Hi everyone, I am so glad I found this forum!

I am wondering if anyone has found much info/research on success with the sleeve 3+ years out. I know this is not a new surgery (ie step one in a two part and was used for stomach cancer etc in the past) so you would think there would be some data on long term health issues/concerns as well as weight loss maintenance.

I was banded 10 years ago, in Europe where I lived at the time. I would have never gotten that band had the long term risk of complications versus "success" percentages been known to me. I had thought risk of slippage, erosion etc was in the 1-2% range but it is really much much higher. I fear that I am sold on the sleeve based on short term success and I really don't know what the 3+ year timeline looks like.

So, I did "ok" with my band the first year. I lost about 70 pounds, and because i didn't loose well unless I exercised like mad, I was pretty fit and happy even though I never got below 200#. (I had a home gym that I used nearly daily, rode my bike to work and did daily walks - losing weight was a huge focus, but I have to tell you, I lost better on Weightwatchers later on in life). Well, I regained all that, plus. At one point I was at 332, but lost a bunch on weigh watchers and got down to 245 about 4-5 years ago. Right now I am floating around in the 285-290 range and NOT happy. I don't exercise like I used to, but still remain active with my dogs and horses. I don't need to tell any of you, you all get this, but I am really desparate to get the extra weight off. My knees are shot due to arthritis and I have alot of physical pain that seems to be weight related.

So, I started having problems with the band in ... well, who am I kidding, from the very beginning. In 2003 I was regaining AND having the horrible side effects, by that time back in the USA. I had a hard time finding a doctor to take care of me since my surgery had been done out of the country. I had a flouroscopy and had pouch dialiation so had all the Fluid removed. I SHOULD have gone to Mexico and had the band removed right then and there, but I didn't. I had the wrong impression that an empty band just parked there was "harmless" - it is not.

I finally got off my butt and started exploring revision and find that years later, surgeons aren't scared of taking on a foreign implanted band like they were back in 2003/2004.

Now, I am having a lot more stomach irritation etc and I had a flouro Monday and found out that my band has a big slip. Doctor said there is a change of getting totally closed off and not being able to drink Water, so that thing has got to GO. Friday, I did the upper endoscopy, and although I was loopy when I talked to the doc, I do remember the great news NO EROSION. Thank goodness, I was scared of that. He did biopsy to check for ulcers and that precancerous espohogal condiion (Barretts?). I was out of it from the twilight sleep, so I can't remember if he said he saw anything suspicious, or if this was routine. I guess I will find out next week.

I LOVE the doctor I have found. He was the second Bariatric surgeon I met with and I felt like he was the one that gave me the cold hard facts about risks of leaving the band in, risk of revision. The bands they used 10 years ago where "smaller" so even with all the fluid out, slippage and erosion are still very likely - I am a case in point as I do now have the slippage even with no fluid. When I found out how risky revision is to Gastry Bypass (due to stomach damage from the band) I was SHOCKED. He estimated that risks are something like 5-10X as high as people who have never had WLS. I don't remember THAT in the band promotional literature! I had mostly ruled out the bypass anyway, but that finished it for me.

In order to reduce the risk of leakage with the sleeve, I plan to have the band removed, time to heal and then be sleeved. He has done alot of revisions, and based on his own practice as well as other information within the bariatric community, the risk of leakage for revisions IS higher due to the scar tissue etc. The healing time will help, but I still have a higher risk. The good news sees to be that once you get past that initial leakage risk, he felt that band revisions fall into "normal" population in terms of results and long term risks. I got a little scared though after reading how horrible the recovery from a leak can be though...

I am curious if this info is consistent with what others have been told by their surgeons.

The sleeve sounds like what I need so I can get this weight off, but i would sure feel more confident if I could get a better indication of how people are doing a few years out.

I'm only 2 years out and thriving. The sleeve is pretty straight forward, and life post-op is pretty easy going. I lost easy, and found maintenance to be tricky, but overall I love it.

There's lots of long termers on obesityhelp.com and I'll share a link for a VSG maintenance group where you can find some others that are further out.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/VSGM/

There are several people at my support group meeting who are several years out from their surgeries. These are life changing surgeries we are having. They still work at it. Even though they're maintaining now, they still have to be careful about what they put into their mouths.

From my research, statistically, sleeves lose better long-term. There was ONE surgery that did better, but it one that VERY few surgeons perform, and has a higher risk than anything else. (If I remember correctly, it was the duodenal switch.) Long-term success is achievable with the sleeve, if you're willing to put in the long term commitment.

I am too new to help you with long term results, but I am glad you have found a good doctor and that you are taking steps towards getting the band out. For me, the sleeve was more of an insurance policy against gaining a bunch of weight after the band was out. To be honest, I didn't have much hope for losing becuase I had already failed one weight los surgery.

As of today, I am ecstatic about my sleeve results and I am so happy to be rid of the lap band and all of it's problems.

Good luck!

Thank you all for the information and sharing.

I am inspired to see people with similiar BMI starting - 49 - have had such good results. I am 47 YO and have gained and lost weight so many times I don't know that I will lose as well or as fast, but I would be pretty happy to move out of obese and into just plain overweight! Getting to and maintaining a normal weight/BMI almost seems to hard to believe after all these years of failing.