Lap Band Removal Compliccations

hey the article looks great and fruitfull. i will be looknig forward for more posts from your side.
http://www.griffinhospitalbariatrics.com/

Hi there
I also had band complications. After five years of it working perfectly fine it completely eroded into my stomach to the point my stomach incased it. The band removal was far from a pleasant experience, but moved passed it after a two week period, could of been way worse! My surgeon said that I would never be able to have a Lapband again and to be honest I wouldn't of wanted another anyhow not after hearing the benefits of sleeves over lapbands. He suggested that I could perhaps consider a sleeve, however I had to wait a four months and have several tests, camera, barrium and swallow, full blood works and ct scans to best determine the condition of my stomach and how it has healed. I had my sleeve done one week ago and they did further checks before they started the actual sleeve operation. He said that if when in there adhesions were to bad and risky he would pull out. Post surgery he saw me and the adhesions weren't great but he took considerable time and was able to do the operation, so it is possible. You must have complete trust and good open and honest relationship with your surgeon.
I went into my surgery nervous about the surgery and risks but also scared what if they can't do it, what then. Forunatly it went to plan and I am 1 week since my surgery with no regrets...
Keep coming on this forum and reading everything - ask questions - chat its how you find out the true experiences of what real people go through...Good luck in April hope you goes the way you'd like...

Thank you for your replies.



I saw my Surgeon on Wednesday, they were very supportive of me and the choices I have for the future. I have now found out that my band had created a pouch, and this is why I was sometimes feeling ok, and then sometimes for no reason was vomiting suddenly with no reason. I no longer feel like I was to blame or I did sometime wrong.



They will do another band if I specifically choose to have one. BUT I was to be fully aware of the possible need for further surgery. And I could have the chance of going through everything I went through again. But they also admitted that my small intestine was either puctured or torn during the removal of the band, most likley due to the adhesions.



He recommended the sleeve, as further surgeries are not common. And went through in great detail about the pro’s and cons of both surgeries. They could not rule out that in my case my surgery may need to be done in an open incision, due to complications and also those adhesions. And on the very positive side of things, my fertility should not have been affected. As my gynaecologist told me on Monday that something like this will often lead to infertility. Also that my stomach area was so badly affected with multiple operations etc and of course those nasty adhesions any pregnancy would be extremely difficult. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and pretty much everything was over for me......





We are again meeting in April to discuss options with both doctors.



I think now that I have been explained the sleeve and how it works, I am less frightened of it. And the other non incision weight loss surgeries I had researched online are many years off, being approved here in Australia. So all those other options are just not possible.



I am still worried about my weight. I have gained 1.3 kilos now (77.4) since leaving hospital on 9 Jan 2010 .And every time I wan to eat anything, I feel guilty. I don’t want to go back to the old me. For me its been a week of crushing news, and also very positive news. I am still taking things one day at a time and hoping for a positive outcome out of all this.

I had an eroded Band and major infection (required 3 surgeries to sort out) - I am still waiting for my sleeve 17 months after having band removed but I had a camera down into my stomach about 6 months ago and my stomach had healed so well the Dr doing the procedure could not tell I had surgery on my stomach - I was really happy about that.

Don't stress, the Dr may suggest you wait a period of time maybe a year to allow everything inside time to heal. I went from my Surgeon 17 months ago telling me having the sleeve would be high risk surgery (but he would still do it) to him recently telling me that I am now low risk (and yes I have a belly full of adhesions)

I hope the Dr was positive about the sleeve and you get the surgery you want :)

Let us know what the Dr said and I am about to have the sleeve so I will let you know how I go with all my adhesions and stuff

I'm sorry you had such a rough time :(

This is such an individual thing, I think you will have to just go and see several surgeons and see what they say. I think you'll have a hard sell given the infections + adhesions to convince someone to go in again, but it's hard to guess without knowing more details. Adhesions do get worse over time, so if you're set on this, I would start asking surgeons.

PS: You are very brave to be contemplating more surgery after this experience!

I had my band removed 2 December 2010; it had slipped due to a constant gastro problem. This turned out to be a stomach parasite that I picked up in Bali in March of 2010.



My Lap Band had been going well I had only 5 more kilos to loose until I reached my goal of a healthy BMI of 25 from my highest ever of 39!!!!! And I had learned to live with the problems of vomiting and not being able to eat sometime for no reason at all.



I was upset to know that it would be totally removed, and they would not do another one. I felt the world had been ripped from under me, but this for the moment was going to be the least of my problems.



The following day after the Band removal I was feeling ok, and then suffered the most agonising sharp pains ever in my right side. It took my breath away, I could barley even scream. My surgeon came rushing in, and advised me I had adhesions from a previous subtotal colectomy I had several years earlier.



I went home a few days later, but more pain in my back put me back in hospital two endone tablets were not enough for this constant pain. My surgeon then diagnosed and abscess just above the port site. It burst a few days later, and I had another operation to clean it up. And while I was recovering from this, and was getting ready to go home just in time for Christmas. Another lump was found in another lap site. This was a fistular and my surgeon stuck a needle in to release the pressure. The following day when I got up for my shower the needle whole burst open with disgusting flow of bowel contents. This was so much; they had to stick a colostomy bag on the hole in my stomach.



And then I was advised that I would be going into theatre for open surgery to clean out the massive infection in my stomach. They had to remove 15 cms of my small intestines as well. I spent a week in intensive care, and it was the worst week of my life. As I also had now got collapsed lungs from being in bed so much.

The wound was left open to heal out the infections and pack it with dressings and remove the damaged tissues.



After another two painful weeks, the wound was finally closed up. And I got out of hospital after spending 6 weeks there, just to remove my Lap Band.



I am now looking for another option; my surgeons don’t want to do anymore operations on me. And they are worried about the complications I had already had.



But I don’t want to gain weight, this to me is even worse than all that I have been through. I hated being a huge obese person, but my husband and family think that going to have more surgery is stupid, and won’t support me.



I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow to discuss, the options. If there are any, as I had so much scar tissue inside and out side my stomach. They might not even operate, let alone the complications.



Has anyone else been in this situation, if so please share your thoughts…