keep us updated on how things go with the Swedish band. I'm very happy that they are probably going to approve another brand of gastric band in the US, since that will hopefully bring this WLS option to the attention of more people.

Personally, I just have the good old-fashioned Inamed lap-band, but it doesn't bug me if it turns out that the Swedish band is somewhat better. After all, since the bands are all totally reversible, I *could* switch to the Swedish band a couple years from now. I think it's very comforting to know that we gastric band patients still have all our options open, whatever the future brings.

Congratulations on qualifying. I know you will do great!

How do you find out who is doing the trials for the swedish lap bands? Does anyone know? I have an appt. sceduled for Oct. 8th for initial consult but my insurance is making it harder to qualify beginning Nov. 1. I am worried I won't be able to get this surgery. I cannot afford to pay for it out of pocket.