Step Daughter's misery with Slimband

I am a happy and successful patient of Dr. Yaus (spelling?) at Slimband but my step-daughter, sadly is another story. She lives in B.C. and that seems to be the problem. From day one her band had slipped and the two fills that were attempted did not succeed. It appears that Slimband only rectifies the errors at the patient's expense. She has been told it can be redone but she must pay to get to Toronto, hotels etc., while at the time of surgery she was told that all post op care would be handled in Vancouver area. Not so it seems. It has been TWO years since her surgery... not a pound has been lost... the fills have not happened and she has had noting but grief from Slimband. I could not and would not ever recommend them again unless they pull up their socks and come through for my step-daughter. Has anyone had success with legal action against this company? It may be the only option. $16,000 is too high a price to pay for a total failure.  Thanks for listening and any help you can offer.

On July 2, 2014 at 5:01 PM Pacific Time, Torview wrote:

I am a happy and successful patient of Dr. Yaus (spelling?) at Slimband but my step-daughter, sadly is another story. She lives in B.C. and that seems to be the problem. From day one her band had slipped and the two fills that were attempted did not succeed. It appears that Slimband only rectifies the errors at the patient's expense. She has been told it can be redone but she must pay to get to Toronto, hotels etc., while at the time of surgery she was told that all post op care would be handled in Vancouver area. Not so it seems. It has been TWO years since her surgery... not a pound has been lost... the fills have not happened and she has had noting but grief from Slimband. I could not and would not ever recommend them again unless they pull up their socks and come through for my step-daughter. Has anyone had success with legal action against this company? It may be the only option. $16,000 is too high a price to pay for a total failure.  Thanks for listening and any help you can offer.

This doesn't make sense. Her band slipped from day one? You mean it wasn't put in properly? How did she find out? I assume she couldn't eat or swallow, so did they not keep her in hospital? If the fills couldn't be done, presumably at about six weeks post-op, why wasn't something done immediately? She can't have lived with a slipped band for two years. And if she hasn't lost weight, she must be eating! Can she only eat soft, slider foods?

If her band slipped immediately, why has she waited two years to talk of suing them? I guess most companies are not going to repair things without charge two years down the line but I am sure US (and Canadian?) laws are just as strict as ours in the UK if the surgery was botched. 

 Not trying to be negative! Just don't understand!

My error!!! Not slipped.. should have read FLIPPED... the first attempt at a fill was out west by an MD new to the procedure. He struggled and struggled and thought perhaps (his words) that he had managed a fill. It is a long tiresome story but essentially each time (I think there were two more) the same result and last week the MD said that definitely, it did not go it, the band had rotated and the Company would be notified. I believe the word she has received is an ultra sound is to be next (on her nickle???) etc etc. I just wonder what, if any recourse she might have and how one can make sure these things don't happen to other unsuspecting souls. $16,000 is a huge chunk of change for NO results. She can still eat for all of Canada!

So the band is OK but the port has flipped? If this was clear at the first fill,the company was very remiss in not dealing with it then!  

And now the band has "rotated"?  So has it become totally unattached? 

I am still very confused!  But at two years post-op, I don't think you are going to get far with getting any satisfaction from them. But doesn't Canada have a nationalised health service? Would they step in to remove it? 

I THINK, the band itself is in position it is the port that has flipped so it is not causing her any distress but not getting any fills is. If that could be rectified she should be back on track. Two years is too long, but this is partially her fault as she didn't make enough noise to get this scene rectified. Fingers are crossed that Slimband will in fact come through as they should. Yes, B.C. health system would no doubt remove the band if it was causing problems, but it is not so the hope is that might work as it should. Many thanks for your emails on the subject.

I'm assuming the slimband is similar to the lapband?  I had a failed lapband and I belong to a few failed lapband groups.  My understanding is that you cannot sue the doctor for malpractice and it is very difficult to sue the manufacturers.

If I were her, I WOULD NOT replace the slimband.  That hasn't worked for many people I know who got their lapbands replaced.  I would fight insurance to get it removed and possibly revise to another surgery.  Good luck.

Yes, Slimband is the company in Toronto that did the lapband. Getting it replaced via our health care plan is not an option as she is not sufficiently overweight nor does she have the lengthy time available for the wait list. the lapband works perfectly for me and since $16,000 has already been invested it seems a pity that the Slimband organization disregards the aftercare... takes your money and runs so to speak!!

Ok, so I think I understand what you are saying.  Your daughter's port has flipped and the doctor thought he got the fill in but evidently not? I hope I understood it right.  Please don't think I am attacking you as I am not.  But here are my thoughts/questions:

I do not believe the syringe could get into the port if it was flipped because the backside is solid, it doesn't have holes in it like the top side. In that case, the doctor would know immediately nothing is going in, IF he knew what he was doing (or she) 

Then you say she is not sufficiently overweight and does not have the lengthy time available for the wait list?  Why not?  What else is she going to do?

It sounds to me like our poor daughter didn't have a clear understanding of either the band or the surgery and went ahead to do it so she could lose weight.  But, for some reason, she lost no weight in 2 years and is trying to figure out what happened, what went wrong.

Please do your daughter a favor...get her to someone who knows what the heck they are doing what they are saying and how much of it the patient (your daughter) is understanding of it all.  It sounds like poor communication on both sides and she should not do ANYTHING more until #1 she KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY.  #2 SHE CAN GET TO A SURGEON WHO IS EXPERIENCED, and can be sure your daughter has full comprehension of what happened, why and what she can do about it.

It needs to be corrected for sure and Kate was trying to get the right information from you.  I don't know about Canada, as you were asking Kate, but in the states, this isn't normal procedure.