Profile: Vanessa B Surgery: Post Op Jonesborough, TN, USA Personal Comments Well after a $19,000.00 loan from my father I was finally able to have lap-band surgery on July 3, 2003. I have been blessed by getting to know Dr. Richard Fromm, M.D. of the Gastric Band Institute in Chattanooga Tennessee. He performed my procedure. Everything has gone wonderfully and I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Fromm and his staff for anyone considering Lap-Band as their WLS option. My health had deteriorated to the point I could no longer fight with Cariten PPO. I am now on the losing side and doing wonderfully. I hope to post pictures as time goes along. Please feel free to e-mail me with any comments or questions. Dr. Fromm's website is www.gastricbandinstitute.com. July 10, 2003 1 week post-op appointment-I have lost 9 lbs. Yippee!!! August 25, 2003 I recently got on my scales and I'm down 15 lbs. since July 3, 2003. I had my first band adjustment (fill) on August 14, 2003. Everything has gone well. I can't eat what I used to that is for sure. This is a wonderful way to lose weight without all the complications of Roux-n-y. I hope those of you who are still pre-op will consider this option as a tool to help you lose the weight. September 9, 2003 Well now I'm down 20 lbs. and feeling great! I don't even crave a lot of my old foods anymore. I do have trouble drinking all that water though. Can't wait to post my next update! October 16, 2003 Hello to everyone who are pre weight loss surgery. I can't tell you how wonderful things have gone. I did have to return to Dr. Fromm's office September 30, 2003, and have some of my saline removed. I was just a little too much restricted and was not having a whole lot of luck keeping my solid foods down. This has been such a wonderful blessing and as of this morning I was down 29 lbs. This is a wonderful tool and not ask risky as gastric by-pass. I would hope that anyone considering weight loss surgery would look into the lap-band procedure before making the giant irreversible step of R-N-Y gastric by-pass. Drs. Fromm and Ponce are the greatest. Thank you so much for your selfless work in the field of bariatric surgery. January 15, 2005 I realize it has been awhile since I have posted. Sadly my lap-band has been a disastrous experience. I had several fills vomited several hundred times and have gained back all of the weight. I would not recommend this surgery to anyone. It may work very well for some but does not for others. Anyone out there having the same issues please respond. I think I would have done better with gastric bypass. I don't know that to be a fact but it just seems that works better for most people. 190 Surgeon Info: William S. Peters (Peckville, PA) Insurer Info: Vanessa