prefill band

Do bands get prefilled during surgery before they put it in u?

My buddyis banded and he said the first e months were hell for him and at his first fill appointment the doc took out 3mm.

The doc told him that had never happened to him before.

So do "prime" the band during surgery, so the patients actually start off with a few cc's. I think most Drs. do not.

Also one Dr. that I know of left 5 cc's of air in a patients band when they tested it during surgery and forgot to take it out.

Discuss with your Dr. his policy about this. Unlike your buddy though.............if you that much discomfort............don't wait a month! Let your Dr. know much sooner!

Not all doctors pre-fill lap-bands and the Realize Band recommends no fil till 6 wks post op....

I came out of surgery with a "starter" fill of 3cc (or 3mm.. both cc's and mm's are correct and measure the same amount).  I didn't have a hard time with being extremely hungry after post-op swelling went down because of the starter fill.

I did have a little bit of difficulty adjusting to only being able to take in small amounts during the immediate post-op period and when I told the nurse, she said they might have to do an unfill.   I was so tender at the port site I couldn't think of a needle going in at that time, so I learned real quick to adjust.

Every patient is different, just as every doc is different.

I had a primer fill of 3ccs at surgery.  I've always felt that it gave me an advantage becuase I felt some restriction early on.  However, a friend of mine with the same surgeon had a primer fill and was immediately too tight.  I guess that's the risk with primer fills but for me it worked great!  To this day only need 5.5cc's in my 11cc band for good restriction.

Lisa O.

Thanks everyone. I guess its just another topic for discussion with my surgeon.

Surgery date May 17, less than 3 weeks