Am I the only one who's starting to get freaked out about all the erosions we've been hearing about lately? I'm beginning to wonder if this is a more common problem than I realize. Lately I've been thinking that it almost seems unreasonable to believe that one could have a tight band around one's stomach for a long period of time and that it wouldn't erode or cause some other problem. Does anyone know what the real rate of erosion is?

When I get to my goal weight I am definitely going to get as much of an unfill as I can while still maintaining my weight.

Nancy

Nancy, It has been said by the best of the best surgeons that erosion is 1-3% which is not very high. Yes I feel just like you do . I worry every day like most of us Iam sure do especially when we are hearing about all of the erosions here on thisboard lately. The only thing wecan do is follow the rules and have our bands checked. This is why Iam greatful my Dr. does his fills under fluoro with the barium becasue any indication of Erosion can be detected by the barium, the barium will flow over the band and not through it if there is erosion then and endoscopy will give 100% confirmation. Dr. Ortiz is able to detect the possibility of erosion with the barium and that is peace of mind for me.

It definitely is something we all need to be aware of! The band is a "foreign object" and still a relatively new concept. I'm currently unfilled due to reflux. But I've felt from the start that I want to get as small a fill as possible and do my part for this band to work. I know that's certainly no guarantee, but I don't want to push my luck.

It scares me everytime I read about one. I really haven't heard of many in the US, but have heard of a lot lately from Mexico. If the doctors don't turn these in as they are supposed to, I don't know how we would ever know the true facts. When I was banded I ask my doctor and he said 1%. Another thing I think is that a lot of people don't post at all until they have problems, so that makes it look like a lot of people when actually it is very few. I hope to keep mine for life, without any problems of erosion. I have heard of some that had erosion and been rebanded too.

I already plan to be rebanded if mine erodes. I worry about it often, especially since I seem to be fairly tight without a fill.

I read that there is an unproven theory that erosion may be associated with infection, like if there was a port infection early on, it might cause erosion later. This is UNPROVEN, and like the NSAID (don't take anti-inflamatories) theory, it will probably be discounted later.

It would be nice to know, but all we can do is hope.

Gosh, it is a scary thought to have such a complication. When I think about it, it isn't the physical stuff that scares me- it's the emotional stuff...like- how would I live without my band now that I know what it feels like to have food just be food and not a coping mechanism. I know my body is strong and would heal itself...but my emotions would be a wreck.

But we all have to remember that we have to trust ourselves and know that strength got us to the point where we could make a choice to get banded in the first place. Strength carried us through the awful liquid phases and through the soreness and the terrors that we had when we couldn't use food as an emotional crutch. It is strength that has gotten us to where ever it is we are now...

And, God forbid, any of us encounter complications along our way...our strength and friendship will help heal the wounds. This is what I tell myself when I get scared.

Megan

Help me understand. If the band erodes, would food or liquied leak out of your pouch around your other organs? Is this why the barium would show it, because it would leak?

Does the band erode from the outside going in, or due to things happining inside the pouch?

I am not yet banded. But although erosions are concerning, I still will take that chance, and do as others suggest, follow all the rules and take notice at the first sign of trouble.

I am just trying to understand the reason it would erode.

Thanks

Vicki in INdy

Hi Vicki,

It is not totally known what causes erosion. There are several theories but the one I think is most believe is the fact that some people's bodies really fight against having a foreign object in it causing it to eventually reject the object. Rejection can happen with any kind of implant. When you also consider that we are putting an increasingly tightening device on a hollow tube, I can also see how it could lead to the possibility of erosion. I think that is one reason we need to work with the restriction we have without continually getting more and more fill. As I said, I have heard different theories so it is hard to determine the main culprit. Best wishes, Teresa

Thanks Teresa,

I sure can understand the body fighting the foriegn object idea.

Good advice to work with each fill and not getting overfilled. Being too tight can't be good.

Thanks again.

Betty, you made a great point. Alot of times people only speak out when a problem is found.

My doc does not do the fluro fills so I havent seen my band since I was initially banded. Hope all is well!

By the way, any more weight loss?

Thanks Paula - Yes this morning I am down 3 pounds, I don't know how, but I'll take it!

Congratulations Betty, that's great!

Paula, my doc doesn't use the fluro either. My first fill is Jan 10, that will be interesting, and he already said he's starting with 1cc, hummm.

Prior to my banding, the body rejection of the band was/is a concern, especially, since I'm allergic to metal and elastic, but it seems it was very rare. What happened?

Hi Pat,

I think overall we are still only hearing about them from a small percentage of people. When I did my research it said it occurs in 1-3%. If I remember correctly THIS forum has something like 2000 registered members. 1-3% of that is 20 to 60 members of this forum who statistically could get erosion. The odd thing is so many of these erosions are coming from one doctor. Hopefully that is just a fluke of statistics since he does so many banding surgeries. Best wishes, Teresa

Who will erode? Well, if you simplify it, how many people get infections after getting pierced ears? Some people can have 92 piercings (in pretty gross places even) with no problem, while other people get a major infection from a simple 14K gold stud in their ear. Some of us will erode, plain and simple.

If your doctor does not use fluoro for fills, you have to take measures into your own hands and schedule one somewhere else. I plan on having my band checked by either fluoro or endoscopy every 6 months to one year - at least. Nobody will chase you around or ask you if you did it. This has to be our responsiblity.

Anybody know the $ diff with fluoro vs without. My he didn't need to use tht fluro unless there were signs of complications. I guess I'll be looking for those signs.

Teresa that's comforting to know it's primarily 1 doctor, unless that particular doctor did your band, oh my.

By the way, I'm the one who gets runny ear lobes with 14k earrings, oh no!

This is an excerpt from Dr. Ortiz's book on the Pors & cons of each technique. Fluoro and No FLuoro

Both are satisfactory in the sense the patient will acquire restriction level needed. FLouro is more expensive and requires special equipment, plus the barium that must be swalloed is not the best tasting bevergae on the planet. The advantage of using fluoro is that it provides and objective image for real time evaluation, which can reveal many things about the band besides the fill level. It can show band position, the size of the esophagus and upper pouch and of course the restriction level. In other words there is a much better interval view of the band then simply a fill without visual indications. WIthout fluoro there are advantages, but apart from the cost, I see no advantage of preforming it without direct visualization. Experienced band surgeons use the rule of thirds. A third of the patients will require one fill, a third will need 2 fills and a thrid will need three or more fills. The standard protocol in the US adopted by most surgeons is a gradual adding of volume. This works well but I prefer to get the restriction level to the correct ammount as soon as possible. This can be achieved more easily with the aid of fluoroscopy. One of the advantages of having a fill without fluoro is it can be done in a Dr's office without Fluoro the protocol used in the US right now is 1cc to 1.2 cc in the first fill and then visits every 2 weeks where incriments of .2 ccs are added the desired restriction is attained. Fills preformed outside of the US are usually more aggressive.

Hope that helps to answer your question Pat