With all this talk about band erosions, port infections, etc. and people second guessing themselves: Should I have gotten the band or not?, I'm slightly unsure now which WLS procedure to pursue. Anyhow--

Haven't they (bariatric surgeons) been doing Lap Band surgeries in Europe for years now? What do the studies/statistics show there? All the Lap band literature says that the band (ideally) should be left in (forever, if possible) to prevent weight gain. Are the Eurpoeans having these same issues 1-2 years down the road. Has anyone had the band in for over 5 years? 10 Years?

If these procedures have been occurring for a long time--longer than in the US or Mexico--what is the consensus among European doctors?

Just wondering if any of you had any info. on this. I want so badly to be successful...

Great questions Dana and ones I ask too. Hope there are others who know

I've heard several times on this forum that Mexican doctors taught American doctors to band. This isn't really a true statement, as this procedure has been done in Europe for over 10 years now, and most all doctors learned from Italian doctors, who have had a great success rate. I still feel that cleanliness is a real issue in Mexico (don't shoot the messenger) but things can look spotless and be crawling with bacteria. I firmly believe the bacteria could be introduced at the time of surgery that eventually causes erosion, but I have absolutely no factual info on this. I personally feel safer having the procedure done in the states, although I'm sure there are some problems here too. I do understand the big cost difference and why people choose to go to Mexico. I am lucky mine will be covered by insurance.

This is a great topic....I am also interested in feedback from people that have had the band long term. I'm sure there are some sort of complications regardless of what country you choose to have your surgery. It would be nice to have some stats from other countries with long term experience.

.... you can read Abstracts from European Physicians about their experience on lapbands ( attention -there are the good and the bad things listed!). Scroll down on that page and click on Bibliography. It will open an Adobe reader with 148 pages of information.

Read through it and use your comon sense - take the time to read all the way trhough it and you will find - yes they had their problems too but positive outcomes are in the absolute majority!

Hope this will help you.

Is there a support forum for Lap Banders from across the pond? I'd like to read their issues, etc.

Hi Leenerbups;

there is a lapband forum in switzerland/ germany. I'm a member in that one and posted the question about problems there. I will post the results that i get when i get them. If you know german you are more that welcome to check this site out:

www.magenband-ch

Good luck,

Carola

Thanks Carola,

have German blood in me, but I don't speak German. Foo. Please do post what you find!

As you all know I am a nurse and have been attending several seminars on weightloss surgeries. We just had a meeting on friday and at that time we were told that they have been doing the surgeries in europe for around 30years and that the FDA approved it for here in the states in 1991 which is when the first cases were done here. That they were very few and far between until here recently. As for mexico...no statistics were given. Hope that this helps alittle. Here are a few other interesting statistics that I learned.....Mortality Rates with the RNY is 0.5% Lap Band is 0.1% and the Biliopancreatic Diversion(BPD)with or without the switch is 1.1% (Very high mortality rate and very few people do these now becasue of that) Hope that this information is of value to someone out there.

According to Tizag in Israel, they have been doing them for about 10 years there. She said that nearly everyone she knows who has had one for that long has had to have at least one additional surgery for one of a variety of reasons...I, too, would love to know about stats from Europe that cover a longer term.

Emily

It's been done in Australia for over decade too. On the Australian forums I keep up with it certainly isnt one person after another eroding but that's not to say it doesnt happen. There's less people on those boards than on this one for starters.

All you can really know with certainty is that for most people most of the time the band is still performing well 10 years down the track. But erosions and slippage and all that stuff happens in Europe and Australia too.

Here is a forum that is mostly europeans:

http://www.wlsinfoforums.org.uk/wlsinf/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=51

Unfortunately, to do more advanced functions like searching, you need to pay a membership fee.