Revision

I had the ban done in 2010 got pregnant gained 50. I have tried many times to lose weight an it's not working. I have started the process for the revision with Kaiser. I was told met the criteria an could get in done on April of 2014. I'm wondering how was the revision process for other members.

I had the band for 7 years and revised to VSG this year due to a slipped band and hiatal hernia.  I started the insurance process in February and had my surgery in May.  The process would have been shorter except for two things: insurance denied my original surgeon since he's not in a Center of Excellence, and it took me a month or so to choose a new surgeon.  

I did not have to do any diets before surgery, including the liquid diet many have to do.  I think I was probably already smaller than the average WLS patient, so it wasn't necessary to shrink my liver.  

The surgeon warned me that revision might be 2 surgeries; it's quite common with the band, which can cause a lot of scar tissue or erode into the stomach.  I got lucky - he was able to safely remove the band and do the revision all at the same time.  

He also warned me that patients who tend to have acid reflux prior to VSG will have it even worse after surgery.  I did have reflux, but felt certain it was due to the hernia, so took the risk.  He had me on a PPI for 6 months, and with the exception of one day, I have had no issues.

Eating with the sleeve should look just like eating with the band does - protein first, veggies second, starch last if at all.  I found a huge difference though in the eating.  Everything I ate with the band (even soup) had the possibility of getting "stuck" and sending me to the bathroom to throw up.  The hernia made that worse.  With the sleeve I got what the band promised - I eat a few bites and I'm full.  Not stuck.  I've never even come close to throwing up since May, other than the reaction to the narcotics in the hospital (always happens, so I wasn't surprised).  

Good luck to you!

Thanks. I'm really excited to get this going. I'm less excited about the five month process:(

Hope all goes well for you Kia.  I'm 5 month pre-op and can't wait too be sleeved.  Best wishes.

I had a sleeve and hiatal hernia repair done in 2010 and lost almost 60 pounds quickly and then stalled. I hadn't lost anything since 2010 but only gained 5 pounds since then. Well my hernia is back for the third time and my stomach is stretched. My revision and hernia repair is scheduled for December 9th. I have BCBS and not sure about Kaiser but because the weight gain is due to pregnancy and not overeating the approval process should be easier

I am a band to sleeve patient too. I had the band for almost 5 years. It was removed in August 2012 and then I had to go through an extensive process and pre-op diet before my sleeve could be performed. I finally got my sleeve  6 months later in January 2013. My band had caused a lot of damage and scar tissue - but, generally speaking my dr always does it in 2 surguries. He thinks that the success rate is higher if you heel before they put the sleeve in. Personally, band removal was the hardest part - very painful recovery. The sleeve surgery went very smoothly.

Well, I hope that helps.