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The Mother is a moron. No way in hell is a child as young as that mentally able to deal with the lipo she had, let alone banding.

My buddy and I got banded at the same place south of the border. The week she had hers done there was a 14 year old having it done at the same time. I wondered how that could really affect a kid. It was a miserable experience for me and I'm 33.

The Mother is a moron. No way in hell is a child as young as that mentally able to deal with the lipo she had, let alone banding.

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. OTOH, this could enable her to get a grip on better eating habits at a young age and spare her years or mental and emotional abuse and physical break-down. It's a simple fact that the longer you are fat, the longer it takes you to adjust. Would we really want her to experience 15 or 20 years of what we've been through before we 'approve' of what's she's doing?

I've been told by more than one doctor that lap-banding is now common practice for adolescents in other countries -- because they know the sooner the domino-effect of obesity is arrested, the better the patient's long term prognosis.

I say good for her. Might as well nip the problem in the bud now before it gets worse.

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. OTOH, this could enable her to get a grip on better eating habits at a young age and spare her years or mental and emotional abuse and physical break-down. It's a simple fact that the longer you are fat, the longer it takes you to adjust. Would we really want her to experience 15 or 20 years of what we've been through before we 'approve' of what's she's doing?

I've been told by more than one doctor that lap-banding is now common practice for adolescents in other countries -- because they know the sooner the domino-effect of obesity is arrested, the better the patient's long term prognosis.

No. But at the same time, a 12 year old is not going to understand full what is happening, or be able to comply with a banded lifestyle, even with support from her family.

A better idea would be to educate the child on what would be a better choice (food wise) and help her to develop an active lifestyle. And if she loses weight, fantastic. But if she doesn't, she will be learning a better way of life. And when she turns 18, if she elects to be banded, she will have a head start on the rest of her banded peers.

It's not about approving, its about not using being banded as a quick fix. And that's they way it came off to me. The lipo didn't work, now on to the next quick fix.

I cannot imagine having my 11 year old son banded.

Maybe having been banded for almost 3 years, I fully understand what it takes to make the band work, and I understand that it really isn't a suitable device for a child.

I saw the mother's interview on TV.......she apparently doesn't have the full picture of what it takes to live with a lapband. So many doctors say "you eat anything you want, just less of it" and that's apparently what she thinks. I don't know of anyone that has found that to be true. But...the girl seemed very mature for her age and very bright so maybe she'll get through it successfully....I hope so.

I think it is great she is making the choice now to solve the problem. If I could have had a band at that age, I would have to prevent myself from getting to almost 300 pounds. I actually had my surgery at the same hospital in Monterrey she did and my doctor was wonderful and caring. I feel any emotional issues she will have dealing with a band are worth avoiding the emotional torture of being an obese teenager.

It's not about approving, its about not using being banded as a quick fix. And that's they way it came off to me. The lipo didn't work, now on to the next quick fix.

This is how it came off to me as well. I think the lipo surgery in and of itself was horrible, because I don't think that lipo should be used as a weight loss solution (because you don't learn anything and just keep eating the way you were), let alone on a TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL.

I think that the lap band will become very popular for teenagers, but I think that they should definitely have some severe psych evals, which this girl's mother thought this was "just red tape and money". This girl is not going to learn anything, and she is risking the more severe complications of the band if she follows her mother's theory of "she can't control what she eats, and with the band she can only eat so much and the rest comes up".

She did not strike me as a mature 13 year old. She struck me as a young girl who thinks she is mature (I have a sister like that) but doesn't actually have much wisdom. Which is fine for a young girl... that's what parents are for (sigh).

I don't think the mother or the child seemed well prepared. It's like the mother mentions about compulsion then says it's all about the stomach. I think whoever her doctor was is unethical and could care less if they fully understood what they were doing. He was just after their money!

This is how it came off to me as well. I think the lipo surgery in and of itself was horrible, because I don't think that lipo should be used as a weight loss solution (because you don't learn anything and just keep eating the way you were), let alone on a TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL.

I think this is the whole point. We know the band works. But we also know that the band takes hard work, and dedication to our new lifestyles to make it work. And that takes an amount of maturity.

At 12 years old, there is no way that she has the amount of maturity required to make the choice to be banded, let alone the maturity to make it work long term.

Lipo at what age 10 or 11? Let me just say, if a child (I have an almost 11 year old son, so I speak with some experience as a parent) was to have lipo, it would be the PARENT making that choice, not the child. No child at age 10 or 11 has the slightest idea what they are getting into. Even at age 12, there would be no way that the child would fully comprehend that there are risks attached to any surgery.

Well...I have been overweight my whole life and I wish I could have had the band when I was a teenager. It would have saved so much heartache and emotional distress growing up caused by my weight.

If we say she cant be mature enough to make desicions to do with the lapband then we can say she isnt mature enough to be making correct food choices etc on her own.

We all know dieting doesnt work right?? We have all been there. The band is what saved us all, we had reached the end, we had tried everything...

I think to nip this in the butt now is a great thing, I also think it should be followed up with weekly visits to a therapist and dietician but I think it could work.

I disagree with the lipo but as for the band I say go for it and good luck to her...hopefully it will work for her and she wont struggle through her teenage yrs being discriminated, picked on, and judge for her weight.

I fortunately didn't have to live with the ridicule growing up fat. As an adult, I had been heavy a long time. She seemed to have a better head on her shoulders than the mother did; that's for sure. 'Red Tape'? No, Mom - Educate yourself...it's all about safety as well.

Either way, I wish her luck. I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more of this.

The mother seems like a flake with shallow values. This is not going to help that kid.

I think it is wonderful that the parents allowed her to do this. It is no different than being a childhood diabetic in my eyes. They have to change their eating habits too, but the parents will be there to help with their diet and food intake (carbs, etc) so, why shouldn't obesity be nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand? A 13 year old girl was banded the same morning I was and I had the pleasure of talking with the girls Mom. The girls Mom was lapbanded 3 years earlier and she was completely aware of what it takes and loved her daughter enough not to make her suffer like she did all those years. I say "way to go Mom"!!

I have no problem with a young person being banded as long as they are aware of the stringent rules which must be followed once you have been banded. I would be inclined to say that 13 might be a little too young and I will explain my reasons for this.

According the Canadian Diabetic Society teenage insulin-dependent diabetics tend to go through a period where they bitterly resent their food restrictions and the general care which they must take with their health. They naturally want to live like the rest of their friends and they will eat carelessly and ignore or postpone other aspects of their daily regimen. This behaviour will always lead to sudden collapse into coma-like states and visits to the local ER. Moreover, screwing around with type I diabetes can lead to blindness or amputation. But, nevertheless, teenagers will go through a period of irresponsibility because they are tired of being different and of always having to be careful.

Folks who have been banded also have to be careful. We can't drink soda because carbonated drinks are bad for the pouch. So is overeating and so, too, is making a habit of PBing. Gobbling down our food is bad and living on fat and carbs is wrong, too.

Banding a young person who is morbidly obese, mature, focussed, and disciplined certainly seems like a good thing to me. Why require that young people suffer through years of yo-yo dieting, feelings of frustration and personal humiliation, as well as finding themselves socially marginalized? I can easily imagine that there are many 16 year olds who are ripe for this operation.

In the case of this particular child her psychological profile is very different. She is much younger and she has already been raised to expect that surgery will take care of everything for her. She has, afterall, already gone through the lipo route with the blessing of her parents. Nor is she morbidly obese but only merely a chubbette at this point in time. And she is just entering her teen years; of course she is going to want to drink sodas and eat hamburgers and fries along with the rest of her friends. There is absolutely no way that this young teen is going to adhere to the protein first, vegies and fibre second rule when her pals are inhaling junk food. This means that the band is not going to work for her and she will find herself with an enlarged pouch. She may possibly suffer other, uglier complications through her inevitable inability to comply with Da Rules: slippage, erosion, acid reflux, hiatus hernia.