Hospital stay for band to sleeve???

Anyone know what the hospital stay is for revision from band to sleeve?  My band was just a 24 hour stay.  I had an upper GI and was unfilled after a forceful vomiting episode in the middle of the night.  I went into the surgeon's office today expecting to have my band refilled.  The radiologist's report said that my band looked fine, no slip, but I took the films into the docs today per their order.  After Dr. S looked at the upper GI films he said, "Nope no fill, we need to get you scheduled for surgery, you have a major slip."  He asked if I wanted my band removed!  I told him I cannot live without it or some kind of restrictive surgery.  So, he will go in and try to pull my stomach back down and resuture it and if necessary he will also resection it like the sleeve surgery.  He said my insurance won't pay for the sleeve as a revision, but they would pay if once he's in there he can't repair the slip.  When he told me this he got a look on his face and said, "do you get what I mean by that?"  So I think that I'm probably going to be getting a revision.  At this point I am waiting to get a call from his office for a surgery date.  Concerned about my hospital stay because I am nursing my 5 month old.

Heather,
I hope everything goes ok!!! I'll be thinking about you!!! How do you feel about the sleeve? I hear it's the latest and greatest, but because it's only about 5 years old, insurance companies won't pay yet. Not enough research on it apparentley. What I have read is that it's very successful. My surgeon tried to get me to do it, but insurance will only cover band or gastric, so I went with the band. I hear weight loss is better with the sleeve too, so there are some positives to this. Keep me posted, just wanted to let you know that I'm thinkin about ya!

 

Nikki

Hey Nikki!  We were just in Thurmont on Sunday at YOU KNOW WHERE!  LOL  I feel GREAT about the sleeve.  My insurance will not pay for it as a wls either, but if the doc cannot fix the slip properly he said he'd do a resection like the sleeve....I think that he'll do some creative insurance coding.  I've read about it.  Since this is medically necessary surgery to correct a problem it should be fine.  I've heard nothing but good things about the sleeve so I'm excited, but however this turns out I will just be happy to get this whole thing fixed so I can get back on track.

I am thinking I am headed for a revision....how much do you weigh...will that effect whether or not the ins. will pay for the revision?

My insurance would have paid for my revision and I was band to sleeve with a BMI of 20.8 but it would have been a battle.

I self paid for two reasons.  I was ill and didn't have time to fight insurance issues and we just don't have any good revision surgeons in AZ so I went to Mexico.

My highest weight was 320, banded at 306, and now I am 239 (up since the unfill from 230).  My goal is 180 since I'm 5'11".  My doc isn't going in there intending to do a sleeve, but if he gets in there and can't repair the slip he will do the resection - the day of surgery I'm telling him to FIND a problem where he has to sleeve me!  The insurance will pay for it once he's in there and he'll do some creative coding to have it covered.

I was in the hospital for 5 days but that is unusual.  I was quite ill (due to the band) when I had my revision.  My doc usually keeps you 3 nights for a sleeve or a band to sleeve revision.

Sleeves are so much easier than banding and more effective too.  After surgery you wave bye bye to your doctor and wish him well because you won't need aftercare!  No more fills!

I think most docs in the US keep you one night.

I am a teacher and I have one more week of schol, then a week after the kisd, so I am trying to wait until then....I have constant night reflux and at one time I even asperated. I have been empty twice and then get some back and it starts all over....now I have 2 ccs and no restriction.....I cannot find a sweet spot.

How does the sleeve control portions?

My heart goes out to you.  I have been where you are!  Be very careful about aspiration because the pneumonia that follows is quite serious.

The sleeve removed 60-85% of your stomach.  It removes the fundus of your stomach and the fundus is the part that holds a large quantity of food and produces ghrelin, the hunger causing hormone.  With the sleeve all the important parts of your stomach are still there such as the vegus nerve, pyloric valve, etc.  It's your stomach just smaller.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my sleeve.  I can't express to you the difference in quality of life with a sleeve vs. a band.  You lose bits of your life with a band and it happens so slowly you don't realize the degree until you get your life back.  I had to keep plastic bags with me everywhere I went because I never knew when I'd have to puke.  Just drinking water was impossible on some days.  The reflux was a horror, puking up acid in the middle of the night, all of it.

Not going to social events if food was there because I never knew if and when I could eat.  I quit going shopping with friends because what do you do after shopping?  You go to a restaurant.  I couldn't even go to our bandster lunches we have locally because I'd get stuck and spend my time in the bathroom sliming.  Not a great way to show newbies about WLS. ;o)  I actually have IV equipment in my home!  There were days on end that I couldn't ge****er down with an unfilled band.  I have IV start kits, Saline, D5W, and an IV pump.  I could either eat an entire steak in one sitting or I couldn't drink water.  It was always one extreme or the other.

Finally the last four months I couldn't eat any solids at all, it was liquids.  I was getting quite ill and I got to the point that I couldn't even fulfill my shopping transfer addiction ;o) because I couldn't walk that far.  I was getting to the point that I wouldn't have been healthy enough for surgery.  So I had my revision done.

I have permanent esophageal damage from the band.  Most of it resolved after getting it removed but I still have to think when I am swallowing or I choke.  It's like I don't have total control over swallowing, it takes more effort ... kinda like I have to force food down a little more than normal.  I doubt that will ever go away but I'm used to it so I don't much care.

We did a cottage cheese test on the sleeve board recently.  I can't stomach CC (blech!) so some of us used egg salad instead.  The rules were to eat CC or egg salad first thing in the morning upon waking up, eat as much as we could in 5 minutes (due to esophageal issues I took 7 minutes) and measure what we could eat.  No food or liquids before the test.

After 1.5oz I was satisfied.
After 2.0oz I was full.
After 2.5oz I was ready to hurl.

When you can only eat such small portions you can't help but to lose weight.  I maintain quite well with a sleeve.  Having a sleeve is like having a band that actually works without all the risks and complications.  It's your stomach just smaller.  I rarely experience hunger because of the lack of Ghrelin.

No sweet spot... I relate fully.  Many do not have a sweet spot.  I never did.  I can't count the number of fills and unfills.  I honestly have no idea how many I had.  It was always the same, I could either eat an entire steak in one sitting or I couldn't drink water.

The band just doesn't work.  Scar tissue begins growing under the band and you have restriction you don't want and can't do anything about it.  The damage it does to your esophagus is nothing to mess with.

Get your life back, get a sleeve.

Hi midwesterngirl -

After 1.5oz I was satisfied.
After 2.0oz I was full.
After 2.5oz I was ready to hurl.

Thanks for giving this information - this help me wrap my brain around what possible to expect.
I was right there with you as far as the band I never really knew how much I could or could not eat from day to day. Or even sometimes meal to meal. It is crazy...and the biggest frustration for me is the money I have continued to spend on the fill and unfills. In the beginning 5 yrs ago my Dr office was only making me pay my 20-25 co-pay, but then the insurance companies stopped paying for some on the procedure therefore they would charge me "upfront" 200.00. If I happened to get a fill atleast I would feel it was worth it, but when that fill didnt do anything it was like throwing away 200.00 then if I had to get an unfill it was like burning the money. :-)

My first band I really had good success - 85lbs but it slipped...(now for the 2nd time) Thats the risk with having a band. The Sleeve was not an option or available when I had my lap band surgery.

I got the clearance from my cadio Dr last Tuesday, I went to see my WL Dr on Friday. I was having some pressure in my chest. The WL Dr took out ALL of my fill. Said the slippage was causing the pressure. I have to be real careful now NOT to gain anymore weight. I have no restriction.
I am going to have an endoscopy? on June 9th for him to look at my Esophagus. MidwesternGirl you speak of Damage to your esophagus. what kind of damage and what was the result?

I have a question........Since the Band provided restriction -(creating a small pouch above the band) and the Sleeve creates a smaller stomach. I am a little worried about how I am going to loose weight when the pouch did not provide the amount of restriction I needed. I wonder if the stomach is smaller then the lap band pouch?

My husband say I am stressing myself out "Over thinking" he is all for me getting as much info and researching as possible But sometimes it is overwhelming with so many different aspects.

It great to have people like you all that have experienced it first hand..Thanks so much

Stephanie