I have been reading so many posts and from the looks of things it seems that the band is just a temporary fix. No matter what the band is going to come out eventually and that scares me. I dont want to lose all this weight to just gain it back 5 years from now. I am going through the process now to try to get the band approved, but know I am kind of ify about it.

The band is supposed to be a permanent fix. You should not think that it is temporary. The only times the band needs to be removed is if it errodes, slips, etc. I believe some of the people who had to have revision surgery was due to complications.

I know for me if anything happens with my band I will have no second thoughts about getting a revision and keeping it. I love my band and I'm so glad I have it.

I'm not sure what has given you the impression that, "no matter what," the band is removed.

It is approached as a permanent implant. Its lifespan may be limited, and all of us know that, at some point, we may need to have our bands replaced. But we also know that, should we outlive our bands, replacement is necessary in order to maintain the restriction that allows us to lose and maintain our weight loss.

Some people---a small proportion of those banded--do experience problems that require removal. They are the exception, rather than the rule. Often, they choose to have another WLS so that they can continue to lose or maintain their loss.

It can seem, when reading message boards, as though problems occur more often than not. This is because people do tend to post for support and guidance when things aren't going as well as they expected.

Betsy that does make sense, thanks for making me feel a little bit better about this procedure.