I am posting this in the hope of reassurance that what I am experiencing is perfectly normal. My port site sticks out about an inch or so from my abdomen - just like a hernia. It is still sore around the area, but doesn't appear inflamed.

Is this the normal amount of swelling, from the surrounding tissues, I should expect? I've spoken to a couple of other bandsters and they didn't have this, so am getting a tad concerned that I will be left with a large protrusion when it all settles down - and I don't want that! :bananalama:

For information, I am 5 days post-op and I received an AP small band.

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice. Great site this. :cheers2:

You should call your doctor. This can be a sign of an abnormal infection, or it could be nothing, either way it isn't worth not calling your doctor.

Normal? Not really, from what I have read, or experienced. It sounds like an infection.

I went to the Dr's yesterday what seems to be the same concern, I was done on the 29th. Near my port I noticed swelling almost like a tennis ball was under my skin. I called the Dr's and they brought me in. They looked at it and felt that it was normal. They said some post surgery get a fuild build up that was just go away they said it could even be hard to touch. They also said that the port site will be long sore well after everything else has cured. Good news about going in early they let me start eating eggs and some pureed foods. I was sick of liquids!

Thanks both of you.

Jaffa Steve - I've just left a message at my surgeons's office. Better safe than sorry ...

eyeintheskye: Did they aspirate your swelling?

yes it could be.

am glad you called your dr Marmite_crumpet, always best to get something "out of the norm" checked as soon as possible.

my port was sticking out some, was tender & i had some issues with pain after i ate. i had several tests done & i did have a hernia right up under the port which had to be removed. when it was removed my surgeon also noticed a small infection at the port site. i went on a large round of antibiotics & last tsday an endoscope determined i was completely healed.

an infection caught early is important, as it could lead to possible erosion.

let us know what the dr says - i wish you well!

lulu

Let me add my voice to "check with your doctor". You don't want it sticking out like a hernia so even if things are fine it may need to be repositioned. It is more common for the port to be HARD to find in us overweight people. Please get it checked out! :bananalama:

I can feel my port but it isn't visible and wasn't in the days after my surgery either. Hope you managed to get yours looked at and confirmed as normal.

Sue

Wow, I have not heard of this before. What did your doctor say? You did speak to your doctor, right?

Wow, I have not heard of this before. What did your doctor say? You did speak to your doctor, right?

Not yet - office is closed until tomorrow morning, but I will chase them first thing.

You guys are freaking me out! :bananalama: I thought you'd all say it was perfectly normal. I thank you all for being concerned.

The bariatric nurse called me tonight and we discussed the "lump"(!). She said that, as long as the surrouding area is not inflamed, hot or red and as long as I feel well (i.e. no fever etc), then all sounds ok.

She said that everyone varies in the way their bodies respond to having a foreign object implanted and that the tissues around the port are swollen and need time to settle. Also that body shapes and sizes can mean that one person will notice a swelling more than another might - all depending on where and how their body fat is distributed.

I will keep an eye on it.

Thank you all again for your help and advice. :bananalama:

the nurse is right but she or the doc still hav to examine you. im sure your surgeon would want to see u right away if he hears about this complaint. u should call again when they are open.

I was banded in june 06 and did well the first 9-12 mo.'s but then stopped losing weight. I decided that I looked and felt well enough that any future weight loss was a bonus. I quit going for adjustments partially because my insurance changed and Dr. appts were not covered and finances were tight already. To make a long story short, I waited a year to go back to the Dr. who placed the band and during much of that year I reguritated my food often and felt stuck alot. It was a big mistake in waiting because I now have a band slippage and a hernia near the band. The Dr had previously sent me for an upper GI which is what revealed the hernia and slippage. He then tried to remove the saline only to find the port had possibly turned (side-ways?) and he was unable to get the needle in. I am waiting to have an x-ray to show him where to go in to the port and then he'll do so. In the mean time, needless to say, I am unable to eat much of anything but soups and feel miserable. I will need to have the band removed at some point because of the hernia, he said-or do gastric bypass. Any thoughts or advise on getting thru this would be appreciated.

I went to the Dr's yesterday what seems to be the same concern, I was done on the 29th. Near my port I noticed swelling almost like a tennis ball was under my skin. I called the Dr's and they brought me in. They looked at it and felt that it was normal. They said some post surgery get a fuild build up that was just go away they said it could even be hard to touch. They also said that the port site will be long sore well after everything else has cured. Good news about going in early they let me start eating eggs and some pureed foods. I was sick of liquids!

Mine was definitely sore for more than 4 weeks. Now its not as noticable, but I can sure feel it. Less than 2 weeks from my first fill.

I'm going through the same exact problem. My hernia was caused by the band being over filled, and constant vomiting. I too can't eat much and am physically miserable. The DR. office said the next step would be to go look at the band under fluoroscopy to see if the port has flipped over and that's the reason why the dr. couldn't enter the port. Keep me informed on what happens to you and we can compare. You're not alone on this one. It suck to feel like crap when all you want to do is get healthy!