Jaime P.

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Yesterday (7/22) I had my surgery scheduled at 3:30pm. Because it was late in the day, I ended up getting pushed back until 6pm (18 hours of no food or liquids sucks). My doctor came in and talked to my mom and I about what was going to happen during the surgery and because of the revision from lap band to sleeve, the surgery would take 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours. 5 hours later I woke up in the recovery room and moved to a private room. The surgery ended up taking about 4 hours in all. Here's where the "couldn't have come at a better time" comes in - I have had 3 lap band surgeries from 2008 - 2010 due to complications so we were expecting some scar tissue.

According to my surgeon, there was a lot more that expected. Apparently it was on the outside of the band, in between the band and my stomach, all around the area that attaches the band to the tubing, and more at the port site. Because of this scar tissue, my stomach opening was very close to being closed despite no fill in my band. They were not even able to fit the bougie in my stomach without shaving a lot of the scar tissue out first. Now I know that I wasn't crazy about why I had been throwing up and food getting stuck despite not having a fill. Also, he found that my stomach had folded onto itself after my last band surgery sometime. It took more time to remove all the stitching from the previous surgeries and the "cob webs" that were starting to grow and hold my folded stomach together. Scary thought! He was able to get my stomach straightened out (he said it was like an accordion) and was able to successfully create my sleeve to hot dog size (34 French I believe).

I was up and walking within 30 mins of being in my room and walked several times today around the floor. I was sipping water and ice chips late into the night and after two hours of sleep, was able to have my full liquid breakfast , lunch, and dinner. I had no problems with water, broth, popsicles, and a tiny bit of black coffee. I'm not sure about jello since I only had a few bites before giving it to my mom. I was released tonight and was able to go home less that 24 hours after surgery. My pain was literally the worst I have ever felt in my life (no babies or other surgeries beside bands) - I don't take well to pain killers, and it took three different kinds to really find one that actually helped. I'm still in a fair amount of pain, but had my meds filled so I'm able to control that more.

I've been trying my first protein shake tonight, but it is pretty slow going. Hopefully I can finish it and head to bed. I'm also hoping that the pain subsides fairly quickly. On the plus side, I ended up not having a drain at home because my surgeon does not like them and he said all looked great before they took out the one from surgery. Happy Dance! Another plus, I've lost almost 14lbs since my pre-op diet started and it will only go down from there. Can't wait to see my results and I'm so happy to be back on the loser's bench. 

-Jaime

Insurance denied me in early June saying that I did not prove the lap band surgery worked for me so they wouldn't cover the sleeve. According to the appeal my doc sent June 12th, they apparently missed the part where I lost over 80 lbs and more than half of my excess weight and then took several years to gain back after complications and 2 band replacements.

6/30/14 - got the call that my denial had been overturned with the appeal and surgery was on! Just needed a date. 

7/1/14 - flying out of Dallas for vacation...still waiting on the doc's scheduler to call.

7/2/14 - driving from Baltimore to Upstate NY and get the call! They have a spot open July 22nd and I take it. That means that the liquid diet starts my last date of vaca and I'm not ready here or at home. Looks like it may be a half day start for me.

SURGERY JULY 22ND!!!!

6/6/14 - Insurance denies the code to remove the band for the sleeve. Something about me not showing that I really tried to lose weight with the band.. because 2 replacements, 80 lbs lost then gained, and a million fill and unfills shows I've done nothing to lose weight with the band.  Thanks BCBS. 

6/9/14 - first appeals letter sent to insurance by PA. Now the waiting game.

So something about 'True Results' did not sit well with me, so I went back to my original hospital where I had lap band surgery. My original surgeon does not do revisions or the sleeve, so I have a new surgeon - Dr. Michael Lee who is the director of the Bariatric department at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

5/15/14 - first visit at UTSW to discuss surgery & surgeons with the P.A. - selected Dr. Lee & scheduled TNE Endoscopy.

5/19/14 - Endoscopy (TNE) - with Dr. Lee. All looks normal.

5/21/14 - Followup with Dr. Lee to discuss surgery and send info to insurance.

4/11/14 - First Visit at Kim Bariatric Institute - Surgeon Dr. Holden

4/22/14 - Cardiac Clearance; complete unfill of lap band

4/24/14 - Psych Eval

4/27/14 - Sleep Study for sleep apnea

5/01/14 - Classroom session with Registered dietician; Barium swallow to check for issues

Found out Kim Bariatric no longer has surgery clearance for BCBS Blue Distinction Center - Search for new surgeon; Sent insurance info to True Results/Baylor Hospitals. 

Now waiting to see if I can move info to True Results; EGD scheduled 5/8 from Kim Bariatrics as last step for insurance approval.