:angry:On Nov. 18, 2004, I entered the hospital for an endoscopy to check out a possible port infection. Turns out that I had peritonitis caused by the band being placed "through" my stomach instead of "around" my stomach. That explains why I could never get much restriction, even with a fill of 2.5cc. I was in the hospital for 16 days. The infection was so severe that the doctor had to open my abdomen (leaving a 10-in. scar), put in a rib spreader and remove some organs to clean the infection from them before putting them back in and closing me up. I almost died! It was very life-threatening. I will be on disability at least another month, possibly two. I am extremely disappointed in the Mexico operation because I contacted Dr. Ortiz about my problem and he has yet to respond to me. He could at least offer me an apology! I kept telling them I had pain after my band was installed but they kept telling me that it was gas from the procedure. Obviously it wasn't. I have pictures taken during my recent surgery that prove the band was installed improperly. My band was removed and cannot be reinstalled without opening up the abdomen again. No thanks! It hurts bad enough now. Like a lot of other bandsters, I had done my research and truly felt that the band was my very best chance for permanent weight loss. I spent $9,000 to have the procedure done in Mexico because my insurance company wouldn't cover it. Now I probably have a $300,000+ hospital bill that they will have to cover. Ironic, isn't it?
