Band removal

[gofergulch]

:angry:On Nov. 18, 2004, I entered the hospital for an endoscopy to check out a possible port infection. Turns out that I had peritonitis caused by the band being placed "through" my stomach instead of "around" my stomach. That explains why I could never get much restriction, even with a fill of 2.5cc. I was in the hospital for 16 days. The infection was so severe that the doctor had to open my abdomen (leaving a 10-in. scar), put in a rib spreader and remove some organs to clean the infection from them before putting them back in and closing me up. I almost died! It was very life-threatening. I will be on disability at least another month, possibly two. I am extremely disappointed in the Mexico operation because I contacted Dr. Ortiz about my problem and he has yet to respond to me. He could at least offer me an apology! I kept telling them I had pain after my band was installed but they kept telling me that it was gas from the procedure. Obviously it wasn't. I have pictures taken during my recent surgery that prove the band was installed improperly. My band was removed and cannot be reinstalled without opening up the abdomen again. No thanks! It hurts bad enough now. Like a lot of other bandsters, I had done my research and truly felt that the band was my very best chance for permanent weight loss. I spent $9,000 to have the procedure done in Mexico because my insurance company wouldn't cover it. Now I probably have a $300,000+ hospital bill that they will have to cover. Ironic, isn't it?

[cindy]

Wow, how horrible for you! I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I wonder if that was the first time something like that has happened to a patient of Dr. Ortiz...

What were your symptons? Did your Doctor find it through an Xray? What should we look for?

Thank you for letting us know of the health risk!

Keep us updated on Dr. Ortiz's response.

Cindy

[Debby614]

I am so sorry to hear about your infection. I am glad I came to this board to check on messages. As I was reading your post, I remembered meeting a patient of Dr. Ortiz's that is on his website and in his book. Rick Rush. He was very nice and was around several times and we were asking him all kinds of questions because we were just having our band put in on December 1, 2004. He had already lost 200 lbs. in a year. When I got home I emailed him and ask him if he was having a fill and he said no, he was having his port removed because of an infection around it. They left the band in but removed the port and would not be able to put it back for 6 months. ( until the infection was cleared up) So when I read your story I thought I should tell you. He said that Dr. Ortiz said that he had only seen one other person with an infection like his. I don't know if it has anything to do with yours but I was glad to tell you what I knew. That is so scary. I hope you are doing better. No one like to hear about infections like that.

[cattigerlily]

I don't understand how your band could have been placed "through" your stomach. The doctor would have had to cut and suture your stomach with the band inside. Additionally, there is no way you lived from the time of your surgery with stomach contents leaking into your abdomen. You would have become very, very sick after only a few days of this at most. If your band was inside or partially inside your stomach, it would have been due to erosion. A rare, but possible complication of the LapBand. Did you have any port infections? Many times erosions are caused by port infections, which can come about when getting a fill. Did you have Dr. Ortiz or Martinez check your port during and after your fill appointments with them? Did you have Dr. Ortiz examine you and evaluate the situation as soon as your symptoms appeared?

Here are some facts regarding the LapBand and erosion:

The Lap-Band is a foreign body and is subject to the reactions of the human body to it. The complication that requires Lap-Band removal is erosion (The thinning out of the stomach wall due to a natural reaction of the stomach to eliminate the band; though un-frequent it is still present.) A band that is placed "inside" the stomach is considered a perforation and though extremely rare, patients require a revision to remove the band hours after the initial surgery, as symptoms will appear almost immediately after surgery. A perforate stomach and a band placed in it cannot exist more than that time without serious and life threatening complications. It would seem that the pictures you quote are what any Lap-Band surgeon in the world call an "erosion". This is a known complication of the Lap-Band procedure many times seen after a port infection. It is important that any and all complications be treated promptly by surgeons that know and understand the Lap-Band, its possible complications and how to treat them accordingly.

Kat

[julie]

From the bottom of my heart I am soooo sorry for all that you have gone through. Your story really scared me and I began to do research and also immediatly contacted Dr Martinez with my concerns. He answered his cell phone! Not an American Doc would give that to you!

I didn't know your name, but I told him your story and he said it sounded like an erosion. The band can actually wear on the stomach and come right through the wall. That is probably how it got inside.

I would like to know when was your band placed? I want to know how long you had it before it had to be removed. The time is important because if it was very recent, I could see that you might be blaming the doc. If it was months ago, I agree with the other "Newbie", that you could not live for very long with stomach contents entering your abdomen.

I have researched this lapband, and I have come to choose Dr. Ortiz and Martinez as my surgeons for many reasons. One is that Dr. Ortiz is a Proctor, that means Inamed(the makers of the band) trust him to teach American doctors. He has probably the most experience of any doc I researched.

I am not banded yet, but my surgery date has been set. I know that I will remember your story, but I know that this is a possible complication. Also I have been warned about port site infections. That is another possible complication. Anytime a needle passes into the skin there is the possiblity of an infection. Whether it is performed in Mexico or in the US.

Again, I am sooo sorry about your infection. I hope it is OK with you, but I have prayed for you.

Julie

[MsBhaaven]

I am sorry to hear that you have had such a problem. However, Dr. Ortiz is not to blame for any of this. He could not have placed your band inside of your stomach. That is impossible. You had surgery more than a year ago. Have you been back for follow up with Dr. Ortiz? Who has been doing your fills? Obviously, if you had an erosion it was caused by your band being too tight. Yet, you say you never had any restriction. Sorry, but things just do not add up. If anyone is experiencing a problem, we must contact our doctor right away. We are responsible for our own care and need to communicate and question. We must be aware of risks and possible complications. How can a doctor treat you if you don't imform him of a possible problem and then cry wolf more than a year later?