Slipped Band!

Well I had an upper GI and it's confirmed... a slipped band with a hiatal hernia. Actually I've had the hernia since last summer. Also, my port is turned around. My problem is... My surgeon wants to perform surgery to fix it. She was quick to suggest it too. Now it's scheduled for next week. I'm nervous. Not about the surgery per-say... but that it's not NECESSARY! They tell me some emergancy situation could occur if I continued to live with a slipped band. I do know that I have chest pains all the time. LOTS of acid reflux, night time choking... all that. Apparently most of that will go away if my band is fixed... I'm wondering if anyone else has had a slipped band. Am I crazy to think my surgeon is surgery happy? The cost, I'm not worried about. My insurance will pay for the hernia. I just have to pay the co-pay. Please respond if you've been in a similar situation! thanks!

I am so sorry to hear that your band has slipped.  I was banded in 2002.  I had a similar situation, however my predominant problem was reflux which I lived with for two years.  My band doctor wanted to replace my band.  However, after much research, I learned that a new band wasn't going to fix the reflux .... I had been on protinix for 2 years with almost no fill and the reflux hadn't gotten any better.  In addition, I had an second EDG done my another doctor less than a month after my band doctor did an EDG..... my band doctor failed to tell me that my band had slipped and that I had a hiatal hernia as well.  Guess what... my band doctor only did bands... so what else is he going to tell me to do but to replace my band?  The second doctor I saw did all surgeries and confirmed that getting another band would not solve any of my problems. My advice ..... do your research and get a second opinion.  Do you know the rate of faliure for second bandings?  I can't remember the exact statistic, but I recall hearing that the rate of failure for a second banding is much higher due to the stomach just not being able to handle another band. Good luck.   Susan

Hi I had a slipped band. Question... did your dr take all the fluid out? If not, it should be!!!! I had the band fixed but I am in the process of getting things together to have DS. How has your weight loss been? ~Catherine

Hey Robin, I'm a fairly new member and was reading over your story about the slipped band.  I'm so sorry to hear about it. I know how you feel because my lap band slipped three times.  Ugh!! Do not ignore a slip under any cir****tances. Your Dr is not surgery happy.  It's so much better to be safe than sorry.  With myself after the third slip I decided I had enough.  The Dr said that a 3rd slip would mean that it would have to be removed. It could not be repositioned again.  So June 28th he removed it and now I have to wait 6 months before I can even consider doing a revision.  Why? because of all the surgeries to repair the slips.  Even then, he's not crazy about doing a revision. He wants me to be happy with the weight loss I've had (65 lbs) (I'm still 271 lbs).  I'm not happy at all and I don't want to settle.  I could still stand to lose another 85-90 lbs.  So for now I have to wait until September when we write the Ins Co. and see if they'll cover it.  This is not taken care of with self-pay by the way.

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Cathy