Has your slipped band been repositioned? Share your experience

I was very successful with my band until 2 years post-op.  I ate a piece of bread that got stuck, had a complete unfill, then was never really able to find the "sweet spot" again.  The doc had a new nurse practitioner doing fills, and she was very conservative.  Don't know if this is why I couldn't get back to the sweet spot or not.  She always said the barium wasn't moving fast enough out of my pouch, so she wouldn't five me more than a fraction of a cc. She said if she filled me too tightly, the band would slip.  Well, it slipped anyway.  I found out when I wentto get a fill in November. 

I went to a new seminar yesterday.  The old doc is now out of network.  Part of me wants to revise to the sleeve, but I am scared because of it being a newer procedure, more drastic, and permanent.  I am not sure that there is enough post op research. 

The doc in the seminar said if it was him, he would just reposition the band.  He said I might as well use the tool that I already have in me. He performs both procedures. This sounds like the easiest option, but I worry if it will be as effective the second time around.  Since I have no restriction now and am eating larger amounts of food, I am wondering if my pouch is stretched too much to make the band work.  The new doc said he is very agressive with fills. 

Please share your experiences if you have had a slipped band repositioned.  Would you recommend it?  Do you wish you would have revised?  I would appreciate your input.



 

 

Hi Sally,

Sorry you're experiencing this!

I did have a repositioning surgery and ended up having the band removed, in spite of it. I think that once a band has slipped, it's more likely to slip again. You need to think about adhesions and scar tissue with each subsequent surgery. The more adhesions, the harder it is to revise down the road, should you need to.

I don't want to tell you to revise, however, because I don't have experience with the sleeve. I just know that if I could do it over again, I would have had the band removed instead of repositioned.

Take care and I wish you the best,
Nic

Thanks, Nic.  Honest answers are exactly what I need now.  I feel like I may only have one shot at this, and I want to make the right decision.  Did you have the band removed because it slipped again?  Did it ever work right after being repositioned?

My original surgeon really screwed me up. I had extreme pain from the get-go. This surgeon ignored my complaints and I fired him and found a new, better surgeon who did emergency surgery immediately, saving my life.

BUT, the damage was done and I still had pain and complications. So, rather than having had the band repositioned, I wish I would have simply had it removed.

My experience was a bit extreme... but my band never worked, no matter what. I was simply unable to eat anything solid...and even liquids sometimes made me gag and throw up for hours. I do have a lot of adhesions from my surgeries. The last time I had a colonoscopy, it was a nightmare. I won't go into details. (You're welcome!) 

I think that you could probably have success if you had your band repositioned, but it's a 50-50 chance... and will you be worring constantly that your band will slip again? That's not a fun way to live, either. I know that the sleeve seems scary, though, too. I chose not to revise because of the extreme complications I had. I wasn't willing to chance it again. But, I know a lot of people have had great success with it... and they say that it delivers what the band promises and fails to do.

You have a difficult decision, for sure. It's a big one. But I think you're doing the right thing by asking for honest feedback.

Actually full and partial gastrectomies have been done since 1881. They are newly being used  " off label " as a WLS.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrectomy
History

The first successful gastrectomy was performed by Theodor Billroth in 1881 for cancer of the stomach.

Historically, gastrectomies were used to treat peptic ulcers.^[1] These are now usually treated with antibiotics, as it was recognized that they are usually due to Helicobacter pylori.

In the past a gastrectomy for peptic ulcer disease was often accompanied by a vagotomy, to reduce acid production. Nowadays, this problem is managed with proton pump inhibitors.

I had a slip fairly early on. I had it repositioned by a different surgeon and had a hiatal hernia repaired at the same time. I've had no further slips. I'm considered to have a mild esophageal dilation (found at my last check-up) but my surgeon felt that a partial unfill was sufficient to treat it (and I think I was a little too tight).

 Thanks, Dev.  And your band worked sufficiently after being repositioned? 

No problems! I didn't lose a great deal after that point, but I had lost pretty quickly within the first year. I've maintained +/- 75lbs lost and I'm now a bit over 6 years out. Would I like to weight less? Yes, but short of limiting myself to under 1000 calories a day I don't see how to get there. I eat 1300-1400 calories a day and get a reaonable amount of exercise, so I don't blame the band for my failure to lose more weight. I certainly never maintained weight loss before, I always ballooned up even bigger after each "diet", so I consider this a triumph for me.

 I've read over and over again that once it slips there's really not going back.  I would strongly suggest revising if it's possible.  If I could I would go to the sleeve in a heartbeat.  Personally, I would like to have no surgeries and finish my weight loss on my own.  sigh...obesity sucks.  

I wish you luck, girly.  I'm sure you'll make the best decision for you.

Hi Sally, as I replied earlier, I had my slip fixed with a surgery.  I ended up revising to the sleeve two years later.  I wish I could have just done the revision instead of fixing the slip.  My restriction was always unpredictable after that and caused a lot of problems.