Revision from Lapband to DS

Good Afternoon,  

I had Lap-Band surgery in 2009.  As with many people, initially I lost a significant % of my excess weight, however 4.5 years later I have gained almost every pound back.  I have been doing some research and it seems as though the DS may be my best alternative for revision as I have failed with restriction alone.  

While looking for a doctor, I am running into one roadblock after another.  I find myself continuously trying to be talked into being sleeved.  My insurance will cover a revision procedure, however the doctors that I have talked with state that with my BMI being 40.3/no diabetes that approval for the DS will not be granted.  I do have other comorbidities (apnea and slight high blood pressure).  

I'm looking for advice on how to move forward?  I live in the Denver area and am having a difficult time finding a surgeon that does the DS.  There was one individual (Dr. Metz) I found on the DSFacts site, however I ran into the same spiel.  Self pay is likely not a viable option, however I have reached out to Dr. Ungson as well.

 

Thank you!

Tina

 

A BMI of 40 is acceptable to be approved for DS, so fear not.  You may have to travel, though.  do you still have your band?

Hi Valerie,

I do still have my band.  I'm certainly not opposed to having to travel if that means I will not have to settle for a procedure I don't want.  

Thank you!

Tina

Had DS on 5/12/14; revision of gastric by pass; have been in & out of hospital the entire time ( basically in hospital returned home for a day or so & then right back in) could not eat/process foods or liquids at times. Returned home again yesterday and able to eat; however still feel discomfort while and after eating. Often feeling like I will vomit however it doesn't necessarily happen; feel over stuffed all the time to the point of fearing eating. Stomach becomes tight & it feels like food moves through different sections at a time; at some point foods stops and doesn't move totally through; bowel movements are not regular (sometimes back to back & other times long time before being able to go, could even be a day or so). When will stomach feel normal and not like it's separate from the rest of my body. It's like I can feel the stitches and every aspect of the surgery. Jmx0404 When will this feeling end?

Jmx04, I'm sorry you're having such a tough time of it. I'm not sure why you posted on this thread, as the OP is looking to have revision from lap band, not gastric bypass. While both are revisions, a revision from gastric bypass is a totally different operation from a revision from a lap band. Your surgeon, whoever he or she was, had to completely undo your entire gastric bypass, put your stomach and intestines back to their original state, and then convert everything to a DS. To go from lap band to DS, the surgeon only has to remove the old lap band and then do a DS. While there can be scarring around the lap band and sometimes it's very difficult to remove, most of the time it's not too bad.

It might be helpful for you to start a new thread about the operation that you had, and to also let folks know who did your surgery, though whether or not that's a factor I can't say. What I can tell you is that many people who have the surgery you had have serious complications and/or a prolonged recovery, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes people just sail on through, and I'm sorry that wasn't the case for you, but you aren't the first and won't be the last to have a rough time of it for weeks or months. You had a huge operation, and your pyloric valve was put back into play after years of disuse. And even with a virgin DS, many people have erratic BM's for a long time til their intestines adjust. So without knowing more, all I can say is to stay in touch with your surgeon and be patient. I wish I could tell you when you will feel better, but I don't know that anyone here can possibly answer that question.

Larra

Thanks for your response; actually feeling much better today, Jmx0404

Hi Tina. Check out the list of DS surgeons on www.dsfacts.com. There is a good DS surgeon in Utah.

--gina

Great, thank you for the information!

Good decision! while sleeve does have (much!) better results than lap band, it has never made sense to me for people who have not done well with a purely restrictive surgery to revise to another almost purely restrictive surgery. And your experience with various surgeons trying to talk you into a sleeve is all too common. They don't do the DS, so that are trying to persuade you to have an operation that they can do to avoid losing a paying customer...oh excuse me, I mean a patient.

Whether or not your DS will be covered depends on your insurance policy. You need to read the policy for yourself and not count on either someone at the surgeon's office or some insurance company employee who answers the phone to get it right for you. this is esp important because you need to know your coverage not just for the DS, but for a revision bariatric surgery of any kind. Some policies have a "one surgery per lifetime" clause. Whether or not that would hold up in court with the new rules of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, I don't know.

Lastly, I know of no DS surgeons in the Denver area. You will need to travel. Accept that idea now. If you can swing Dr. Ungson's fees, he would be a great option. He has an excellent reputation. Sadly, with the recent death of Dr. Aceves, there is no one else in Mexico that most of us would recommend for a DS, esp as a revision.

So get a copy of your policy, either hard copy or on-line, sort out the finances for Dr. Ungson, and let's hope something works out for you. There is another person who posts here that I will paraphrase regarding insurance denials, as she said it better than I could, and that is that just because someone tells you no doesn't mean you can't tell yourself yes. Even if you need to self-pay, it may take some time and some financial juggling, but you can find a way.

Larra

Hi Larra,

Thank you very much for the information.  My insurance policy is not available online.  I have requested a copy of it so that I can review it myself.  I do know that there is not a "one surgery per lifetime" clause.  This is good news.  

I am going to begin the search for a surgeon.  It does appear that there a number of options in the surrounding states.  Do you happen to know if out of state doctors require you to multiple in person appointments prior to the procedure in order to evaluate your specific case and order the necessary tests, or is this something that can done remotely?

Thank you!

Tina