Allergan Inc. (AGN), the maker of the wrinkle treatment Botox, received a U.S. government subpoena over its gastric banding device for obesity.

Allergan received the subpoena from the Department of Health and Human Services’s Inspector General this month, the company reported today in a filing. Bonnie Jacobs, a spokeswoman for Irvine, California-based Allergan, acknowledged the subpoena but declined to comment further.

Allergan generated $203.1 million of its $5.42 billionrevenue (AGN) last year from devices for obesity. The company acquired the product, called Lap-Band, in 2006 with its purchase of Inamed Corp. The adjustable silicon band helps people lose weight by reducing the amount of food their stomachs can hold.

In January, House Democratic lawmakers called for hearings on medical devices including Lap-Band, following a study in the medical journal Archives of Surgery, that found almost half of patients with a gastric band had no weight loss or needed the device removed after six years. More than 40 percent had long- term complications.

Where does this 40 %come from?

The Food and Drug Administration approved the device in 2001 for patients who were at least 100 pounds (45 kilograms) overweight, had a body mass index of at least 40, or an index of 35 with obesity-related conditions such as heart problems. Allergan gained clearance in February 2011 to expand marketing of the device to people with lower body mass indexes and at least one obesity-related condition.

http://www.businessw...ght-loss-device

why are you posting things like this?

let mature people decide to have wls and deal with what happens

this sounds very familiar to a former ms maui person who posted BS like this just to start trouble...and this is exactly what you are doing..

And that post by MsMaui caused QUITE the wild ride! Most times I just sit back and shake my head when I read this stuff. But I had to put my two cents in on that one!

I completely agree with Missy on this.... If people are SO miserable with their band, get rid of it and move on with your life; which is way too short to waste on being miserable with an implant device that can easily be "UN-implanted".

PS: Did I miss something on the trolling comment? I used to go lake fishing with my dad many years ago. We would go trolling by dragging the line through the Water. I'm not quite sure how trolling now became a troll living under a bridge in Michigan? Call me crazy, but.......??

Just my 2 cents worth, and my opinion, but I read posts here everyday about people who are calling themselves failures, frustrated, etc...a lot more than 5%....I can only quess what the % is...some days that's all I read or so it seems.....

But, I have found, by paying close attention and sometimes asking questions, very few of the "Failure" stories stem from some sort of medical complications, band related or not. But they do exisit...maybe 5%, no way of really knowing...all the others....well, read the posts for your self and draw your own conclusions...

Of course, it is not my place to point things out to people...just because I feel it is not my approach to success....

people have to choose for themselves how to run their life...

Just my luck ... I'm going to my info session Tuesday night and have been counting on getting banded.

Has this affected doctors willingness to continue recommending lap-bands? Also, has this influenced the insurance companies at all?

For me, it's the LB or nothing, as I'm just not willing to take on the risks of the other types of WLS.

--Andrew

Just my luck ... I'm going to my info session Tuesday night and have been counting on getting banded.

Has this affected doctors willingness to continue recommending lap-bands? Also' date=' has this influenced the insurance companies at all?

For me, it's the LB or nothing, as I'm just not willing to take on the risks of the other types of WLS.

--Andrew[/quote']

No, because it had zero merit. It's not a study, it's numbers thrown out randomly for a lawsuit.

It's unfortunate but you'll see a lot of false info on here. Try not to let other people's misery get you down or doubt yourself.