I have to say that I am disappointed at what I keep reading about people's doctors pushing bypass and sleeve! People DON'T be talked into these procedures, do your research and be sure it's right for YOU!

Consider this: OB/Gyn's today routinely do cesarean sections-- General Surgeons will take out your gall bladder in a heartbeat. And your bariatric surgeon maybe just suggests you consider bypass or sleeve when you initially were thinking the band. This is how doctors make a living you know, medical care is a business as well as patient care.

I'm not dissing doctors, this is their passion and their world. They are biased. Just as I'm sure you and I are biased about what we know and live. But they are the cutters and you the cuttee. So please please please, if you're not pushing 500 pounds or have an immediate medical reason to lose weight asap,think long and hard and do much research before you make your choice!

Just my humble 2 cents from someone who's been in the medical world a long time.

ROFL...I thought I was the only one who called bypass 'slice and dice'. While interviewing surgeons, the only one who didn't push bypass and sleeve was the one I finally chose to do my band. All the rest kept pushing the bypass and when they talked about how it was more 'successful', I just pulled out my little paper with the statistics that showed how success was measured and told them that I didn't think a surgery was successful if the person was still obese as many bypass patients remain.

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I have to agree with both of you. When your in the medical field a long time (20+ years for me), you see how this all works. I was really impressed that my doctor never tried to talk me into a bypass, even given my high starting BMI. In fact, I was told I would do well and that at 2 years out, most of their band patients had the same weight loss as their bypass patients. Sometimes I wonder if all this negative talk about lapband success has much more to do with the poor lapband aftercare at some practices than it does with the lapband itself.

Surgeons like to do surgery. They like to cut something and fix it on the spot. The lapband isn't like that and the aftercare is at least 50% of this process. A successful lapband experience takes much more than a beautiful placement of the band. If you truly want a lapband, understand what you are getting and how the entire treatment plan works, not just the surgery. See which WLS fits into your lifestyle, not which one the surgeon likes to do.

Cindy