After Care With The Lap Band - Clinics Need to Step Up

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to pop on here and share my recent story in the hopes that it will help either someone going through what I went through OR to help guide anyone looking to get a lapband. Let me start by saying that the lap band is an amazing tool. I was banded 4 years ago at a well known clinic in downtown Toronto. The band helped me lose 97 pounds, I met a wonderful man who I married and gained a lot of confidence. Prior to making the decision to be banded I researched everything I could about the band. How it works, how the surgery works, sucess stories etc. What I failed to do was research the after care that is available at the clinic you choose. Clinics love sucess stories, but when things fail with the band, that's the true test if you chose the right place or not. I'll try to make this long story short: 6 weeks ago I began having upper abdominal pain. I knew it was the band as the pain felt similar to when I was healing from being banded. I contacted the clinic and tried to see the surgeon. This is when my nightmare began. I couldn't get a proper response from the clinic. I couldn't get assistance from the surgeon, 5 hospital visits to deal with the pain and find out what was going on with me, multiple pages to the surgeon from the ER docs at the hospitals and still assistance was very minimal. An endoscopy at the last hospital finally discovered my band had eroded into my stomach. The surgeon from the clinic would not remove the band until it was eroded 50% into my stomach (it was at 25%) so they could remove it using a new tool they had purchased. I begged and pleaded as I was in so much pain and constantly on pain killers (it was affecting my life, my work, pretty much everything). No dice. They sent me on my way. My family doc suggested I seek some other opinions as she was concerned about more critical risks to leaving the eroded band in place to erode even further. I went to see a surgeon she recommended and I also found Dr. Cobourn at the Plastic Surgery Clinic in Mississauga. Both surgeons recommended I have the band out immediately. I began working with Dr. Cobourn as he had a lot of experience placing, removing etc lap bands. He was so amazing! He explained everything to me, what would be done, healing time and confirmed that if I indeed wanted another band in 4-6 months I'd be able to get one. He checked me into the Mississauga hospital and within a few days of seeing him my band was out and I'm on the road to recovery. If I had seen Dr. Cobourn first, I would've had this dealt with in a week instead of being in pain for 6 weeks and not knowing what was going on with me. In my dealings with Dr. Cobourn and his clinic (which I was not a paying customer but they helped me anyways) I now know how critical it is to make sure the clinic you choose provides you with full support both for living with the band but also for when things don't always work out with the band. I was basically left in limbo for 6 weeks and had to go to another clinic to get treated. I'm just thankful I found Dr. Cobourn, thankful that he was a doctor that actually cared more about the person than the money and thankful that he helped me. I do not want to discourage anyone from getting a lap band. I'm an odd case and it's not that common to have the band erode. A lap band does work and I'm proof of that. What I do want to do is encourage you to choose the right clinic and make sure you know what aftercare is provided so you don't have to go through what i went through. It's a very scary thing to be in pain and be constantly turned away.

WOW sounds like your first doc needs a letter of reprimand from your insurance or at least a complaint filed against him. He wanted your stomach 50% damaged ( so he could use his new toy) instead of 25% damaged...ummm yeah makes sence.
Believe it or not errosion is more common than you think.
Aftercare is the MOST important thing along with patient education with the band.
My band clinic ( Stanford) would not see me when I was throwing up blood because "it wasn't band day" to make matter worse they were 4 hours away with trafic.
I am so glad you found a caring doc and you had a primary that cared also !!! this all could have turned out much worse !!!

Hi JUST JUNQUIES - so sorry you had a bad experience as well. I agree 100% with you. I now know how important the after care is and in dealing with the SWLC clinic for a very short period of time (and as an unpaying customer too) I realized just how much after care I've missed out on with the original clinic I went too. It was honestly terrifying!  And I agree, it could've taken a real turn for the worse if I hadn't found Dr. Cobourn.  It's been 1 week after surgery and I'm feeling a lot better so I'm hopeful for a speedy recovery. Hope all stays well with you. Thanks for your reply!   

I agree with you fully. What you experienced is nearly criminal. An eroded band can cause permanent damage as well as life threatening infection.

If I were you I wouldn't consider another band but another proceedure. For some complications from their band can cause another one to create problems, too. Talk with your surgeon about all options.

Good luck to you

Thanks so much for your reply grannymedic1.  What procedure do you have?

Oh Nancy, I am sorry to hear about your experience!  I remember when I was searching for the right surgeon to do my band I had a bad feeling about the clinic you are referring to and I am so glad I chose not to go there.  You are so right about after care being the key to success.  I don't even want to imaging the pain you would have had to go thru waiting for your band to erode to 50% (or how your health would have been affected)!  This makes me very angry that after discovering your band erosion he wanted to wait longer to remove it! 

so sorry to hear what you have gone through.  I went for a consultation at the clinic you got your band from I was not impressed with them and actually told them that.

The next day I had a consultation with Dr. Cobourn and the experience was totally different! I have heard nothing but good things about him and after talking to him I can see why.

He will be doing my surgery later this fall.

I am so sorry so many of you had problems with aftercare.

I must admit I have a gem of a doctor.  He answers his calls 24 hours a day. You leave a message and he calls you back.  He met my friend on a Sunday at his office..

I actually switched from one of the, what do they call them, appoved hospitals(?) to my current doctor three days before my surgery because of the care I  had seen taken of patients at both places.  I think this is especially important with the lapband.

Please go to their support groups before you have your surgey done. You learn a lot. Talk to people before and after and find out how long you have to wait for fills, who is doing the fills, (my doctor is the only one that does fills) what is actually included and for how long , things like that.  Was the doctor responsive if you thought you had problems.  It seemed no one was hesitate to talk at either place, good or bad.

I know this does not address your problem but I felt it fit in here.  I am so glad that you got the treatment that you deserved all along.  I am just so sorry you had to wait to find someone that cared enough to do it.