Like many other people considering the band, I am scared of the surgery. I've never been under before.

I had my surgery one week ago. It's pretty much like everyone has described. It isn't twilight; it is general anesthesia. They do start out with an IV. Speaking of which, I've had a laparoscopy before and I was concerned about getting thirsty while waiting for surgery time. I normally drink at least one liter of Water before noon and going nearly 12 hours (midnight to noon) without drinking is torture for me. I mentioned this to the coordinator ahead of time and she made sure they put an IV in as soon as I got to the hospital in the morning. I went through 2 bags (1 liter) each before surgery at 1 pm.

So, yeah, they bag up your hair and feet in disposable booties, get you on the table in your cute white stockings and gown, and put a nice strong tranquilizer into that IV. Once you're completely out of it, they intubate you (breathing tube down your throat) and that takes care of keeping you breathing without waking up. When they've finished the surgery, the anesthesia gas is turned off, and they take the tube out so you can breathe normally. Then they move you to a gurney and wheel you to the recovery room (usually next door) where they keep an eye on your breathing and start telling you to wake up. Don't be surprised if you find that annoying (Let me sleep! I'm all comfortable!) Then it's back to the room, shift yourself carefully onto the bed and start evaluating how much things hurt, would you like to suck on some crushed ice (you will have a dry mouth from not swallowing for nearly an hour), is there anything interesting on TV, and so forth.

If you want to check out what the surgery is actually like, go to this website: www.or-live.com/BrighamandWomens/1372/

I really feel comfortable doing the surgery now after watching it. Its a very easy looking procedure.

Hope this helps.

I think this was a wonderful link. I go for my pre op surgical consult tomorrow, Aug. 26th. I am going to tell Dr. Nease about the broadcast. I think seeing the procedure has made me feel better about my surgery on Monday, Aug. 29th. I am still scared, but the surgery doesn't seem to be that complicated. Sometimes, I think that I research things too much--but this is the most informative website that I have found. Thank you for telling us about it.

My surgery went about the same as everyone elses. Except for that I had absolutely no surgical pain. Just gas pain. And that too will pass. LOL!! It's a breeze. OK, I'll stop now. Good luck & let us know how it goes.