Please don't flame me....when I say the word Plication

Okay - sorry about the title but I just got flamed, sworn at and called stupid in another forum on this board..

So - here's the story - banded in 03 in TJ and did great - lost 170 lbs and loved my new life.  All went well until about 2 years ago and my pouch stretched/ or the band is slipped (get my endoscopy on Thursday).  We tried to save it - unfill, wait, refill - nope - did that twice and it just wasn't working.  Talked with my docs and they recommend plication as the best option - I only gained about 45 lbs..and have lost some of that on this horrid pre-surgery diet (really it's not too bad - I just hate to diet this way) 

I hate to lose my band - I loved it when it worked but it is not going to work.  I could get it removed and then wait 3 months and get it replaced.  But with this small amount of weight to lose - do I want to worry about fills and of course the concern of gaining more weight while I wait (and the extra cost)

I know plication is a fairly new procedure (especially in the US) but so far with the about 600 or more folks over the last 3 years it is showing strong results with very few complications.

Now I don't look for failure but I do consider the options if it happnes Gotta be realistic. I looked at the other surgeries and think this one is best - if necessary I can get a band over the plication if it does fail several years out. So there are options.   My doc is one of the most experienced in Plication and the success ratio is very high (he did have one complication but she is doing much better now - reflux issues)

So thanks for reading this far...and I would love to hear constructive feedback, experiences from other revision folks. 

Thanks

Well, bands seem to cause the most revisions, so you're definitely not alone.

I don't know much about the plication. All I can say is do your homework. I traveled to TJ for plastics and with the current climate I am not sure I'd want to go back there.

My revision was nothing like yours - a combination rny with a permanently banded stoma, and I revised to a DS, so I really don't have much to offer, sorry, other than wishes for a successful surgery and safe travels.

thanks.  I also had my plastics done in TJ and love the results (not to mention the savings)...I will be chatitng with the doc before the surgery and looking him in the eye and asking for his opinion...and going that direction.  I trust him and know it's not about money or business for him but about helping me get the best solution I can.

Again thanks for the kind words...

there are a few issues to be concerned with, Dr C in TJ will recommend plication as he is one of the drs in the clinical trials.  do your homework about plications, and research it well, the procedure is not that new,and has been performed in the us for over a year in florida and utah, and of course in india where it originated.   but it is the newer of all the wls, you also need to research most of the band to plication revision were NOT to lose weight but were to maintain, and they are stuggling to do that, losing and maintaining are very different as you know.  ask yourself what you want the procedure to do? 

what happened w/the band is usual the longer you have the band your complications increase linearly, you had issues very early on with your band, 2 years out is not long at all.   you say "you only gained 45 lbs" so here comes some bluntness, you have to pick your revision wisely, without the band, you will gain weight, statistically, how much is individual.  so don't think about only having to lose 45 lbs, removing hte band will open the flood gates of weight gain, that is what you have to think about.  good luck to your on you choice....

Thanks - I am using Dr. Ortiez - not Dr. C...I have been with him for years and trust his judgement.  I have talked to about 15 of his plication folks (a couple of them are revision folks) and they are mostly happy.  A few were unhappy with the weight loss - as it is slower for them - but overall they are happy.  Most are on the path to losing about 75% of their target weight.

It's hard to make a decision like this - regardless of the surgery one picks.  I am going to chat with Dr. O and Dr. So about the possiblity of a sleeve.  One thing to note - Dr. O will not do a revision same day to sleeve from a band.  That is one of the reasons I started researching plication.  Also everything depends on the state of my stomach - if there is significant scaring - I will most likely not get anythng but the band removed this surgery...

thanks for the response.

Have you considered the sleeve?  I had my revision six months ago from the band to sleeve.  I love the results.  I have constant restriction and I can eat what i want in small amounts.  The surgery greatly reduces the ghrelin and it really makes a difference not having the hunger hormone.  I still love food, but I am just not controlled by it anymore.  I wish you well in whatever decision you make.

yes actually I did.  I am still having problems thinking about part of me being cut out...but I know that is silly.  Dr. O said depending on my scar tissue I might have to go with the sleeve.  It can not be done at the same time as the band removal thought - which was another piece in  puzzle.  I can get the plication and only have to have one surgery.

thanks for the kind words...I am glad you choice is working so well for you.

I would recommend checking out Zanthia's complications, and TiajuanPlication stories with plication.

There is an entire forum dedicated to plication surgeries as well, it's a spin off from lapbandtalk and verticalsleevetalk.

Several of the plication patients were posting on VSG then plicationtalk opened up, and the only plications patients posting on VST are looking at revising to the sleeve.

Best wishes in your research. I am a band to VSG revision, 2 years out, and thriving.

I've watched the newer alternatives for a few years now, like rose, stomaphyx, and plication, and just haven't seen anything encouraging. The only people that lost any weight, it was minimal, and was only on the liquid diet part. Once they could eat, there wasn't any real loss. Or worse - gain.

Don't take any flaming personally. It's just that the band has such a lousy track record, and from what anyone has seen, plication may one of the only options that are worse. I hope you find an option that works for you. Being fat sux.

I keep my eyes peeled for encouraging data, but there just isn't any.