LAP BAND SUCCESS STORIES

• Lisle Lozano | Lost 155 lbs

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  My name is Lisle Lozano. I got the lap band with Dr. kuri in 2007. At the time, I was weighting 315 lbs. My pant size was 22. It was really tough to get used to learning what was good for me and how to educate myself in my eating habits. Even after have my third child in 2010 I’m still losing weight. I have not had any body reconstruction surgery yet. I bet you want to know how much I’ve lost! You ready? I have lost 155 lbs!

  

• JoAnn C. | Lost Over 120 lbs

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  I had been over weight all of my life. When I was in my 30's and again in my 50's I was able to loose around 80 lbs the conventional way. When I got heavy again in my 60's I found it very difficult to do the exercise piece of loosing weight and I felt like there wasn't much I could do to loose the weight. I found my health issue piling up, as I got older. At 64 I found my self with blood pressure, cholesterol, heart arrhythmia, thyroid, asthma, I had one knee replaced and was look at a 2nd knee replacement, sleep apnea, and the final straw was when my doctor told me I has borderline diabetic and we needed to start treating that as well. Well that was not going to happen, I was too cowardly to stick a needle in myself for the rest of my life and I knew I needed to do something about my life. I was worried about the impact that my weight would have on me, as I got older. I was afraid the folks at the care center would have to take me to the car wash to give me a shower. I had even wonde ...

  

• Patti O. | Lost 130 lbs

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  I come from a family of obese people. I was always a chubby kid, and then thinned out when I was a teenager but once I hit my mid-30\'s something happened and I put on 100 lbs within an 8 month period of time! I was completely out of control and had basically given up. I did the yo-yo diets, tried the pills, tried starving myself, and would lose a little but would always put it all back on plus more. By the time I scheduled my surgery I was a whopping 354 lbs! I was at a BMI of 54, which put me at a very high risk of co-morbidities, and with cancer, heart disease, diabetes (you name it) running in my family, I was desperate.
  
  I did about 6 months worth of research online and found a local Lap Band seminar here in the states. I felt I had hope for the very first time in a long time, but that hope was soon dashed when I found out that the procedure was a whopping $18,500 dollars. There was no way I could afford to have it done. Once again, I went back online and saw Dr. Kuri ...

  

• Susan L. | Lost 191 lbs

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  Let me start by telling y'all a little about myself and this wonderful journey I've been on for the past 3.4 years. My name is Sassy (S. Lavergne) I'm better known as the “Banded Bandit”. I'm a 53 year old married mother of 2 great sons. A bonafide, pasteurized, notified, homogenized, diva, queen. I am a true southern belle (in every sense of the word) from a very small town in Louisiana. I use to weigh over 400 lbs. I chose to become healthier and thinner with the help of the band, Dr. Pedro Kuri and his team. I've made that choice a reality. Three years ago I awakened in a strange room in a small hospital in Tijuana Mexico with an IV in my arm. I had finally gone ahead and done it, I'd had Dr. Pedro Kuri put a lap band in me! I went on my own without telling any body (not even my husband).
  
  I was never a fat person until after marriage and children (I weighed 115 lbs. in high school and was trying to gain weight I did and finally I weighed 130 -35 when I got married ...

  

• Steve O. | Lost 220 lbs

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  I had been over weight all of my life. When I was in my 30's and again in my 50's I was able to loose around 80 lbs the conventional way. When I got heavy again in my 60's I found it very difficult to do the exercise piece of loosing weight and I felt like there wasn't much I could do to loose the weight. I found my health issue piling up, as I got older. At 64 I found my self with blood pressure, cholesterol, heart arrhythmia, thyroid, asthma, I had one knee replaced and was look at a 2nd knee replacement, sleep apnea, and the final straw was when my doctor told me I has borderline diabetic and we needed to start treating that as well. Well that was not going to happen, I was too cowardly to stick a needle in myself for the rest of my life and I knew I needed to do something about my life. I was worried about the impact that my weight would have on me, as I got older. I was afraid the folks at the care center would have to take me to the car wash to give me a shower. I had even wonde ...

  

• Rebecca T. | Lost over 150 lbs

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  Oh my gosh! I received the gift of a life time last year at the TJ Bash. Words just can't tell you how much I think of both Dr. Kuri and JoAnn Jackson and the wonderful staff at Dr. Kuri's office and at the TJ hospital. They helped me get my life back and I will be forever grateful to all of them. Dr Kuri is and angel sent from Heaven with this wonderful gift to perform this surgery to help us get back on track.
  
  Without this gift I have no idea where I would be today (closer to death I'm sure). I look at my before photo and cry. I was so very, very unhappy and depressed and now I'm much happier and healthier. I shoveled my own snowy driveway for the 1st time in years. I'm mowing my own lawns and working in my own yard that I love and had been very limited in doing because of the weight I had on this old body .Being that overweight took over my life a little at a time and robbed me of the things I enjoyed. The more depressed I got, the more it took over. I had been on ever ...

  

• Pat | Size 26 to size 10

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  "I can't lose weight or exercise because I have MS." That had been my excuse since my diagnosis in 1988, but let me back up a few years. My weight during my childhood and teen years was “normal”, but I always "felt" that I was overweight. My mom was obese from her childhood and so I was raised watching her struggle with her weight and low self-esteem.
  
  After I got married and started having children, I began putting on weight. I tried all of the usual diets; Weight Watchers, Diet Center, "liquid protein," "Atkins”, you name it and I had tried it. I usually lost some weight but eventually ended up putting it back on.
  
  When I was diagnosed with MS I thought that would be the end of my trying to lose weight because I could not do "normal" exercises. My weight continued to increase and I finally quit weighing myself. I was so ashamed of how large I had become, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to take care of my personal hygiene properly. In a family ...

  

• Linda E. | Lost 60 lbs

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  My name is Linda Elmquist. I am a RN. I work in a surgical area. I had lap band surgery with Dr. Pedro Kuri in Tijuana Mexico in October of 2005. I too, like everyone, was anxious about the idea of going to Mexico for surgery, having seen such bad examples of Mexican surgeons at my work. Not so the case. I have found out that there are many excellent surgeons and facilities that cater to Americans that are failed by the insurance system here. I researched the options in Mexico and decided upon Dr. Kuri. I received excellent feedback about him from other healthcare worker, including physicians, that had the surgery. My surgical experience was great! I brought my daughter for support. She is also a nurse. Dr. Kuri allowed and even encouraged her to observe my surgery. She was impressed with the surgeon's skills and the facilities. The staff was great. The hospital is beautiful. The hotel was perfect. I could not have had a better experience in my OWN hospital!! I have had no ...

  

• Kristen H | Lost 247 lbs

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  I am writing this story because of how the lap band changed my life. As you can see in my first photo it was hard for me to even stand and push my twins on the swings. I was a hermit and never wanted to leave my house. It hurt to walk my feet would ache with every step, and not to mention how people treated me and looked at me. Now I have my life back thanks to Dr. Kuri. I have gone from size 38 to 14!! I have lost 247 pounds and still counting! I am now in school to become a teacher. I ride Harleys and I love life. My journey is not over yet I am still losing and have about 30 pounds to go! I go to the gym now 3 times a week and the weight is still coming off. Slower now but it is still coming off. I owe my life to the lap band and Dr. Kuri.
  
  Thanks!!
  
  Much love to you Dr. Kuri.

  

• Polarbear Mike | Lost 215 lbs

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  I was dying. I weighed 427 lbs, and couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do my job, had no strength and no energy. I was very likely less than 6 months from a heart attack, and I was at the end of my rope. I found out about the Lap-Band, and joined the Original Southern California Bandsters, a Lap-Band support group, and there I met Dr Kuri. Something about me impressed him; I'm not sure what it might have been, but Dr Kuri offered me a Lap-Band and I accepted his offer. It changed my life - it GAVE me an expectation of HAVING a life! I had fought insurance denial after denial, even hiring an attorney to fight for me with absolutely NO luck, so Dr Kuri's generous offer was truly a Godsend - there was no way I could ever get a band and lose the weight on my own! After being banded, I lost weight at a REMARKABLE speed! I lost 215 lbs in less than 18 months. I can walk, I can work, I can LIVE again! I'm here for my family, and I expect to be for many years to come!
  
  Dr K ...

  

• Hannah | Banded at 12 yrs old

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  What the band has done for me...hmm. I can think of many things that it has done for me. But some things that really changed my life are: Lap-Band surgery let me live an actual "teenager" life. It has helped me play my sports easier without having to take heavy gasps by just walking down the field. It has changed my life in ways I can't explain. I end up thinking every night about how it has changed my life. I actually bought my first two-piece bathing suit last month. The band has showed me a healthier way of life. Thank you for everything and making that major decision to let a [then] 12 year-old girl get this chance of a lifetime.
  
  - Hannah

  

• Monique | Lost 112 lbs.

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  I lost 112 lbs. in 1 year! Thanks to Dr. Kuri and his staff, I don't have to shop in the "big girls" aisle anymore, I feel great, and have a load of self confidence! I went from a size 20 to a size 13.

  

• Cristopher | Lost 170 lbs

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  At 345 pounds I knew I had to make a change. My knees, back, feet and blood pressure were killing me. I heard about Lap-Band surgery and decided it was for me. I decided to look outside the US for financial reasons. I had no idea when I started looking that I would find one of the best and most respected Lap-Band surgeons in the world. I couldn't find (through extensive research) a single negative thing said about him! Dr. Kuri is way more experienced than any doctors in my area—and less expensive as well!
  
  Even through all of this research I was still nervous about going outside of the country. As soon as I stepped off the plane my worries started dissipating. As promised, there was the driver holding a sign with my name on it. Worries fading faster now, we crossed the border and headed straight for the pre-exams. After that, we went and met Dr. Kuri- all my worries were gone. He is a very articulate, kind and caring person. He explained everything and addressed any que ...

  

• Cheryl B. | Lost 100 lbs.

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  My last hope for a normal life was this Lap-Band and wow what a difference! I can truly say that Dr. Kuri and his amazing staff saved my life. I am down 100 pounds and I can actually walk a lot now. When I was 340 pounds I could hardly walk a half block, now I can go about 10 to 12 blocks with out getting winded. I look and feel great. My father turned 90 in October and I went back there, some of my sisters had not seen me. The look on my little sisters’ face said it all. She gasped and covered her mouth and said “oh my God you look so different.” I cried. What a true gift, to be given a second chance of life. Thank You!

  

• Brian W | Lost 350 lbs

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  Try to imagine being over 640 pounds, and unable to walk, work, or bathe. This was my life. At age 34 my weight was topping over 640 pounds, and I could hardly breathe.
  
  My apartment had trash two feet high in all but one room. As a result, my beautiful five year-old, Italian Greyhound dies due to bacterial infection in his kidneys. He was the only friend I had left. My other friend's stopped calling. If you can't go out, and can't fit anywhere in public, after awhile, those friend's loose contact. Can you blame them?
  
  My body stunk; my complexion was grotesque; and none of my clothes fit. Except for stretch pants. Now are you grasping, and visualizing my life four years ago? Need I tell you I was depressed beyond my mind, and addicted to prescription pain, sleeping, and depression medication? I was dying a little more everyday, and my family knew it. They did an intervention, and my sister contacted Dr. Kuri. (The same way you did.) My parents moved me into th ...

  

With close to 5,000 Lap Band surgeries performed by Dr. Kuri over the past 11 years, we have the honor of sharing our patients’ lap band success stories with you. The favorite part of Dr. Kuri’s job is hearing from his patients as they are losing the weight, reducing the effects of their co-morbidities, and living their lives more fully than they have in years.

Our patients come from all over the U.S. and Canada, creating an extensive patient support network. We have successfully banded medical professionals, adolescents, family and friends, as well as both men and women of varying ages and backgrounds. Read some of our lap band success stories or watch video testimonials to see how our patients have gained more control over their eating habits and improved their lives with surgical weight loss and proper use of the Lap Band.