Had Lap Band Removed Via Lap Surgery. Having Pain In Breast. Is This Normal?

Posted on Wed, 25 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 Answered on

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, i just had my lap band removed two weeks ago via lap surgery and I have a pain that comes and goes on the side of my left breast.. is this normal?

Answered by Dr. Ketan Vagholkar (7 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
You need not worry. It is a normal sequelae and will resolve by itself.
The mechanism of pain is as follows.
When the band is in place it excludes a part of the stomach from the rest . This is a significant part of the stomach. As a result the excluded part shrinks in size. Now after removal of the band that excluded part is agian brought into the main stream. With every meal it is forced to distend. This distension by food is what causes pain. Slowly the stomach will regain normalcy in distensibility and thereafter the pain will disappear. Therefore I would now suggest you to have multiple small feeds rather than few heavy meals.
I hope this answers your querry.
With regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar