I went to an informational session sponsored by a hospital in our area. I was caught off guard by some of the things that were said.

1. Not many people get the band any more, and those that do, gain their weight back after 18 months to 2 years.

2. The gastric bypass and the sleeve are the "golden child" of weight loss surgery.

3. If the band has to be removed, it's a very difficult procedure.

4. Many of the people they've banded had to have their bands removed.

5. Doctors don't like self pay because first, it looks like the patient is trying to rush ahead of the insurance patients (this really irritated me because self-pay certainly isn't my choice and I'm not trying to rush anything), and secondly, that if something goes wrong, the patient could go bankrupt because insurance wouldn't pay for any corrections.

6. The negatives of the band were strongly stressed--not so much the other two. They were listed, but didn't seem nearly as foreboding as the list of negatives for the band.

These were just a very few of the things she said. I was very surprised to hear all this. On the other hand, lap band is the least expensive method of WLS.

Thoughts?

Linda

wow! please go to some other informational session. The first doc I went to actually told me the opposite... he stated that the bypass had so many complications down the road and that many bypass folks end up gaining all their weight back and then getting banded to lose the weight. He did say that for some the bypass is the right choice because of the quick loss- basically those who are going to die or become irreversibly harmed soon if they don't lose the weight.

When I worked on the surgical floor of the hospital I had many many bypass patients who were terribly sick from the procedure. I had a women who made me promise never ever to get a bypass- more than one patient told me that they would rather live fat than put up with the complications they were having from the procedure. Look at all the famous people who had the bypass (Randy Jackson, Carnie Wilson etc) who have put the weight back on....

Two days after I was banded my friends relative had bypass surgery... yes she has lost over 50lbs and I am just over 30lbs but she has been in the hospital for the past week getting her IV fluids because she can't keep herself hydrated or nourished and she already had to have her gallbladder removed. I on the other hand am working, playing with my son and honestly can't remember the last time I had so much energy! I'll take the slow loss over the hospital any day.

Yes some folks regain with bands too... no WLS is a magic wand that makes you thin with no effort.... they are tools that help you get there....

I wonder if these surgeons you were talking with are more motivated by the almighty dollar since the band is the least expensive?

Whew... that was a long post!:cool:

You can gain weight back with any weightloss surgery, It's not a cure for weightloss its a tool and if you use it the right way you will have success.

I think the health care professionals at these seminars push whatever is the latest "thing" at the moment. When I went we were discouraged from gastric bypass due to the complications and the tendency to put all the weight back on. by the way Randy Jackson did have GB first and then he had a band put over this when the weight started to come back on. Years ago my daughter worked for a hospital that was the first for doing bypass in the area and she did everything trying to talk me into it. I saw the mortality rate was one in every 100 and decided it was too risky. I had the opprtunity to see some pts. after GB when I worked in the hospital and it's scary to see the ones that have malabsorbsion problems and are slowly dying! Now the "sleeve" is the latest thing and I really don't believe it's any better than the band other than it doesn't have the problem of food getting stuck like you would with the band. They're just going to try and talk you into whatever is the trend. (And don't they get more for the sleeve?)

"5. Doctors don't like self pay because first, it looks like the patient is trying to rush ahead of the insurance patients (this really irritated me because self-pay certainly isn't my choice and I'm not trying to rush anything), and secondly, that if something goes wrong, the patient could go bankrupt because insurance wouldn't pay for any corrections."

Yep, thats what I did, spend $10K of my hard earned money so I wouldn't have to wait. :cool::wink2:

Remember, never ask a car salesman which car you should buy.

I thought of something else that I had read and I wanted to add. On the governments web site about gastric banding, there is a section that talks about how banding success is highly dependent on the surgeons skills. If this particular surgeon is having so many difficulties, maybe that is a reflection of his placement abilities.

(I will try and find the link and add it later)

Wow, I was just at my first info session on the 12th and that is exactly the "info" I was getting. These doctors are very experienced in all these procedures, are part of all the bariatric surgery boards, run hospital departments that are centers for excellence. I went in very confident about using them, but they VERY much seemed to downplay the band and push bypass. They called the bypass the "gold standard" of wls in the USA.

I asked about statistics and such from Europe and Australia as I know they have been banding a lot longer. Banding is considered the "gold standard" there. The doctors told us it "was" the standard and that more and more people are getting bypass done there.

I don't want to have to travel for my surgery, these doctors are at one of my local hospitals. Then again, I'm not sure just how much support they will be if they would prefer to do the more invasive surgeries.

LinKo where are you at? Wouldn't that be crazy if we were at the same session? You can pm me also.

I went to an informational session sponsored by a hospital in our area. I was caught off guard by some of the things that were said.

1. Not many people get the band any more, and those that do, gain their weight back after 18 months to 2 years.

Here is a study of 8 years follow up on lap band. pubmed.gov

Experience with laparoscopic adjustable gastric ba... [Acta Chir Belg. 2005] - PubMed result

2. The gastric bypass and the sleeve are the "golden child" of weight loss surgery.

Lap-band: outcomes and results. [J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2003] - PubMed result

3. If the band has to be removed, it's a very difficult procedure.

Experience with laparoscopic adjustable gastric ba... [Acta Chir Belg. 2005] - PubMed result

4. Many of the people they've banded had to have their bands removed.

5. Doctors don't like self pay because first, it looks like the patient is trying to rush ahead of the insurance patients (this really irritated me because self-pay certainly isn't my choice and I'm not trying to rush anything), and secondly, that if something goes wrong, the patient could go bankrupt because insurance wouldn't pay for any corrections.

6. The negatives of the band were strongly stressed--not so much the other two. They were listed, but didn't seem nearly as foreboding as the list of negatives for the band.

These were just a very few of the things she said. I was very surprised to hear all this. On the other hand, LAP-BAND® is the least expensive method of WLS.

Thoughts?

Linda

A prospective comparison of vertical banded gastro... [Obes Surg. 2006] - PubMed result

This prospective long-term study, with nearly complete follow-up, suggests that in the non-superobese population, preoperative eating habits may play a role in choosing the most appropriate bariatric operation for each patient. Although RYGBP is associated with better mean weight loss outcomes, the percentage of patients who achieved and maintained > or = 50% EWL after VBG in this pre-selected patient population was not significantly different. Each type of operation has advantages and disadvantages, and, if properly chosen, a purely restrictive procedure can be successful for some patients. Therefore, it can be said that the decision regarding which bariatric procedure to perform in non-superobese patients must be based on in-depth preoperative evaluation as well as the patients' own preferences and outcome expectations.

Thanks for posting those links, LeighaMason! I thought that they were very interesting.

Monkeymama:

wow! please go to some other informational session.

I have another session planned with a different clinic in August.

shelley1057: The latest "thing" according to them was the sleeve, and they sure were pushing it.

LeighaMason:

If this particular surgeon is having so many difficulties, maybe that is a reflection of his placement abilities.

My thoughts exactly! And thanks for those links. Very encouraging.

Asgara: Sent you a PM, turns out we were no where near each other. Funny tho, we were told the same thing.