Is Lap Band surgery offered via Laparscopy in Nova Scotia, Canada?

Hi,

I'm 42 yrs old and have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two years ago. My sugars have been extremely high (42) and I am taking Metformin 2 tabs, twice a day. I don't want to go on insulin.......I am 5'7 and weigh 258lbs. I have taken off about 40 lbs over the past 3yrs but hold alot of fat in my tummy area and this is the area that just won't get smaller. I may have to consider surgery and have been hearing how successful the gastric bypass via laparscopy is with regards to treating and curing Type 2 Diabetes. I have read the criteria and I do qualify. I have lost over 100 lbs before and was so unhappy with all that extra skin....and now i"m 20yrs older so I am not sure I want the slack skin.....I really would rather be fat as sick as that sounds. But having diabetes is now forcing me to reconsider my frame of mind. Can anyone help me with a question I have? I am living in Nova Scotia, Canada and was wondering if any lap band surgeons were here and if so do they perform the surgery via laparascopy?

Thanks so much,
Rose

Sure there are clinics in NS that do lapband.  I simply googled "lap band in nova scotia" and came up with a bunch of links.  Also look under the "Go Local" forums for postings from Nova Scotia - there's probably some help there.

I'm 57 also and was pre-diabetic before being banded in Feb. 2010.  I also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and arthritis in my right knee.  It's aaaaaall gone and just last week my lovely doctor (my PCP) smiled and called me "the poster child for good health".

If you're addicted to carbs sweet stuff (like I was), then you are going to have to give it up no matter what WLS you have.  I will say that the people I've met who've had RNY are a whole lot unhealthier-looking than the lapbanders I know - all that malabsorption has got to take its toll.

As for the skin and sagging tummy - what?  You'd rather have that skin filled out nice and firmly by 100 extra pounds of fat?  Really?  I've got the tummy flap happening myself these days and couldn't care less.  I've also got my waist back and I'm healthier and happier than I've ever been.  I put on some Spanx and nobody knows what's hangin under my form-fitting skirts.  Go back to being 300lbs just to avoid some loose skin?  No thanks.

FYI there is an NS & NB forum.
There are surgeries offered in Halifax but I don't think the lap-band is offered. For the band, you have to be referred to one of the 2 NB doctors- Dr Beausoliel in Moncton & Dr Savoie in Bathurst. The down side is the long, long waiting lists. The wait for Dr B is 5 to 7 years. Dr S's list is said to be 2-3 years long, but I don't believe it. Dr S has taken people from Dr B to shorten his list, thus extending his wait period. I don't know how active the NS forum is, but someone there would be your best source of information.

To answer your question - any doctor that does the LAPBand should be doing it laprascopically. (that is what the name stands for Laprascopic Adjustible Gastric Band or LapBand). If a doctor is doing the LapBand as an open surgery he shouldn't be operating on people for more than one reason. Either the patient is to big in which case putting in the band is a disservice to the patient, the doctor doesn't have the right tools or maybe doesn't have the little skill banding takes, either way I would run from a doctor doing the band in an open procedure.

Good luck