This article really scared me. Really scared me. What do you think?

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/study-cites-high-lap-band-complication-removal-rates-1.624831

There are complications with any surgery even lapband. When we make the decision to have surgery we have to out-way the risk and benefits. This is why it is so very important for us to modify our behavior and not rely soley on the band for our success. I have several friends who after 3-5 years have had complications and have had their bands removed but I also know they never bought into the idea of adopting a healthy diet and life style. Doing everything right does not guarantee any of us that we will not have complications but modifying our behavior does give us a little better odds of life time success if we do. I chose lap band knowing these facts because morbid obesity was preventing me from enjoying life and my family. Talk to your physician, this is one study out of many and in medicine there are always going to be studies that prove and disprove the success of surgery. Gastric bypass has been around for a very long time, I took care of the patients that had this surgery in the early 1980's, a lot of these patients had cardiac complications, over time the surgery was improved and lessons learn. The same is true for lap band. I understand your concerns and fears we all share the horror and realization of what would happen if we lost our bands but which is worse the life we were all living or the life the band allows us to have. Please discuss your concerns with your physician and make sure this is a choice you really want to make, if you have already had the surgery than do what ever you can to protect your band and make this new life style a success.

No, not at all, and here's why:

First, they don't even have their facts right. They state the band "limits how much food he or she can eat". We all know this isn't true and that one of the leading causes of people walking around with bands too tight (leading to slips) is expecting it to do things it's not meant to do.

Second, they say very clearly "the Belgian study was based on older techniques and older models of bands, and says patients did not receive adequate follow-up care. There have been significant changes in the way we do the procedure -- in the technique in the way we follow-up patients, and in the procedure," Cobourn told CTV News. "So the study is not relevant to today's practice " Again, we already know this is exactly why they no longer use the older 4mm band in the United States. There were a lot of problems with the older models. Sadly, a lot of those patients did have to have them removed or replaced by no fault of their own, but this study doesn't apply to people banded recently because so much has changed.

Third, and in my opinion most importantly, like every other second rate incomplete study out there spurring false media hype about the band, it doesn't take patient error into account. The studies that have taken patient error into account (over eating, vomiting, band too tight, etc) all report the severe complication rate for people's band by no fault of their own as being between 8-12%. The rest, sadly, have no one to blame but themselves for not following the rules and not using their band the way it's meant to be used.

So no, that study doesn't scare me at all. It just pisses me off to have more bad information spewed about the media, needlessly scaring people who aren't properly informed.

I totally agree with Love. As she said there are complications in any surgery. I'm currently waiting for knee replacement . My ortho Dr wants me to be 60 y o b/c of complications after 20yrs. I'm 56 and as soon as I loose 40lbs that knee is being fixed b/c my quality of life is the pits. Well the same goes for LBS, being morbidly obese was going to kill me. I've talked with my PCP ,Cardiologist & surgeon and they all thought the LB would save my life.

I'm not too worried about this article. Like it said, it's from along time ago, not a very large population being followed and a very small study. I would think that most of the 50% complications would have been from non compliance of patients.

Like Love said, speak with your Drs and get their input.

I wouldn't put alot of stock into it. From what I got from it they were talking about older surgeries and my surgeon told me that things have changed in the last 10 years with the material used for the band and the placement on the stomach of the band. These changes were to prevent and improve the things this article were talking about.

IT seems alot the the people in the study were in Europe. Not saying they don't have good health systems but I think we may have better hospitals and doctors. Just my oppinion.

It doesn't phase me in the slightest, it's an old study...as far as the US having better doctors and hospitals than Europe, not true at all and quite ridiculous to make such a blanket statement..Being from the UK and living now in the US, I have had surgeries and seen numerous doctors in both countries and neither one is "better" than the other...

There are complications with any surgery even lapband. When we make the decision to have surgery we have to out-way the risk and benefits. This is why it is so very important for us to modify our behavior and not rely soley on the band for our success. I have several friends who after 3-5 years have had complications and have had their bands removed but I also know they never bought into the idea of adopting a healthy diet and life style. Doing everything right does not guarantee any of us that we will not have complications but modifying our behavior does give us a little better odds of life time success if we do. I chose lap band knowing these facts because morbid obesity was preventing me from enjoying life and my family. Talk to your physician, this is one study out of many and in medicine there are always going to be studies that prove and disprove the success of surgery. Gastric bypass has been around for a very long time, I took care of the patients that had this surgery in the early 1980's, a lot of these patients had cardiac complications, over time the surgery was improved and lessons learn. The same is true for lap band. I understand your concerns and fears we all share the horror and realization of what would happen if we lost our bands but which is worse the life we were all living or the life the band allows us to have. Please discuss your concerns with your physician and make sure this is a choice you really want to make, if you have already had the surgery than do what ever you can to protect your band and make this new life style a success.

Thank you. I am going through with it. My first thought was they probably didn't want to eat right anymore. Got sick of trying. What do you think?

The article is about older surgeries. Everything gets better with time and technological advances. Also, this study is fixated on other countries, and in other countries surgical procedures are not as sterile as in the U.S. They don't mention all the complications, just some, how do we know that they weren't from infections due to breaks in sterility or doctors who aren't correctly trained in the procedure. The U.S. has a lot more regulations and inspections than other countries. I wouldn't pay much attention to this article, if you are really that concerned take the article to your surgeon and ask him about it. He will have the most current stats and maybe it will make you feel better.

i agree with the posters above.

any surgery (WLS or dental visit or even a manicure) can have problems for whatever reason things (happen)..the dr's laid out the pros/cons and it was (our decison) for me to have the surgery. best thing i ever did.

I read the article and watched some videos on You-Tube the other day of folks who had their bands removed for one reason or another. I sat there thinking that perhaps I had made a huge mistake (banded 12/31). However, I need to lose weight, I have to lose weight. This seemed the best option for me since it is not permanent like a bypass or a sleeve and if there are problems, it can be removed with not too much trouble. Other methods were not working for me. I'm determined to work within the rules and guidelines of the band and for me it's too late to worry, my band is in. Obviously, I'm all in as they say. I don't regret my decision and I'm not even on real food yet. I've already lost weight that I haven't been able to lose in years. I feel good about the fact that I'm doing something food for myself. Yes, there are negative articles and stories but there are also so many more positive ones and great success stories. I'm willing to accept the odds!

In part of the seminar that I attended, my surgeon gave me his personal stats concerning the surgery, which encompasses over 900 procedures over a period of 10 years. Those are the stats that I based my decision on, and they don't resemble the stats in this article in any way, shape or form. He could have lied to me, but his culpability from doing that would amount to significant jail time More logical to assume that this is flawed, or deals with a procedure that is significantly different than the one I received.

Old article, old stats. Ask your doctor what his numbers are. I see far more successes than failures here, and trust me the failures yell the loudest. Keep in mind one of the number one causes of band failure is lack of patient compliance. You have to really WANT to succeed to be a success.