Lap Band Surgery Happening Soon!

  • I finally had lap band consult today with Dr. Paul Thodiyil at Magee-Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh. It was quite a better experience than I had expected; I had to have spent at least an hour with the doctor discussing the surgical procedure itself and he also demonstrated how the lap band appliance worked and how it would be inserted/adjusted.

    He then talked about the risks and complications, which turned out to be even lower than the gastric bypass procedure, then we discussed my medical history before I signed a surgical consent form. I was also sent home with a booklet on the lap band procedure as well as a pre-op survey to fill out before my next appointment, which should be with the anesthiologist if things continue to go well We are now at the point of getting a surgery date for the procedure! I cannot wait!
  • Isn't it exciting? I worked for a long time to get my band and then it was like whoosh! All of the sudden time flew by and I was in surgery. Keep on researching and reading about it and before you know it you'll be in bandlandia!

    Chickadee
  • Good luck, Lori. Study the info so you know exactly what to expect.
  • Actually I spent all morning reading the book they sent home with me from the office. Interesting stuff in it, to say the least, especially about the chances of slippage (or as they put it, "prolapse") of the band happening being about 10 percent in a ten year period and the mortality rate being around 0.002 percent. The appliance he showed me yesterday is actually adjusted via saline and didn't even look as scary as I initially thought. I really enjoyed this particular appointment; this doctor actually trained with the top experts on lap banding in Australia (where both there and in Europe the procedure has been done for several years before the FDA approved it in the US in 2003), which gave me even more confidence in him, and he seems pretty eager to get it done on me ASAP.

    Not that I am complaining; I was hoping to have it done by at least early summer.
  • I had my lapband done at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Dec. 21st. The surgery went well and I just had my first fill on Monday - can't tell if I have more restriction as I'm just getting back to solids post-fill (doesn't feel like a lot as my dr. is fairly conservative).

    Anyway, if you go to Brigham and Women's website they have a webcast of the surgery - pretty cool to watch and definitely gave me a good idea of what to expect.

    Good Luck and ask lots of questions!
  • this is soooo exciting!!!!! best of luck and keep us posted.
  • How exciting, Good luck!!