2 months ago I discover due to my band I have developed Barrett esophagus, precancerous cells. I had my band removed 2 weeks ago and had to pay for it myself due to insurance wording of their policies!! I have went over and over again in my piles of literature for the Lap band and this is NOT listed as a side effect or potential risk. If u have had this happen to u please email me with your story. Gastric bypass will be needed to help reduce my risk of further damage or development.

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience. My medical team found specimens that they labeled "suspicious for Barrett" in my esophagus. I work in the same hospital where I had my surgery and all pre-op tests so I had access to my files. When I read it, I freaked out. They did a biopsy though and thankfully, I had not developed the disease (but I was very close).

I googled Barrett esophagus and lap-band because no one had told me about this potentially serious consequence and I was scared. I remember finding a couple of academic articles, like this one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19997783

From what I read, having Barret does not mean that you will develop cancer but it does elevate the risks and therefore requires you to have an upper endoscopy more frequently than people who don't have Barret (every 2 years, I think).

I wish you the best of luck with safely taking care of this condition.

Edited August 14, 201510 yr by wicked

I am so sad to hear this....Imtoo am having the most insane problems with this lapband...just had aUpper GI with barium today...endoscopy next week....something ain't right.....What test indicated that you have Barrets ? also who is your insurance....??? take care ....

Same here, lap band then diagnosed with Barrett's last week. And I have major issues with anesthesia. Not sure how this will work with the testing every 2 years.