band erosion-possible revision to sleeve

Angie, I'm sorry to hear of your loss.  I have had my band since 11/29/07 so not quite 2 years.  I have the AP 10cc band.  I think it's made by Allergan.  I met with my Dr yesterday.  He isn't very hopeful to get another wls approved for me because he says that once the band is removed I am no longer overweight but he is willing to go to bat for me.  I do appreciate that.  Time will tell.  I accept the fact that my band must be removed & I know that it's all in the Lord's hands.  If it's his will I will be approved for revision & if not I will work like the devil to keep my weight off.  Do you have a date yet for your surgery.  I would like to keep in touch with you & know how you do.  Have a great day!

Mary

No date yet.  I am being scheduled for an UGI series so we can prove medical necessity to the insurance.  Hopefully it will show something that is causing the reflux.  After the results come back they will submit to the insurance and it will go before review and hopefully it will be approved.  I will definately keep you posted on how things go and you must let me know how things go for you as well.

Angie

I walked into my drs office yesterday expecting to set a date to have a revision and band removed at the same time, and I was really suprized when he told me that he wasnt going to do it at the same it. Now i have to have an endoscopy and see if my insurance will pay for the band removal, even though they dont even know i have a band, so im a little stressed to see how that is going to turn out. Then i have to wait 2 months before i can have my sleeve done. I really thought this was going to be very easy, but apparently not.

Unless you have swelling/inflammation, a slip, or erosion there is no reason for two procedures.  None.   The Standard of Care in the US and MX is to do it in one procedure.

If you have eroded or have a great deal of swelling then yes, remove the band and let the stomach heal before revising to a sleeve.

Don't go to a doctor that just wants to make double the $$$ off of you.  I am not saying your current surgeon is doing that, he have have some reason for two procedures but make sure he can justify it to you due to the added surgical risk of two procedures instead of one and the added cost.

If it is a matter of his skill level and revisions, find a new doctor.

I tried to check your blog to see what's been going on in your world but didn't find anything there.  Have you been having problems with your band?  Up until this point I haven't hadproblems with my band so I had no reason to want my band removed.  My Dr. says if I get approval to revise to sleeve I'll have to wait 6 months to heal from the erosion.  I won't have any problem getting my band approved for removal because mine has to come off.

Well Mary, my band was awesome for the first 2 years. I loved it! I was down to 140, but my drinking got way out of control. So I sobered up and switched my addiction from alcohol back to food. Eating all the wrong things cause i just wanted to feel differently. My dr says that my band is very tight, but at night, i can eat anything and everything.  Now that Ive got my drinking under control i think im ready to tackle the eating again.

I wish you well, Katie.  Who knows if your insurance will pay for all of that or not.