Please Help Me Find a couple of Surgeons

After thinking this over last night I am not comfortable with my current surgeons recommendation of taking the band out.

The current surgeon that he is referring me to is a specialst in repairing hernias and who only does the Sleeve. My fear is that since he does NOT do lap bands I will wake up with no band, not because it was not doable to fix the hernia with the band intact is because this surgeon may not have an interest in keeping my band.

I have not totally ruled the Sleeve out an an option, but at this point and time, I am not ready for it, even if I have to get my band removed, I would have to do more long term research and see if fits me before I go that route.

Now I've already found a surgeon who has great reviews that does lap bands and has an excellent track record that I will meet with next week near Baltimore, MD.

His name is Dr Peter Liao

He has a over the average rating based on avvo

http://www.avvo.com/doctors/peter-liao-2623366.html

If anyone has any other lap band surgeons that are highly skilled and recommended please let me know.

Hi Nana-

I have been reading your posts for some time now- good work on your weight loss and band!  I believe that you have a very balanced approach to all of this and I am pleased to see that you are neither completely against the sleeve nor embracing it without great consideration.

Getting the hernia corrected is a priority and having qualified information is a necessity.  I do not know where you are from, but I can recommend the surgery team at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, PA.  It is a Blue Cross Center for Excellence (Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery) and The American Society for Bariatric Surgery Center for excellence and the team there (both surgical and support) have been very good and very professional.

Dr. Ku, Dr. Ceppa and Dr. Myers- all are general surgeons AND bariatric surgeons.  They will not talk you into one or the other- they inform and allow you the responsibility to decide for yourself.  I am not sure how far this is for you- but I can highly recommend their expertise.  :-)

I am a health care professional and have been for over 25 years- I am exceedingly particular about who I allow on my personal health care team- you can see from my previous posts, I do not post often- but when I find something I feel strongly about- I add my 2 cents.

Best wishes with your decision, Nana.  Good to see you are looking at this in an intelligent and balanced manner.

Susan

My surgeon pretty much removed all the saline from my band when I started complaining about the burning and shortness of breath about 6 weeks ago, but I have to tell you I still have restriction with hardly no salline, I think I still have about 1 cc in there, it's not restrictive restriction that I am feeling but I think since the hernia is present it's still giving me a since of fullness very quickly...and I've lost 10 pounds of the 50 I gained back...so having the hernia in that respect is not a bad thing..lol..

I don't think my band needs to be repositioned since there is no slippage, I really don't want the band touched if possible....

My PA works with two surgeons that onlly do bands and only do Sleeves, and he told me what I would experience IF I revised over the Sleeve, he told me that I would have that "natural stomach feeling when eating versus feeling of something getting stuck with the band when the band is fully restricted....RIGHT NOW ..I don't get stuck on nothing since I don't have much saline in my band....

And he also told me and I quote "Sleevers sure look good after wegiht loss" and that is a plus...he even mentioned that if they go in and fix the hernia and Sleeve me I would probably not experience reflux issues....he did say that since I don't have slippage or erosion that they probably could do everything at one time, since I don't have "damage" to my stomach, but he did say that there could be adhesions and if there are adhesions they would not Sleeve my stomach at the same time, they would just remove the band and rest for abouit 2 months before doing the Sleeve.

But he did tell me point blank that there is a very highly chance that I WOULD experience dumping syndrome regardless of how far they removed the stomach from plyrous since the stomach will be smaller...so that is something I that I would have to think LONG on before I decide to get the Sleeve....also my fear is that the Sleeve may not give me the same restriction that my 4cc band did....I would have to TRULY RELY on NOT BEING HUNGRY ...and from what I hear many say they still get hungry with the Sleeve...I guess it's just a personal thing......

I am rambling now and not sure which direction I should take...thanks again Lela for your advice...

Thanks Lelia...that's funny...lol, I know Dr Fielding are big lap band advocates....I am a lap band advocate too especially with my old band...lol.....

Thanks Susan for you helpful advice! I have no doubt that you are happy with your AP band! I personally think a virgin stomach will probably do much better with the AP band than someone that's already had a lap band that revises to a new band.

I am not far from Pennsylvania, my hubby is from PA and we travel up every other weekend to see his mom, so consulting with a surgeon from PA is not that far away from me. I am not too far from Harrisburg, but I live in northern MD.

My fear of getting a AP band is that it may not work for me and I still may be dealing with a hernia down the road. I am going on 8 years post op and I've NEVER had any problems with my band UP UNTIL NOW, I was too tight a few times and my pouch irriitated over 6 years ago, but that healed up quickly and it's been smoothly sailing every since, up until now.....and I still do not have slippage or erosion.

My CURRENT band has been pretty much loose for over a year now, so I think I will be able to lose weight with NO band, I had gained back 50 pounds, but I stepped on the scale this morning and I am down 10 pounds just from drinking proteins shakes most of the time and scared to eat much with this hernia...lol

My fear is regardless of which surgeon I consult with they tell me the exact same thing about they will have to remove my 4cc band in order to fix the hernia. I've NEVER KNOWN ANYONE with the old 4cc band WITH a hernia repaired and was able to keep the same band, so this may not be a doable fix as my surgeon mentioned. My current surgeon has told me that they WILL ATTEMPT to salavge and keep my old band while repairing the hernia, but if there are problems, they will have to remove the band.

But I will consult with as many surgeons/specialist as I can.....


Thanks again for your help!

 Here you go!  http://www.obesityhelp.com/find/bariatric-surgeon/VA/

Hi Nana (again!)

I just scrolled through the other posts from the past few days and read your previous post about the consult with your surgeon.

I have the newer band.  I obtained restriction that permits me to eat 1 to 11/2 cups of food per meal ( I could get tighter, but I don't want stuck episodes) Dr. Ceppa was the surgeon who did the fills and he and I reached restriction after 4 fills.  I can eat anything- just smaller quanitites. However, carbs- cookies, cake, etc- are sliders- but we all know that to be the case with this mechanism.  The band requires the discipline to plan meals, eat according the rules and exercise.  When we fail to do this, a lack of restriction may not be the causative agent in the lack of weight loss.

I am not saying that others for whom the band has not worked failed in obtaining their weight loss goal entirely because of their own actions- the band is not for everyone- even if the person has been diligent in all the rules. 

What I am saying, Nana, is that I have that new band- and although I do not have experience with the "previous model"- I have found that when I eat the prescribed quantity of food- solid protein first and limit (not eliminate) carbs, I lose weight efficiently.  It sufficiently limits the quantity while I control the quality and calories.  For me, that is what I was looking for.

So, I understand what your one surgeon said about restriction- but I needed to add my comments as well.  Trust, but verify, eh?  :-)

Take care,

Susan

I have no doubt you are happy with your band, many are happy with their AP bands, I think what my surgeon was trying to say was that it's a difference in how the older 4cc bands fit and the newer bands. Of course there were a few did not like the older 4cc bands, but overall there were hardly any oomplaints with the 4cc band compared to the newer bands.

Regardless of which band, there are going to be people that it works great for and people that are not happy with it. I think what my surgeon was saying was that since I've experiened the 4cc band and how it's designed, I may not like how the newer AP band feels, but that does not say the AP band is not great for everyone...it's just many more compaints with  it than the older bands.