Lee D.
My first lapband procedure was carried out in January 2001. Unfortunately this band leaked (not at the port - the actual band). So in September 2003, I under went surgery and had the band replaced.
This 2nd band worked very well - in fact it worked so well, that I actually could not stop losing weight. Until in May 2005 I was actually hospitalised - weighing 48kilos. I could not keep any food or water down, I was passing out and suffering from mal nutriton. I was not even able to keep liquid food down that was feed through a tube down my nose whilst I was in hospital. Eventually I was rushed into surgery and the band was removed. 10 days later I left hospital.
Unfortunately with the removal of the band, my appetite came back, and so did the weight! So in September 2006 I decided to have the band put back on. You can imagine my disappointment when I went to get it inflated, to find that it was completely deflated and further investigation showed that once more the band was leaking. 10 mins after inflation there was no saline left in the band. I was absolutely gutted!
I am now in the process of researching VSG. From what I have read it sounds like there is not much success with banding after your first band. Although I currently still have my 3rd band, I suspect that my pouch has probably stretched because I have no restriction on the volume or type of food that I can currently eat.
