Hello..

I have been reading ALOT..and the only thing I cant seem to understand is how do you know the size band you need.. I see some have a 4cc band and others talk about a 10 and 12cc band.. I dont get it?? I want to have some info about this to talk to my doctor about. OR is it just up to the doctor?? Any info on this would help ALOT it really is the only part I am not understanding of this whole lap band thing.

Thanks.

My understanding is that it is up to your doctor. The way it was explained to me was that they do not know what size they will put in you until they do the surgery. It is based on the size of your stomach (internally) and the surrounding fat. My surgeon said he has some patients that come in with a lot of belly fat from the outside, but when he gets in there is relatively little on the organs, or vice versa.

I hope this helps!

Yep, that's basically what my doctor told me as well. I needed a 14cc band because I had a lot of fat around my stomach.

It basically all boils down to which band the doctor and/or hospital is using at the time; it's all a huge marketing ploy. I have the original Inamed LapBand system and was banded in March 2007. I don't think there are many people on here with this original band. The newest trend is the Realize band and that is what most people are getting.

PS - The original Lapband comes in three sizes: 9.75 cm, 10 cm and 11 cm. Regardless of the size of each of these, they all hold a maximum of 4cc's of saline. I believe the Realize band only comes in one size, but can be filled up to 12 c'cs of saline. Regardless of which SIZE of band you have, the particular BRAND of lapband your doctor uses all depends on which company has a bigger advertising/marketing campaign with him.

There are a couple of slight differences between the original Lapband and the Realize band:

Lapband: port is sewn/stitched onto the abdomen wall, where as the Realize band clamps down like a claw.

Realize band is taller and covers about 10 CM more of the stoma than the Lapband does. I also believe the buckle on the Realize band completely wraps around and snaps differently than the original Lapband.

Edited July 5, 200818 yr by zengirl227
omission

I just went in for my first fill and was curious as to the size of my band and asked my doctor. He said the Realize Band (which is the one I have) is a "one size fits all type of band. Also, just an added note, he said the ports are much deeper in the skin so more comfortable. While I have nothing to compare it to, I have to say my port is really unoticable so thats a plus! :thumbup:

I also have the Realize, and it is one size, 9 cc's, I hadn't heard though that it could hold up to 12 cc's, that'd be cool. Also, Zengirl, I think you might have meant it is 1 cm taller, 10 cm would be about 5", and yes, the doc told me it has a smaller buckle, and a port that can't flip, I thought it was attached to the band differently, but they could have meant the claw, which is another good thing.

The band size is determined by your physician when he operates on you. The band size that is right for you is the one you will get. You do not get to vote on it or have a say in it nor should you. They put in what they know to be best for you and then you work with that. Later you will not notice nor care about what size band you have! It's not even a conversation or a thought once it's done.

Some of the online impressions you get will not be right for you nor true in your case. For example, my doctor insisted that I spend one night in the hospital, the night after the surgery, and initially I thought that that was just a bit overdone after reading all the stuff online about how easy this was. Once I was in the situation I was darn glad I stayed overnight where they could give me medication instantly for nausea and headache! The following day I was great, but having medical professionals around for the first 24 hours was a good thing. This is a major, life changing event. All for the good, but it's a big deal, this surgery. They keep you very comfortable but there is recovery involved and probably about 6 to 7 days after it you feel closer to normal than at first.

Good luck!

:thumbup:Thank you everyone for the info. I TOTALLY miss understood as I read the post on this website. I thought that it would have to know what I wanted when I saw my doctor.

Thanks everyone for your help.

You are so cute! The doctors are very bossy when it comes to this surgery so many things are well out of your hands. Just carefully follow what they tell you and all will be well! Best of luck to you!