Gastric band - Beware

funguy

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

So if this lady needed to have the band removed because the original operation could result in her death or serious consequences to her health and she could not afford the operation be done privately....you would think that it would be okay for the NHS to refuse her it and her ultimately (sp) die

The NHS always picks up the pieces if people are in a life threatening condition. Thats why its so taken for granted as a back up. In other countries, it would usually be a claim on the person's health insurance and so i dont see why a bill for the surgery could not be sent on to the person who could then claim it back from the private hospital if they wished to do so.

PS....I am not saying the OP is a drain on the NHS or was she demanding any surgery on the NHS. I am taking in general about procedures or operations done privately/abroad.

The OP sounds like they may have a claim on the original hospital to rectify the procedure IF this was not mentioned as a potential SE of the operation.

gastricbanddisaster

I do not take the NHS for granted.
I do not expect to be treated as some people are on a regular basis.
As explained I had never stayed in hospital before.

funguy

gastricbanddisaster wrote: »

I do not take the NHS for granted.
I do not expect to be treated as some people are on a regular basis.
As explained I had never stayed in hospital before.

I have not said any of the above about yourself it particular....i was replying to the other poster's comment about whether i thought the NHS would let a life threatening situation continue.

As i said above, you may have a legal case against the BUPA hospital.

gastricbanddisaster

All as I am trying to do is to prevent others from going through the nightmare that I have been through this year.
My life has not been the same since.

I would not wish this on anyone.

Just think long and hard.

I was also asking if anything like this had happened to others.

funguy

I would agree that people need to think long and hard about surgery like this! That is why the NHS does not recommend it except in individual circumstances!

alison999

Ive lost nearly 1/2 a stone just doing an hour on the wii fit every day in the last two weeks i too want to go from a size 16/18 (after 2 children) to around a 12-14, id never dream of having a band.

nonjudgemental_2

Having read through all the posts on this thread I see there is a real need to educate quite a few people.
Firstly, size 18 could be a nice size for someone who is 5'9" or taller. However, if the lady is only 5'0", then dependent upon her bone structure and weight she may very well be classed as morbidly obese.
The NICE criteria for consideration of bariatric surgery are:
A BMI of >40
A history of diabetes
A history of heart disease
Failure to lose weight/maintain weight loss through "normal" channels, i.e. weight watchers/slimming world.
Controlled and assisted weight loss via g.p with appetite surpressants or drugs such as orlistat.

Whilst some people are able to succeed with using the above methods mentioned, there are also some people who can't. It is for these people... including myself, that bariatric surgery was developed. You are right in thinking it is not a quick fix. It is a resource to achieve AND maintain a healthy weight which enables you to live your best life.
Some of us do have the "fat gene". This means that for us the ONLY long term treatment is the surgery. For those of us with this gene, we are unable to send the chemical messenger to our brain which tells us when to stop, or when we are almost full. It is missing.
Working with the band is the only way to succeed. I too had to pay for my surgery because although I met the NICE criteria, these are GUIDELINES ONLY and my own PCT have set much higher criteria.... they do not want to use their budget on fat people.
How sad that with all the available research today there is still such bigotry and judgement happening. A gastric banding operation that privately costs between 7 and 8000 costs the NHS less than a third of this. When you add up the money spent on treating secondary illnessess that occur from being overweight, where is the economic sense?
I would NOT expect the NHS to pick up the bill for cosmetic surgery that went wrong... (which incidentally it does in abundance). I would expect that in an emergency situation they would provide the care and treatment necessary to stabilise the patient, rectify the problem and refer back to the original surgeon.
I would expect, in fact demand of my consultant that adequate aftercare, including emergencies, be provided for. They are selling a service and have a duty of care to each and every one of us.

Cobbetts

I have pm'd you with my reply to your thread, I totally agree with nonjudgemental's comments above and think the general public need a great deal of education and not believe the hype given off by the sensationlist seaking meadia. It is only when you go on the journey to bariatric surgery after a lifelong battle you decide that it not the easy way out as so many think but it is the last resort. I don't know what happened to my original thread that I posted this morning but all the information I included is in the pm. Good luck.

gastricbanddisaster

The surgeon is not intrested, even though it went wrong 5 months after surgery. He seems to think that Weight Watchers is the solution!!!!!!!!!!!!

VfM4meplse

I have seen cases like this before - and whilst you are different, others have been in so much physical distress they have had to ask the NHS to fund reparative surgery.

Gastic banding should always be the last step in a rigorous and medically supervised wt loss programme.