Thought this was an interesting question as my sister just had her gallbladder removed yesterday and I'm getting my surgery in 29 days and counting. At a glance superficially, most would think that lapband is more of a risky surgery (and it may as well be) but it may not be also.

Any knowledgeable people out there that could shed some light on the topic? Maybe this could shed some light on how less risky this surgery actually is. After all, if the surgical risk is just as much as a gall bladder removal, it could subside the fears of many who are making this decision.

Thoughts/Opinions?

Well since my gall bladder was giving me HORRIFIC pain I did'nt really worry about the risk of surgery. Watching real surgeries on Youtube made me more comfortable with the surgery. FYI no blood so don't worry.

If you look on wiki... lapband has a mortality rate of 1 in 2000.. if that

I have had both done separately. Recovery was about the same for each.

Both are laproscopic. One puts a band around the stomach, the other removes an organ. I would say the risks are higher with the gallbladder. I had both about 4 years apart. For me, the recovery was harder with the gallbladder.

Wow...very interesting conversation so far. I wouldn't think that the risk of surgery would be about the same. Again, I know none of us our doctors but we can all share are opinion and experiences. I'm encouraged by the similarities of recovery experiences by people who had both surgeries.

Found this article below that says the mortality rate was 1 in 200 for gallbladder surgery:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/gallbladder-280612

This article suggests an mortality rate of 1 in 50 rate (2%) to 1 in 250 rate (.7%) :

http://www.livestrong.com/article/136836-what-are-complications-from-gallbladder-surgery/

At a glance...and trying to use some common sense...although I'm encourage that the mortality rate seems alot more with gallbladder surgery....it makes me question the 1 in 2000 mortality rate for lapband. That said...I can't wait till surgery in 29 days

I have had both recovery from gall bladder took longer and I was in more pain. I was more nauseated after lap band but only because I didn't take that little anti nausea pill prior to lap band surgery. My surgeon explains that the risk is when he makes an incision behind the stomach next to the liver that he does it basically by feel taking extra time in that spot to be accurate. Which at first I thought sounded weird and scary but that information was followed by his statistics and success rate.

I have had both recovery from gall bladder took longer and I was in more pain. I was more nauseated after lap band but only because I didn't take that little anti nausea pill prior to lap band surgery. My surgeon explains that the risk is when he makes an incision behind the stomach next to the liver that he does it basically by feel taking extra time in that spot to be accurate. Which at first I thought sounded weird and scary but that information was followed by his statistics and success rate.

Thats the biggest area of concern for me with this surgery. It's the "hook like instrument that they uses to "suture" the band in place. As you say...its AWFUL CLOSE TO THE LIVER.

Thoughts?