need an answer ASAP

my dr. gibbs office called and wants me to pick a date in feburary for lapband surgery.  carrie his nurse is concerned that my bmi is too high to perform it labroscopically.  my bmi is 65 and my weith is 365 and im 5 foot 3.    anyone know how hi a bmi can be and still do a labroscopic lap band.   need and answer fast .  she is calling back tomorrow for an appt. date.  and i need to loose some in 2 weeks.  what diet do i do.  thanks.  desperate brenda in alma.

Hey, just to let you know, that my doctor, Dr. Roller, in Springdale, has done a minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Duke University, and I knok  he has put the lap band in laparoscopically on bigger patients  than you.  this surgery is a big deal for us, and you only have one good shot at this.  You should give his office a call.   479-757-3174  good luck.

Brenda, you need to ask Carrie those 2 questions.  It doesn't have anything to do with your BMI it has to do with how long the instruments are and if they can go through the abdomen to reach the stomach and surgical area.  This would apply to either the lab band or gastric bypass. You may have to prepare yourself mentally that your surgery may need to be done with an open incision. Good luck, keep us posted

http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/information/questio n.php?N=o1033499973&Search_Word=laparoscopically Also, look under the "People" topic on main page, then "Questions and Answers"  type in the key word "laparoscapically or whatever you are wanting to such.   I am sorry I have no personal information or advice.  Good Luck.

I used Dr. Baker.  I had a BMI of 53.  He told me right off the bat that he would "try" to do it lap but if he had to, he would  convert to open.   Open would be an incision the width of his hand. I ended up being ok with just the lap method, but it made me feel better knowing that if he had to do it open, it wasn't going to be a huge deal.  I had a C section in 2001 and it was awful.  I was scared that open would be like that.

I too had Dr. Gibbs do my surgery and he warned me that we may have to go open instead of lap.  I ended up having it done open and I was back at work (though tired) after two weeks.  The cesareans were MUCH worse.  I trust Dr. Gibbs totally and Carrie is always more than willing to answer your questions.  Give them another call.

Brenda, First off a diet of fluids only would help and possibly shrink your liver enough for the surgery.  Dr. Gibbs should have already had this discussion with you, don't panic, they may have to reschedule to a later date if that is the issue. AmyBeth