I'm debating between getting the lap band or the sleeve. I see pros and cons for each of them. The main thing I like is that the lap band is reversible and I don't know how I feel about a chunk of my stomach being permanently removed… BUT, I don't like the idea of a foreign object inside me with the band, although with the sleeve theres staples anyways.. Also, there aren't any long term studies on the sleeve yet, which worries me. As you can see I am very torn and I'd love some opinions and advice. Also, I am very curious why so many people with the lap band have it revised to the sleeve.? Let me know if I've been misinformed on any of this. Thanks!

I have not yet seen any of your studies.

Anything that needs additional surgery or removal constitutes failure.

I have a band and was once in a rose colored world. The rate of additional surgeries to correct "issues" is in my opinion unacceptable.

In ca the lap band has virtually disappeared.

You seem very angry, no one is insulting your choice, but however expressing their experiences and feelings about the band.

Fyi- the sleeve has more first year surgical operations than the band! Now what?

Throw out any study that does not prove your thesis??

Only the obvious flawed ones Chris! Tell me? Why can't you failed bander's accept it didn't work for you and move on? You're part of the 10-15% the band didn't help? This is supposed to be a support forum for all WLS isn't it? Why disparage we banders who have been successful? Are you really this bitter? There are many more WLS patients who would not have any WLS if not for the band.

We will see how he feels in a few years.

The fallacy that the band last forever will soon become his own nightmare.

We post our opinions so others can make up their mind based on that. No one needs to be in attack mode.

If defending the homor makes you feel better, go ahead, but so far you have not stated any facts as you are so barking for from others.

This post is a personal attack and there is no place for that on this forum. I will ask Alex to lock this thread as it's not at all helpful.

Yes, people should not insult each other.

But what's with locking up threads when there are disagreements?

Often good information is revealed in threads with the biggest disagreements.

This happens to be a controversial topic. That means there'll be controversy. And debate.

Perhaps you should read the entire thread before you make accusations against me.

It's not bitter. It's a statement of facts, and experiences.

Perhaps you are used to the censorship that surrounds our liberal media and think all should be muzzled.

Again 10-15% failure is not very good

Which is actually higher if you include surgeries to fix problems and they kept the band.

Either way it usually comes out.

Bariatric Legend ? How does someone proclaim themselves such??

And your statistics are from what?

You demand footnotes from everyone yet you bark random "facts"

Your arrogance is overwhelming. You take others as expressing their opinions as an attack???

Yet you tear into anyone that dare defile your beloved band!

I would love more than anything to not need a new surgery. I didn't even look at statistics on the band until I started having problems.

I eat extremely well, and can assure you. Non- compliance is not the issue.

My info comes straight from my dr.

" the band should be used as a temporary, or start off to weight loss, it should never be thought as permanent. The long term affects of restriction damage the esophagus.

Yo, Chris -- I'll give you a 7 out of a 10 for those last four posts.

Deducted 3 points for harrumphs, insults and political BS.

I hope your gastric sleeve works out great for you.

That's fair lol!

Bariatric Legend ? How does someone proclaim themselves such??

The website must do that automatically? We have no control over how we're described.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/291785-new-jama-surgery-study-shows-weight-loss-surgery-is-getting-safer-and-more-effective/ If this isn't enough for you then there's not much hope for you to learn how this all works?

"By procedure, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy resulted in the greatest weight loss, but had a higher rate of complications and mortality than adjustable gastric banding. Gastric banding had the highest reoperation rate (12% in randomized trials), while gastric bypass had the lowest at 3 percent, followed by sleeve gastrectomy, which had a reoperation rate of 9 percent. The new meta-analysis included sleeve gastrectomy, which was not available in the 1990s. Of note, sleeve gastrectomy had comparable weight loss to that of gastric bypass at 5 years."

We can quibble over 3 out of 100 more patients requiring another operation with the band and I'll concede that the other surgeries have less overall risk. But, it's not the pariah you make it out to be. I googled lapband surgeons in the Los Angeles Ca area and come up with 244,000 hits and 10 surgeons on the first page alone so it does look like the lapband is still available in Ca. Since doctors earn less with a band and aftercare is so much more time consuming, surgeons want to do surgery, not doctoring, so it's understandable that a surgeon would recommend the sleeve over the band.

Don't let the facts get in your way Chris? As I've said over and over again, many of us would not have had any WLS if not for the band.

And I don't know who you were addressing above but I don't consider anyone attacking me. It's the band procedure that is being attacked and this forum is not the place to do it. Obesity Helps or Facebook maybe, but not here. We're here to support all forms of weight loss surgeries. We're all trying to get healthy so no need to disparage any of the WLS techniques. Good luck to you in your new sleeved journey.

I merely like several others are pointing out what I am going through.

There seems to be a bit of a trend that others are going through as well.

I agree that many would not have had wls without it as I was one of them.

However. Should we be reluctant to say that something may be wrong ??

Your emotional attatchment to an inanimate object is quite noble.

This was merely a discussion until you went on the offensive.

If I have had problems and others have to they should be allowed to speak about it.

3 of 100 doesn't equal your proclaimed 15% it's actually 15, which again is far to high for me.

While you can google to your hearts content, the dr's still advertise they do the lap band, however as a previous poster stated, they usually steer the patients away.

Is anyone allowed to have a view different from yours? Or is that to threatening to you?

No, you can view this anyway you want Chris. I'm just trying to show you the light but you insist on keeping the blinders on.

Let me do the math for you? 9 of 100 sleeve patients underwent additional surgery in the study. 12 of 100 band patients underwent additional surgery in the study. 9 from 12 equals 3 more band patients(per 100) had additional surgery. And as I conceded, this is more than the sleeve by 3 people per 100. It's acceptable to me. In this study it's 12% for the band and 9% for the sleeve. Get it now?

FYI-Like I keep saying, this is a support forum, not a forum to bash or disparage any of the WLS. I'm just trying to lead you towards a more constructive method of persuading people to understand WLS.

2much this is starting to sound like sat. When the guy tried to bash everyone here. So I ate a hamburger but I still lost weight. Lol