Are You Having Troubles With Your Lapband Leaking?

Please post if you're having issues with your Lapband leaking and what is being told to you by the medical staff to resolve the issue.

Are you losing fluid from the port? A rash will develop around the port if its leaking and the skin will get hard.

Is your band not staying inflated after you had a fill? If not, then there is an issue either with the port, hose, or band.

Have you been given an option to use a different type of saline that is thicker?

These questions are being asked because I know of three people locally who are having issues. One person had to pay out of pocket to have the port replaced at $3000.00.

In the last few weeks I have received about 10cc on top of the 10cc that was alreay in the band but had to have leaked out. I appear to be full the day of and day after the fill, then all hell breaks out. No restriction and can eat anything and large amounts.

Hope to learn more in the morning.

I have had absolutely no problems with my band.

I am not losing fluid.

Staying full?  What does that mean?  Do you mean, is my band full of fluid?  Or do you mean, do I feel full when I eat?  It took a couple of fills for me to achieve good restriction.  Then as I lost weight and the fat around my stomach shrank, my band loosened and I needed more fill.  That is entirely normal.  Adjustability is one of the beauties of the band.

My doctor is Alex Argotte of Paducah, KY.  Not that that helps y'all in AZ, but someone posted a link to this thread on the lap-band forum, and I'm responding to that.

My surgeon's PA did one fill, my surgeon has done the rest.

What do you mean, what is being told to me by medical staff?  About what?

Why are you posting this?  Are you having problems?  If so, what?  Are you gathering info for a class-action suit?

Jean

I have not had any problems with my band, an AP 4cc band.  I have great restriction after 2 fills, my last one was in March.  Unfortunately, band leaks are a rare but possible complication.  Hopefully your surgeon is discussing this with you, and has ways to help find if/where the leak is.  The fluid they use for fills is supposed to be sterile saline, therefore if it leaks into your skin or tissues inside around your stomach, it will be easily absorbed.  It's absolutely harmless to your system.  Good luck, I hope you get your problem straightened out!

No problems here at our house with my band or my husband's...both are providing awesome restriction at their current fill levels and we are shrinking right along.  Hubby has been banded for over 2 years and I've had mine 14 months.

Hope you get your issues resolved.

I am one of the unusual ones...I had my first surgery on 7-25-07 and my second surgery on 5-14-08.  Why...my band starting leaking in February.  I would get a fill and a few days later, not be able to tell I had any restriction.  I did fine until February but then I started vomiting horribly, couldn't even eat soup.  Went in to get checked and they released some of the fill.  Right after that, it was all gone.  I did about three fills and a couple days later it would be gone.  When I would go back in, they wouldn't even get a drop back out.  So, they did a die test but couldn't find the leak so figured it was a slow leak and the die didn't have time to work out.  They can't leave the die in long or it will dry and clog up your band. 

So, after some fancy footwork on my doctor and his nurse's part, LapBand paid for me to have another surgery in May.  I have started over at ground level.  The good thing is I maintained while I had no restriction.  I am not loosing as fast this time around as I did the first time and have had fills a lot sooner the first time.  But, I think I am at a good spot now and ready to get back on the looser's bench.

So, if someone asks me if I would do it again, I say HECK YAH!  I DID!!! 

Jennifer

I work with a woman that had a band put in back in March or April.  She said she has a new band that is a 10cc band.  She said she is already up to 7cc and feels no restriction.  She has only lost 25 pounds and is very frustrated.  Could this be what is happening with her???  I don't really know what to do to help her. 

I did have a leak at the port site and had to have a second surgery last month to replace the port.  I havn't lost any weight since March and since having the new port I have great restriction but still no weight loss (not sure why considering I can't even eat until after 7 pm because I'm to tight).   My insurance approved the second surgery and it looks like they are paying the hosptial billed about $5000.00 so far but the insurance company is only approving about $1800.00 of that.   

I believe my lea****ured with my first fill because I remember my doctor had a hard time finding the port and poked me many times (it hurt) and restriction would only  last a couple of days.

I did not have a rash around the port site.

After 10 months and about 12 fills, the dr decided I need my port replaced.

During the last fill, where I was supposed to already have 3.75cc in my 4cc band, I was down to 2cc.

She took all of it out and put back in 3.5cc. As soon as she took the needle out, the saline started coming up through my skin.

If it were just oil! She has ALWAY**** the port directly at each fill, so I know she has not poked the tubing.

Even though my insurance will pay for the replacement, I'd like to keep in touch with you about this.

I did have a port replacement. I have restriction now of which I never had. The first few weeks after the replacement I kept thinking the port was not the issue due to the amount of fluid I was losing prior to the replacement. The Dr. mentioned during the replacement that the port was leaking but very little. This got me thinking if it was leaking very little then where did all the saline go that was placed into the band.

It was not until 16 days after the replacement that I received my second fill that the band came to life. During the replacement I received 5cc in the band but I had very little restriction. Next I received 3cc and was so tight I could not even keep water down. Back to the Dr. I went and had 1cc removed. I am tight as I cannot even eat but a few ounces at a time or it’s coming up.

I have reach the point of my 70 lb. weight loss I had reached before the replacement and now hope to continue moving forward to my goal.