Removal

Just out of curiosity, any estimates to what the statistics are for these complications.  Having had the lap band just done this past Wednesday, I'm shocked to read these things now.  These complications were never relayed, nor was it in any literature I saw. Is there a particular brand of Lap device that is causing the problems, or is it a method of installation or securing that might be causing the problem.  Hope to hear thoughts........

It appears to be affecting both Lap and Realize bands.  While surgical misplacement can create massive issues, even correctly placed bands can result in problems, whether or not they slip.

In my case, I ended up changing surgeons midstream for the revision in part because, despite classical symptoms, one surgeon insisted I did not have a band slip on the basis of a Upper GI she had done NPO.  If it's done NPO, you generally won't see the slip because there is nothing to demonstrate.

In my case, my body tried to reject the band and couldn't physically dislodge it from my body.  So it started enveloping it in scar tissue.  Including the inner donut portion.  My band was literally choking me slowly to death, despite being emptied.  I can't say exactly when but my band also slipped.

Like I said, I changed surgeon midstream during the revision process and switched to another surgeon who listened to what I had to say, had a competent staff and adjusted his fees for the self-pay portion of the process (my insurance paid for the band removal but not the sleeve).  What I ended up paying for the sleeve itself amounted to about what I would have to pay out of pocket anyway.

BTW, during the removal process, my port ended up being the worst due to surgical mesh.  Also covered in scar tissue.

The scar tissue throughout my digestive system was so bad that, even if the sleeve hadn't been scheduled, it would have had to been done anyway.

I'm not trying to scare you and I hope I'm not telling you more than you intended.  But you asked a question.  I'm giving you an answer.

I also hope, since you have had surgery, that you never develop problems.

In all my research prior to getting my band those things weren't being mentioned, either. There were a few people here, like Nic, that had problems but the majority of people were doing fine. More recently there have been more people having problems but many are not.

You have just been given a tool. Concrete on using it to your very best. Don't allow your surgeon to fill you too fast and don't allow your band to be too tight. Don't be afraid to get an unfill if you do get too tight, it is an emergency at that point so you should insist the surgeons office treat it as such.

You can have great success and I wish you well. Even though I had to lose my band I loved it for the 2 1/2 years I had it and lost all my weight. My life changed dramatically and I don't regret it for a second. You will beat the odds and become a long term happy bandster. Good luck on your journey. Welcome to the loser's bench.

Yes, I realize I was given a tool. And to be honest with you that's all I heard from the first surgeon. Yes, I did lose a lot of weight. I met my goal. After that, that's when ally problems began. My surgeon made me feel like it was all in my head. I went to another surgeon and guess what I was told? That A LOT of people were now experiencing the same thing I was. I was told that the lap band procedure is not being done as much as when the band first came out because of these problems. The rate for the band and sleeve used to be about 60/40. It is now about 90/10. That speaks volumes to me.

I had my surgery yesterday and guess what? All of the problems I had have disappeared. I can eat scrambled eggs and they don't get stuck. Do you have any idea how liberating that is? I don't regret for one minute deciding to have my band romoved. I wish the best of luck to anyone who decides to have the band placed. I just know that the band was not for me and I don't appreciate you making it sound as though I did something wrong.

I think she was talking to GuardianEthos.

This website does things a little differently... when you reply to a certain poster, the reply might come up looking as if it's directed at you when it's actually not. Takes a little getting used to.

I don't know where my mind was when I responded to you but I owe you an apology. I treated you as if you were a newbie and didn't know squat. I think my mind was on another post I had read on another forum. I truly am sorry.

I am happy for you that your surgery is done and you are feeling better. I agree with you that the statistics have changed dramatically in recent years. My band was placed on May 4, 2010. I lost all my weight and loved that sucker. Last spring I began getting stuck way to often. They unfilled my poor band and waited 8 weeks. When I went back I couldn't eat things that I had been with fluid in my band. One night I was too tight to eat dinner and ended up later on getting stuck on  a soggy bowl of Life cereal. At that point my surgeon told me it had to come out. My body was trying to reject it. After my revision I asked if there was much scar tissue in there and he said he was surprised but it was clean as a whistle.

I still mourn the loss of my band even though I have begun adjusting to my sleeve. You might know, though, I am one of the ones that get that "stuck" feeling easily. Yeesh!

Good luck to you and I hope your recuperation is a snap. Again, I am so sorry for my post having nothing to do with what you posted. What makes me really sad is that I wasn't at all supportive and sort of preached at you.

Please keep coming to this forum and let us know how you are doing without your band. There are plenty of people who have been where you are.

Sue

What is esophageal spasm?

Esophageal spasms are irregular, uncoordinated, and sometimes powerful contractions of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Normally, contractions of the esophagus are coordinated, moving the food through the esophagus and into the stomach.

There are two main types of esophageal spasm:

• Diffuse esophageal spasm. This type of spasm is an irregular, uncoordinated squeezing of the muscles of the esophagus. This can prevent food from reaching the stomach, leaving it stuck in the esophagus.
• THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND because many banded people think that their food is stuck due to not chewing well or they think they ate too fast.
•  
• Nutcracker esophagus. This type of spasm squeezes the esophagus in a coordinated way, the same way food is moved down the esophagus normally. But the squeezing is very strong. These contractions move food through the esophagus but can cause severe pain.
• Again, this is often explained away by band surgeons and banded patients as eating to fast and/or not chewing well enough.

You can have both types of esophageal spasm.

Check out this link and then see if your surgeon or PCP can order you this test.There is a lot of really useful links here.
 

What is achalasia?

www.medicinenet.com/achalasia/article.htm#tocb

Esophageal manometry

Another test, esophageal manometry, can demonstrate specifically the abnormalities of muscle function that are characteristic of achalasia, that is, the failure of the muscle of the esophageal body to contract with swallowing and the failure of the lower esophageal sphincter to relax. For manometry, a thin tube that measures the pressure generated by the contracting esophageal muscle is passed through the nose, down the back of the throat and into the esophagus. In a patient with achalasia, no peristaltic waves are seen in the lower half of the esophagus after swallows, and the pressure within the contracted lower esophageal sphincter does not fall with the swallow. In patients with vigorous achalasia, a strong simultaneous contraction of the muscle may be seen in the lower esophageal body. An advantage of manometry is that it can diagnose achalasia early in its course at a time at which the video-esophagram may be normal.

 

 

I had all of the above mentioned possibilities researched by my gastroenterologist. I had many test from barium swallows, endoscopy, and esophageal manometry. I started on medication for GERD because my doctor thought since the above mentioned tests didn't show anything maybe it was the GRED. Each test ruled out any problems with my esophagus and the medication did not alleviate the symptoms either. Trust me I didn't just one day wake up and decide I didn't want my band any longer. I went through almost 2 years of constant food getting stuck, no matter what I ate. I feel for myself I did what I needed to do.

It's true, we didn't just wake up one day and decide we didn't want our band!  I still want my band, the one that didn't cause me pain, gasping at night from reflux, inability to eat any fibrous foods at all....but that isn't how it turned out.  I followed directions to the letter.  Last night for the first time in 8 weeks I was awakened with the chest and back pain at 3 am....just when it seems I've figured out the GERD issue, another symptom resurfaces!  I still want my band, but it isn't looking like I'm going to get to keep it much longer!