I went in for a fill yesterday & was told that I have a 3cc band & that I now have a total of 2.5cc in. I haven't heard of a 3cc band. Has anyone else? I don't really feel more restriction but I am finally getting the "full" feeling. Praise God!! I am being good & drinking a protein shake that I made in my personal mixer (thanks DeLarla!) right now.

nope I have never heard of it & to top it of cc ususal refers to the amount of saline NOT The size of the band. CM is typically refering to the size of the band. Looks like a mis-communication to me. I would talk with them again.

Congrats on the feeling full part- its wonderful isn't it? :0)

He meant that my band would hold a total of 3 ccs when full. LOL! It was just bad typing on my part.

Jessie, do you have an Inamed band? The smallest one they make holds a max of 4ccs. You might want to get clarification on that.

Yes it is an inamed band. I thought that the smallest was only 4cc. I think you are right. I will call his office & get clarification. Thanks Alexandra!

There are two issues here:

1) Band size

2) Fill volume

There are three sizes of Inamed Lap Bands. As I understand it, the size refers to the inner diameter of the band.

The 3 band sizes as per Inamed are 9.75 cm, 10.0 cm, and the VG (the Vanguard, which I believe is 11cm, but all the reps call it VG, no-one calls it the '11')

Fill volume:

The 9.75 and 10 cm bands can hold a maximum of about 4cc of saline.

The VG holds a max of about 10 cc of saline.

In medical circles I've always heard the Lap Band referred to by its size. For example, today in the OR we used "two 10's and one 9.75."

Thanks Dr. Hekier! I know for sure that I do not have the VG band because I overheard his conversation when he called his office to confirm which band I had. It must have been the 9.75. I still don't understand why he thinks it can hold only 3ccs. I kind of freaked when he told me that. Anyway, it is nice to know we have a doc on here watching out for us! Thanks again!...........Jess

Dr. Ron Hekier I am sitting here reading my release papers and It states that

I received a Inamed 9.75 cm Lapband (5cc balloon) it goes on to say how many stitches he used. What I'm saying is he went into great detail on what he did and how he did it. So are you telling me that the 5cc balloon is incorrect.

Nickie you might want to start a new thread to really get his attention. I'm curious to know what he says about your question too.......Jess

Dr. Ron Hekier I am sitting here reading my release papers and It states that

I received a Inamed 9.75 cm Lapband (5cc balloon) it goes on to say how many stitches he used. What I'm saying is he went into great detail on what he did and how he did it. So are you telling me that the 5cc balloon is incorrect.

Nickie,

From the information I have from Inamed, for a 9.75 cm band the maximum fill volume is considered to be 4cc. Perhaps you can stretch it a bit to 5cc, but per the Inamed material that I have, for the 9.75 and 10.0 cm Lap band, 4cc is considered the maximum.

The inner balloon is rather sturdy, and I think it would be hard to 'pop' the balloon if you got a fill a bit past 4 cc.

I would suspect with a 9.75 cm band you would not need to get a fill past 4cc. In fact I wonder if there is anyone on this board who has a 9.75 Lap Band and has been filled to 4cc and is not receiving good results?

From a thread on this board in 2004, I found the following link.

http://www.gisurgery.net/OverviewObesityBariatricSurgery.pdf

It is a link to a paper by Dr. Paul O'Brien, an Australian surgeon who has probably placed more Lap Bands than anyone in the world. (Around 2500 when I attended a training course with him nearly two years ago.) I draw your attention to figure 3 on page 3 of the article. Notice the comparison of area within the band (i.e. stoma size) for the 3 Lap Bands depending on the amount of saline added, and that for the 9.75 and 10 cm bands the graph stops at 4cc. This graph in Dr. O'Brien's paper is an extrapolation of a bar graph I have seen from Inamed, the manufacturer of the Lap Band.

Thanks Dr. Hekier, it is great to have you on LBT. I know your personal opinions will be both welcomed and appreciated here.

I don't have a 9.75 band but I have a BioEnterics Inamed LAGB 11.0cm Adjustable Gastric Band. Inamed Catalog # B-20230. It also says CAUTION: The the maximum fill volume of the 11cm band is 9cc.

Inside the book right above the informtion for the 11cm band is the information for the Vanguard Band. It has the same CAUTION: statement but says the maximum fill for the Vanguard band is 10cc.

I wonder of the 11cm band came out after the Vanguard band? I got all this information from the book my surgeon sent home with me to give to my aftercare Doctor. I can't find a publication date on it.

Thanks Dr. Hekier, it is great to have you on LBT. I know your personal opinions will be both welcomed and appreciated here.

I don't have a 9.75 band but I have a BioEnterics Inamed LAGB 11.0cm Adjustable Gastric Band. Inamed Catalog # B-20230. It also says CAUTION: The the maximum fill volume of the 11cm band is 9cc.

Inside the book right above the informtion for the 11cm band is the information for the Vanguard Band. It has the same CAUTION: statement but says the maximum fill for the Vanguard band is 10cc.

I wonder of the 11cm band came out after the Vanguard band? I got all this information from the book my surgeon ssent home with me to give to my aftercare Doctor. I can't find a publication date on it.

The 11 cm band is the VG also known as Vanguard. My info says 10cc is the maximum but I wouldn't dwell on it.

I think for most people the maximum fill volume is not an issue as you won't need to get near the maximum to have good results.

Another thing interesting to me is that in this instruction book under Band Preparation it has the same instructions for the 9.75, 10 cm and Vanguard Band, but has different instructions for the 11 cm Band.<O:p</O:p

I am just curious, I haven’t even had my first fill yet.<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

Thanks for the information. I am glad to know that when there is reference to the Vanguard band that is me.

Thanks!

The 11 cm band is the VG also known as Vanguard. My info says 10cc is the maximum but I wouldn't dwell on it.

I think for most people the maximum fill volume is not an issue as you won't need to get near the maximum to have good results.

Thank you for the article! There was a lot of good info there.

LOL I really get a kick out of the "disclaimer". But smart guy!