Dr. Duncan for LAP BAND, anyone

Hello, I attended the seminar on Tuesday with Dr. Duncan. I am hoping to have Lap Band surgery soon. I know this was the first step on many! I am ready to being my journey! Just wondering if any of you were "banded" by Dr. Duncan and his group? If so, I would love to hear your comments about the whole experience. Also, even if you used a different doctor, I'd love to hear your comments about the "band" in general. I have read & researched and I am sure this is what I want to do. Needless to say, I am nervous but excited! Here are a few questions (but any comments are welcome) 1. I'm a little confused on one thing - are you supposed to eat foods that will not go directly thur the band? Foods that are more solid and would take more time to pass thru? Is this what makes you feel full? 2. Do they go thru your belly button to place the band? 3. I am SO worried about hair loss. I have a head full and I want to keep it I have read all about taking the supplements but I wondered it you had experienced this? 4. Do you have problems eatting at "normal" resturants? I look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks in advance for the info. Ann Marietta

Ann, I am not familiar with Dr. Duncan, and he does not have a profile here. However, I can highly recommend my doc, Dr. Champion. He's very professional, his staff is wonderfully helpful, he has a lot of experience, and he doesn't treat lap banders like RNYers. Dr. Champion is located in Marietta, like you, and does his surgery at Emory Dunwoody Medical Center. They have a bariatric center there, where I was really treated well. If you are interested, you can see his profile by clicking on his name in the heading of this post. His website has more information than you would ever need about all the WL surgeries, including pictures of the procedures. GOOD LUCK Whomever you choose!

I am not a patient of Dr.Duncan's but he has performed many weight loss surgeries and from what I have heard he is an excellent surgeon with a great staff. However, please do your own research on his abilities and outcomes. Peoples opinions vary greatly and you want to be certain that you feel comfortable with him. As for your questions. The band works best with solid foods because it takes longer for these foods to pass through the band, so after you have been released by your surgeon to add solids to your diet, you would want to shoot for foods that dont get quickly moved into your stomach because you will be hungry quicker than with solid food. Thats just how the band operates. You want to eat good solid food that can keep you full for at least 4 hours. The surgery is not performed through your belly button. I thought this same thing! The surgeon usually cuts 4 or 5 small incisions and they place the band on your stomach using laporscopic tools. I have not experienced any hair loss. Nor have I read of many lap band patients that have experienced this. You will find this mostly in gastric/rny bypass patients because of the malabsoroption issue. We are able to get in most of our nutrients from our foods; therefore we dont require as many vitamins as gastric/rny patients because of the ability to consume calories and nutrients from the foods we eat. HOWEVER we all should make sure we are getting in the necessary nutrients and vitamins and that is why alot of us continue to use protein drinks and vitamins because we cannot eat that much as before so we want to make sure we are adequately filled with vits. I do not have any problems eating at normal restaurants. I can get in any food item but I have to be attentive to my chewing and the consistency of the food to make sure I dont get stuck. I dont want to get stuck in a crowd of people and be embarrassed. SO most of us usually go with things we know will pass through but this is just a trial and error type thing until you get well aquainted with your band to find out what works best with you. Good luck in your research and please keep us posted on your journey!

Hello I did not use Dr. Duncan but each person as you find out have there own opinions.. you will have to form your own... AFter 5 months of research I knew I wanted to BAND, I looked at the DS, RNY and knew I did not want either, I did have an appt. with Dr. Champion but when the nurse called to verify all info...I found out that Dr. Williams was doing the Band and Champion had stopped but was willing to start it back up.. at the time he had only done 30 bands... In my research I found out anything under 150 was still considered experimental with learning on where to place the band in the right place. When I found out how many surgeries he had done I canceled my appt... now this is my personal opinion of this.... I then research Dr. Ponce in Dalton which is who I originally wanted but knew it was so far,but that is where I went and felt comfortable about my decison.. Dr. Fromm is the one that did it.. they had done over 1000 total at the time of my surgery. I knew I would have to drive that 1 1/2 but it was worth it for me.. Whoever you chose you have to be happy in your heart who you use and research , research, research... Me personally I have had 3 fills, I don't eat breads at all , but I do eat rice and I haven't had a dt. coke since surgery, some meats do give me problems for being to dry....other than that no problem.. Hair.. I was worried about my hair also and infact I now have long hair it is 12 inches long.... healthy..I did not loose any but I was ready for it if I had to.... Resturant>>> I do eat out but not much with 3 teenagers you go broke..lol but I always just make sure I order what I am up to that night.. sometimes it is just soup.. some nights I get a salad, or chicken with rice.. one thing for me is to drink some warm tea before my food come to make sure I am open... that is my trick... You are on the right track and you will make the right decison... now when I was doing my research that was a little over 2 yrs. ago times have changed.. I am happy for my decision you will to.... Good luck....on your journey