Why does the band errode or leak?

It seems like everyones band does this -- is there anyway to make sure

that the band is always ok????

What are some percautionaries to help these problems?

I have researched this too, in prep for my surgery. There seem to be two causes to erosion: Too many sutures or misplacement of the band.

The strongest key that I can see to this is making sure your surgeon is experienced, and doing everything you are supposed to in the first weeks to allow your band to heal.

But I would definitely discuss the occurence of erosion with your surgeon, and if he/she is not forthcoming, I would look for someone else.

I have researched this too, in prep for my surgery. There seem to be two causes to erosion: Too many sutures or misplacement of the band.

The strongest key that I can see to this is making sure your surgeon is experienced, and doing everything you are supposed to in the first weeks to allow your band to heal. Those seem to be the things that we can control as patients.

But I would definitely discuss the occurence of erosion with your surgeon, and if he/she is not forthcoming, I would look for someone else.

My two cents!!!!!:biggrin1: There are also several threads on here that discuss it, at least one on-going poll, and Dr. Curry monitors the site and will answer your questions.

Actually I would say that the most common cause of erosion would be a band that is too tight for a long time. There has been some speculation about number of sutures but no research to support it.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I have researched this too, in prep for my surgery. There seem to be two causes to erosion: Too many sutures or misplacement of the band.

The strongest key that I can see to this is making sure your surgeon is experienced, and doing everything you are supposed to in the first weeks to allow your band to heal.

But I would definitely discuss the occurence of erosion with your surgeon, and if he/she is not forthcoming, I would look for someone else.

It seems like everyones band does this -- is there anyway to make sure

that the band is always ok????

I would say this is not a common occurence. It is probably the most common type of complication, but in the percentage of overall lap-banders, I would say it is a small number.

I've done 425 bands and have never had any erosion or leak, so I certainly wouldn't say it happens to everyone! The most common complication is actually slippage, which occurs in probably 2-5% of cases. Erosion is about 0.5%.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Why does the band errode or leak?

It seems like everyones band does this -- is there anyway to make sure

that the band is always ok????

What are some percautionaries to help these problems?

I've done 425 bands and have never had any erosion or leak, so I certainly wouldn't say it happens to everyone! The most common complication is actually slippage, which occurs in probably 2-5% of cases. Erosion is about 0.5%.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Dr. C,

Can an aggressive fill schedule lead to erosion if fluoroscopy is used at each and every fill event? I've had four fills since 20 November and would have had one on the 3 January, but I'm already at 2.8cc in a 4cc band. So, I skipped the last fill.

It's not about how aggressive or whether or not fluoro is used, it's about how tight the fill is long-term. Patients who have symptoms of being too tight for a long time have a higher rate of slippage and erosion.

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Dr. C,

Can an aggressive fill schedule lead to erosion if fluoroscopy is used at each and every fill event? I've had four fills since 20 November and would have had one on the 3 January, but I'm already at 2.8cc in a 4cc band. So, I skipped the last fill.