Audrey

I originally had my gastric band with another clinic in Ireland in 2012, but had to fly to the UK for my surgery. At the time, I didn’t actually know that there were facilities in Ireland where they carry out the procedure.

I lost just under 5 stone inside the first year. Life seemed great, I had my confidence back, I was exercising, I was fit and I felt healthy! Around 14 months after my surgery I started to experience discomfort when eating due to my gastric band being too tight, following a fill. I called the clinic but I was told that I would either have to go to Belfast or wait for a couple of weeks before I could get fluid taken from the band in Dublin. I was told to just eat soft food until an appointment came up. This progressively got worse so in desperation I called Auralia to ask them for advice. I spoke with David Keogh who advised me to go for a barium swallow, as my symptoms sounded like a possible “band slippage”, which is where the gastric band slips downwards on the stomach, possibly from it being left too tight for too long. The results showed that the band had slipped and I was advised that I required more surgery to fix it. I went to the clinic I had the original surgery with, but they insisted on me paying full price for another procedure, even though they hadn’t loosened the band when I had asked them and first shown symptoms.

Having called Auralia again, David told me that it was possible to go through their clinic to have the gastric band replaced. When I compared the costs and all of the pros and cons, along with the experience I had with the previous clinic, the decision to go with Auralia was made in minutes.

I am now 2 months after my gastric band removal and replacement with Auralia and the level of care I have received is nothing short of amazing. When compared with my previous experience, I just wish that I’d gone with Auralia in the first place. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I’m just glad I’m on the right path now. The best advice I could give to anybody is to stay in a clinic that does the surgeries in Ireland. When I chose my original provider I was promised everything yet received nothing. With Auralia they have exceeded everything promised. From the bottom of my heart, I really mean it when I say thank you to the weight loss team for helping me through my experience.

Having talked to the Auralia team and other patients in detail about my experience, I was told that they allow patients to come to the clinic 24/7 if there are any suspected issues with their gastric band. This is what I should have received, which almost certainly would have prevented the band from slipping in the long run.

(Results may differ from person to person)