ThinnerJemima
Here all the time.....
If this was me, I would be going elsewhere, with a better surgeon.
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Un-clipped band :-(
- Thread starter bikerlady
- Start date
gonnabethinner
New Member
Wishing you lots of luck. I cant believe they are making you Pay again. Keep up posted.
xxx
mummykcb
New Member
So sorry this has happened to you and i agree completely about not recommending THG to anyone. I ended up with a collapsed lung after my surgery. i was struggling to breath and they told me this was normal. I ended up needing an ambulance 4 days post surgery due to struggling to breathe and they discovered i had a collapsed lung that they feel happened at the surgery. When i contacted THG they said its just one of those things, and were very matter of fact about it. I dont trust them as far as i can throw them.
mummykcb
New Member
I'm ok now but i really wish i had taken my friends advice and gone with the one closer, but it was because i didnt want the same dietitian again as she is nhs/private that i went elsewhere. I'm glad i had it done but the collapsed lung could cause permanant damage to my lung and being asthmatic doesnt help. THG told me it was normal to have pain breathing after surgery which was why i ignored the pain and carried on for 4 days with it. My close friend Anji (who also had Lap Band) spoke to her bariatric nurse who said it wasnt normal and to go to a and e urgently. I did and they thought it was a clot so sent me home with clexane for 11 days which was when i had CT scan that discovered i had had a collapsed lung. So failure to diagnose from 2 hospitals. Lets just say i kind of hate hospitals right now and am avoiding them like the plague. I'll be ok, i'm a fighter.
Sure, but the surgeon put it there. The poster did not buy the band from the manufacturer but from the surgeon and surgeon paid the manufacturer for the band when the surgeon purchased the band, so it is up to the surgeon the bear responsibility for the band and then the surgeon will raise it with the manufacturer. You deal with the person you purchased it from.
Similarly, when you buy a watch from Argos and the watch stop working, it is Argos where you return the watch and it is Argos' job to take it up with the manufacturer. You are not supposed to contact the manufacturer.
I am due to have the second op on Tues 23, not looking forward to it. I have no doubt whatsoever, no one will hold their hands up and take responsibility. I met with the surgeon a couple of weeks ago and he said he wont know whats wrong until he has a look. He told me he hadnt come across this problem before, I told him I wasnt made aware of this kind of problem and he told me even now, he wouldnt tell potential banders it was a potential problem, which I think stinks,I asked about paying for the op and he said he wouldnt discuss the finances. So ive had to pay for it. I feel like they treat you like a piece of meat on a money production line. I hope it goes better this time, at the end of the day I want it to be successful so will do my best to make it work, AGAIN!!! xxx
Carre
New Member
Hello,
I went for my fill yesterday and they had a picture of my insides with it showing the band round my stomach it was all very graphic... Did you see yours ?? If so if it was not clipped it would show maybe or any errors with it might be worth a second opinion ??
I'm properly talking rubbish - I just feel really sorry for you and thought anything is worth a shot... Xx
I went for my fill yesterday and they had a picture of my insides with it showing the band round my stomach it was all very graphic... Did you see yours ?? If so if it was not clipped it would show maybe or any errors with it might be worth a second opinion ??
I'm properly talking rubbish - I just feel really sorry for you and thought anything is worth a shot... Xx
girlygirl1
New Member
I am disgusted at the way you have been treated. First priority is to get your problem sorted out, and to restore your physical health where it should be.
I agree with others here that, if the band has unclipped or indeed if any band should malfunction in any way, it is the responsibility of the surgeon and/or provider to whom you paid your money and with whom you entered into your contract. It is not your responsibility to contact the manufacturer! That is for the surgeon to sort-out, and fast, because he or she surely does not want to be inserting bands into patients that may fail, e.g. because they are part of a faulty batch, or because this particular make of band may have a higher failure rate than others, or whatever. In the interests of patient safety this surgeon needs to investigate.
With regard to you personally, I think you have been treated very badly indeed and I am astonished that you have been forced to pay for a corrective procedure. You are totally blameless in this situation, indeed you are the 'victim' here, and every effort should be made to help you and to fix the problem, free of charge.
Please do see a Solicitor and in the meantime note down everything said to you so far, and everything said in future, with dates and times if possible. It seems that you do most certainly have grounds for a lawsuit and by the sound of things they will probably try to wriggle out of their responsibility to you if at all possible.
Good luck, and take excellent care of yourself. We are all thinking of you and wishing you well x
I agree with others here that, if the band has unclipped or indeed if any band should malfunction in any way, it is the responsibility of the surgeon and/or provider to whom you paid your money and with whom you entered into your contract. It is not your responsibility to contact the manufacturer! That is for the surgeon to sort-out, and fast, because he or she surely does not want to be inserting bands into patients that may fail, e.g. because they are part of a faulty batch, or because this particular make of band may have a higher failure rate than others, or whatever. In the interests of patient safety this surgeon needs to investigate.
With regard to you personally, I think you have been treated very badly indeed and I am astonished that you have been forced to pay for a corrective procedure. You are totally blameless in this situation, indeed you are the 'victim' here, and every effort should be made to help you and to fix the problem, free of charge.
Please do see a Solicitor and in the meantime note down everything said to you so far, and everything said in future, with dates and times if possible. It seems that you do most certainly have grounds for a lawsuit and by the sound of things they will probably try to wriggle out of their responsibility to you if at all possible.
Good luck, and take excellent care of yourself. We are all thinking of you and wishing you well x
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hello everyone, thanks again for all your kind words of support, it is a lonely place to be, its a very private insular situation few people understand. I had the revision surgery, I really have no idea how it went. The surgeon spoke to me before theatre. He had 2 options, re-clip the band if it wasnt damaged, or replace if it was. He never came back to see me, but had a word with my partner, who has no idea what he was told. I was woken at 5.45 this morning to be told I was to leave at 7am, I asked if I would see my surgeon first and was told no, the night nurse came to see me to discharge me, so I asked him what the surgeon had found, so he read my notes. The band was unclipped thought to be because of 'adhesions', this means nothing to me, so I asked for a copy of the notes and photos he took but was refused them. So I have wrote to the surgeons secretary requesting a copy of his report to the providor. Obviously, he does not want to take responsibility and neither will the provider. I want the report because I want to ask them to extend the length of free after care as this problem began 10 months ago. I have no idea if the second op has worked but I intend to follow the diet and advice to the letter, as I did before. I will speak to a solicitor,but i need more detail about the problem and to sort out my on going care. Its not been a nice experience, i just hope you guys have better luck than me. also, any dietry advice would be very welcome, thanks xxx
girlygirl1
New Member
If 'adhesions' really did develop then they did so as a complication of the original surgery. Adhesions are very common, from what I have read, and the responsibility for correcting them lies fair and square with the surgeon who performed the original procedure since, as someone said earlier, you are covered for six months, initially, after the op. You have had problems since Day One, but you were not taken seriously nor were your complaints properly investigated. The thing about this 'diagnosis' that most surprises me is that post-op adhesions are generally a complication of gastric bypass surgery, not gastric banding. Anyone here able to comment on that? Obviously I am not an expert so I would welcome informed opinion - but I have never heard of adhesions being listed as a complication of gastric banding. I've just spent an hour researching this online and have yet to find one reported case of gastric banding-linked adhesions!
As for what happened to you following corrective surgery - the superfast, callous early-morning discharge - I would say that this was not only very bad practice but that it strikes me as a determined effort to get you out of the hospital before you could ask any more awkward questions! That surgeon seems to behave in alarmingly unfair and unethical ways. I've never before heard of a patient being treated in so thoughtless a manner! What's more I think a surgeon is legally bound to explain to a patient in detail exactly what the problem was and what he did to 'correct' it. I can scarcely believe the barefaced cheek of this guy, scampering off without a word.
Whilst there are many very good and reliable surgeons and WLS providers, there are bad apples, too. They rely on patients being too afraid or too lacking in awareness of how they should be treated to challenge unfair decisions.
I pray that you feel much better soon, and that when you feel stronger, you will seek expert legal advice. I know this has been suggested countless times but we are all so worried about you and we feel you have a strong case. Take care and keep posting x
As for what happened to you following corrective surgery - the superfast, callous early-morning discharge - I would say that this was not only very bad practice but that it strikes me as a determined effort to get you out of the hospital before you could ask any more awkward questions! That surgeon seems to behave in alarmingly unfair and unethical ways. I've never before heard of a patient being treated in so thoughtless a manner! What's more I think a surgeon is legally bound to explain to a patient in detail exactly what the problem was and what he did to 'correct' it. I can scarcely believe the barefaced cheek of this guy, scampering off without a word.
Whilst there are many very good and reliable surgeons and WLS providers, there are bad apples, too. They rely on patients being too afraid or too lacking in awareness of how they should be treated to challenge unfair decisions.
I pray that you feel much better soon, and that when you feel stronger, you will seek expert legal advice. I know this has been suggested countless times but we are all so worried about you and we feel you have a strong case. Take care and keep posting x
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