Having the lap band removed

Because of problems, I am going to have the lap band removed.  Had it put in about 6 years ago.  Lots of complications.  Can someone tell me what to expect in the surgery?  Does it take a long time to recover.

 

The removal part was SO much easier than the "living with the band" part! 

Recovery time depends on how much internal damage there is, I'm afraid. If there are lots of adhesions/ scar tissue, the recovery might be more difficult.

Sorry you're going through this. Feel free to join the group in my signature line. You're not alone.

 

My best to you.

Nuclear, your signature line has disappeared!!!! At any rate there  is no link there.

So sorry you are going thru this but just know you are not alone, many others have had the same problem. Good luck to you!

 

Just got mine removed on April 8th from complications of left shoulder pain and heartburn. The removal wasn't as bad as getting the band put in as far as pain. Now I have a lot of bruising, which my doctor said is a bad case. I also have a lump where the port was that my doctor said is a collection of old blood and will go away. My belly just looks a lot worse than I feel. The recovery wasn't bad at all. The pain was better than when the band was put it because I had very bad gas in my left shoulder for about 2 months after the band was put in and I haven't had barely any gas pains with this removal. I started feeling better getting up and down at about day 2 post-op removal. I started driving again today, but I didn't need to drive until now. My husband and mother did my running for me. Really my life is so much better now being able to eat normal again. I didn't revise to any other WLS, so that has been my experience so far and I am very happy with the outcome. Good luck to you! :)  

Lindsey, has your left shoulder pain resolved with band removal, I hope?

 

I'm glad you're feeling better now that the band is out. I didn't revise, either, after band removal. I just wasn't willing to risk having debilitating pain again.  It's scary, isn't it, once you go through banding? It kind of scars you in more ways than physically!

 

 

Yes my shoulder pain seems to have went away. The other night it started hurting, but then went away. That is really the only time since removal. Yes I was scared to do anything permanent & it cause problems & then nothing can be done to fix it. It really does give you a new perspective on things after the whole experience. I look at things a lot differently now. I hope you are doing well!

I do have a bad case of bruising & the lump I have where the port used to be is a collection of old blood. The doctor said it will all go away though, just takes time. I have to send him more pics next week at 2 weeks post-op. I hope it does go away or worst case scenario I will have to have that lump drained.....gross I know!

I had my band removed last August after almost 5 years. Honestly, between the band surgery, the band removal and the sleeve surgery, the band removal was the most painful. I had a lot of adhesions and scar tissue and the pain was really difficult. It took me several weeks to recover. With both the band and sleeve surgeries, I bounced back to normal rather quickly.

Good luck with everything! I hope that your removal goes smoothly and is painless.

I had my band removed 9/4/12.  I agree, it was harder with the removal but, I had a lot of damage.  They called my surgery at 9:15 and I was home by 1:30 including a 25 minute drive.  I had less problems the first 24 hours by being home instead of in the hospital like with the band.  It was more painful and recovery was about the same, only no support from the surgery center that time.

The sleeve was the easiest of the three surgeries, even with the extra 45 minutes to fix the mess still left from the band.