I have noticed a lot of people sleeve after banding has failed or been compromised. Anyone band after having sleeve or would that even be possible. Sleeving freaks me out honestly but I can see why the band would be harder to get used too. Anyone have some insight on these one vs the other. The lack of needing fills sounds appealing but the stomach leakage sounds more plausible after sleeving. Help? :smile:

I researched both options when looking into WLS. I personally felt more comfortable choosing the banding option because it was less invasive and had the possibility of being removed if my body couldn't tolerate it....not that I actually plan on having it removed, but it is nice to know that there is the possibility if medically necessary.

I think that you may have to be a bit more disciplined to have the band rather than being sleeved. It takes a lot of will power....especially before you reach restriction....to achieve weight loss. Restriction will come with multiple fills over time. I can see how this could be frustrating to some people who are impatient to lose the weight immediately!

With the sleeve you will experience more initial weight loss because you are essentially restricted from day one. My surgeon did say that over time (18+ months) there isn't much difference in weight loss between banding and sleeving. I am a pretty patient person so I can accept slower weight loss in the beginning of my journey if I can over time achieve the same results.

I think that you need to really research both options and speak to your surgeon to see what s/he thinks is better for you. Either option requires surgery which isn't something to jump into without fully researching the procedures and risks.

Ultimately, only you can decide which surgery is right for you. Both are good options for weight loss. It will just come down to which procedure do you feel the most comfortable with.

I really wish you luck in your journey!

There is an aweful lot of follow up with the band.

I had/have a phobia of removing or rerouting some of my insides so sleeve wasnt even an option for me. I was stuck in a hospital emergency room and heard a lady come in who had complications from a gastric bypass. Scared the devil out of me, never even considered the sleeve because of it. But honestly, if it werent for that bit of trauma I believe the sleeve would have been a better choice.

Both are good choices for many. I opted for the band because I like the long-term follow-up; I think that being in close contact with a doctor after modifying your body is really important--and the band has the need for this built in to it.

For me, the best choice was the surgery that (a) was least invasive, and (:thumbup: had the longest track record. A not-unimportant consideration, too, was the fact that my insurance does not cover the sleeve at this point.

I reason that, should my band ever need to be replaced, I can re-evaluate at that time. Then, there will be more data about the sleeve, and my insurance is more likely to cover it. I LOVE my band, and if things continue the way they have, I think I would stick with it. But you never really know what's down the road.

If I'd gone with the sleeve, I would remove options for revision. (I am not willing to go the bypass route. I strongly believe that, for me, the malabsorption aspect of the surgery would be hugely detrimental.)

I think sleeving is a great option with a lot of promise--but I wasn't ready to commit to it at this stage in its development as a surgical procedure.

That is also what concerns me too is the long term effectiveness and safeness of the sleeve. Plus the band is removable so if something isn't jiving I could have it whipped out! Thanks for those insights.