Port Revision Update

Yesterday's procedure to flip and re-attach my port went just fine. I am back at work today and, other than a little tired and sore, I am no worse for the wear. Fuzz emptied most of the fluid from my band so I'm ready to go to Italy now...Woo-Hoo! Now, I'm just praying that the port stays put this time!

My Flipping Port

I went to see Fuzz on Friday to have my band unfilled so I'd be ready to go to Italy. Apparently the altitude and cabin pressure affects the tightness of the band, so they like folks to be unfilled before air travel. Fuzz couldn't access my port. It's the little, roundish thingie located just under the skin on my abdomen that the Dr. injects the saline into in order to fill and unfill the band. You can see it on the picture. Turns out, my port has flipped completely over. This is a rare complication, but it does happen to band patients from time to time. I had no idea that it had flipped, I never even felt it. When he put the port in, Fuzz stitched it into my abdominal muscle, so it's hard to imagine how it came loose.

Fuzz tried and tried to manipulate it through my skin hoping he could get it to flip back over so he could do the unfill, but no luck. So, this Wednesday I have to go in for some out-patient surgery to have the port re-positioned and stitched back in. He'll unfill me then, too. He's going to access the port by opening the same incision he used during the 1st surgery, so no new scars. They don't have to put me completely under this time, it's done under IV sedation with a local anesthesia.

I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing. So, here are the positives. First of all, my unfill appointment was originally scheduled for next Friday, 10/24-just 3 days before I leave for Italy. For some reason the hospital rescheduled that appointment for November 14. I called Fuzz's office and told them that I needed the appointment before I left for Italy because of my unfill. So, they squeezed me in for this past Friday. That's good because Fuzz discovered the problem and now has enough time to repair it before I leave. If the appointment had stayed where it was originally was, there'd be no way for him to fix it. I don't know what would have happened.

Secondly, I've already met my out of pocket maximum with my insurance for the year, so any costs connected with this procedure won't be my responsibility. So, if this was going to happen, I'm glad it happened now.

This doesn't change at all how I feel about the band. When I chose the band, I knew that some complications could arise. This one is pretty minor and easily corrected, just a little bump on my road to success!

5 Months and 50 lbs. Down

My 5-month "surgiversary" was a couple of days ago. I am still loving life with the lap band. I've lost 50 pounds and 2 pant sizes. I've only had to have 2 fills since my surgery and have had a wonderful level of restriction...not too tight, not too loose.

Next Friday, I see Fuzz for a complete unfill because I'm heading to Italy in a couple of weeks for a 10-day vacation. Apparently, the lap-band gets tighter for some reason when you fly, so he likes to loosen it up before a long flight. That's just FINE with me because I want to fuly enjoy the Italian food while I'm there. I'm not too worried about gaining weight, because we'll also be doing alot of walking on the trip. Plus, even with an unfilled band, I doubt I'll be able to eat as much as I could before surgery.

Here are some before and after shots. This is what 50 pounds less of me looks like.