Lap band erosion

[Fiologist 0]

This risk is the very scary part about having the band.

Having a sleeve or bypass seems like a good alternative until you really think about all the risks.. and of course 80% of an organ you need to survive going in the waste bucket would be just terrible.

Edited February 19, 2009 by Fiologist

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

This risk is the very scary part about having the band.

Having a sleeve or bypass seems like a good alternative until you really think about all the risks.. and of course 80% of an organ you need to survive going in the waste bucket would be just terrible.

The long term risks with a sleeve are drastically less than that of a band. I'm not sure I understand your point?

Since when do you need 100% of your stomach for survival? Mine was killing me, it held too much food. Today with a smaller stomach I am far healthier than I was fat.

[MiFive 0]

One thing about having the band that bothers me most is the possiblity of erosion.

As this thread has demonstrated, its very much a reality that can happen..

I will be asking my Dr to check for this periodically to try and stay safe.

If I were to have this occur, I would not have the band put back in.. and would think the scar tissue would have already made such a mark that it would be unthinkable.

My opinion about the sleeve, or the bypass is that these operations are too risky and you risk losing a very important organ. It may not have been a friend to many.. in a sense.. but it is something that you just have to have.. and to think of it going in the waste bucket is just aweful.. To know that its unreversible.. could cause damage beyond repair.. and serious risk of fatality.

Honestly, Im disappointed that I've had to have the band put in.. Genetics, Hormones, Emotional stress.. seem to have caused such havic on my body. Its really sad to me.. Almost like a terrible disease or carwreck that couldnt be avoided...

Im hoping for the best results of course.. and hoping to become a healthier Mom, who is able to do so much more.. and a healthier more attractive wife too...

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[WASaBubbleButt 41]

One thing about having the band that bothers me most is the possiblity of erosion.

As this thread has demonstrated, its very much a reality that can happen..

I will be asking my Dr to check for this periodically to try and stay safe.

If I were to have this occur, I would not have the band put back in.. and would think the scar tissue would have already made such a mark that it would be unthinkable.

My opinion about the sleeve, or the bypass is that these operations are too risky and you risk losing a very important organ. It may not have been a friend to many.. in a sense.. but it is something that you just have to have.. and to think of it going in the waste bucket is just aweful.. To know that its unreversible.. could cause damage beyond repair.. and serious risk of fatality.

Honestly, Im disappointed that I've had to have the band put in.. Genetics, Hormones, Emotional stress.. seem to have caused such havic on my body. Its really sad to me.. Almost like a terrible disease or carwreck that couldnt be avoided...

Im hoping for the best results of course.. and hoping to become a healthier Mom, who is able to do so much more.. and a healthier more attractive wife too...

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There seems to be a great deal of misinformation out there about sleeves. You do not need a whole stomach for survival. You just don't. I have about 20% of my stomach left, I have a BMI of 20, I eat anything I want, my diet is 10x better than when I was banded, I feel great, my labs are great, I don't take supplements because I don't need them, shall I continue?

The sleeve is safer than the band is long term.

Weight loss is faster.

Weight loss is better (80% with a sleeve compared to 55-60% with a band).

There is no maintenance.

I can continue with this too.

I like the idea of permanent. Is there some reason you would want to regain all your lost weight? I don't.

If you don't want a sleeve, kewl Beans. Don't get one but spreading incorrect information about any procedure type isn't productive.

[MiFive 0]

I've only read the information posted here by everyone.. and going off the information given by the Dr who posted..

Im certainly not here to debate this topic or say anything against anyone who has made other choices.. I only chose to give my own opinion based on what I know.. and what I read here on this thread..

Does this mean that the good Dr who posted on this thread gave misinformation ? If so.. he is the educated one of this field.. so maybe he will want to debate..

Peace~

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I've only read the information posted here by everyone.. and going off the information given by the Dr who posted..

Im certainly not here to debate this topic or say anything against anyone who has made other choices.. I only chose to give my own opinion based on what I know.. and what I read here on this thread..

Does this mean that the good Dr who posted on this thread gave misinformation ? If so.. he is the educated one of this field.. so maybe he will want to debate..

Peace~

It's not an issue of debate, it is an issue of incorrect information being given out.

Here is what Dr. Watkins (the guy who charges over $1,000 for a lap band fill) writes:

Denise822,

My opinion is that gastric bands have been proven to be a powerful weight loss tool long-term and their adjustability is key. The sleeve is fairly new and non-adjustable and more radical of a surgery.

Surgeons are opinionated but I would never feel good about cutting out the majority of the stomach and throwing it in the waste bucket forever when you can have normal anatomy with the band with good long-term results. Certainly erosions are rare enough that I would worry more about the unknown and more radical aspects of the sleeve.

There are many surgeons who would disagree with the above but I try to view surgery on other people like I would if the patient were me.

Hope that helps

brad

He claims lap bands are a proven powerful tool. What is powerful? I guess that is subjective as Inamed just came out with their long term stats and they show that at 5 years people have lost an average of 55-60% of their "excess" weight. Sleeves show 80% at five years. Which is a more powerful tool?

Adjustability. You have a valve at the bottom of your stomach called the pylorus valve. It controls how fast your stomach empties. The idea behind the band is to copy what the pylorus valve does naturally just higher up in the stomach. It HAS to be adjustable because essentially your band is trying to do what my pylorus valve does naturally.

The sleeve is not new, it's been done since the late 1800s, just not for weight loss. It was done for stomach cancer and ulcers and such. We know what happens long term with less of a stomach.

What is new is tracking weight loss. It's been tracked about as long as banding. If new is bad, shouldn't the band be bad?

Normal anatomy with a band... total crap. Studies are showing that with the band the anatomy changes to the point that many/most banded folks suffer from reflux. There is nothing normal about any WLS, nothing. It's not normal to squeeze the upper portion of your stomach nor is it normal to cut out the elastic portion of your stomach.

The one thing he says that I agree with is that many surgeons would disagree with him.

[MiFive 0]

All these issues are just so very scary..

Wishing I never had to go this direction.. Having nightmares about all of these risks..

Alot of horrific stories and stats all the way around it seems.

Best Wishes to everyone

Peace~

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

All these issues are just so very scary..

Wishing I never had to go this direction.. Having nightmares about all of these risks..

Alot of horrific stories and stats all the way around it seems.

Best Wishes to everyone

Peace~

One thing I have learned throughout my own weight loss journey is that it's always best to go to a doctor who does all the major procedures, banding, sleeves, bypass. You get a more balanced answer to questions. If you sell Ford cars you sure aren't going to push Toyotas. A band surgeon isn't going to push sleeves.

Not every doctor feels comfortable doing a staple line. If that is the case they are right to stick with banding. But it doesn't mean it's a bad procedure, it means they are not comfortable doing staple lines.

Doctors are business people like everyone else, they go to work to earn a living. They aren't going to push a procedure they do not do. They are going to push one they do, as I've pointed out above.

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

I have some questions. My husband had the surgery sept 5 now he had it removed feb 6 (5 months) He had noweight gain he lost 68 lbs total but he was sick for the 5 months. 4 days after the surgery he had a 102.5 fever and ache all over his dr. said flu same 4 times for the next 5 months 2 times in the hospital high fever Fluid in lower left abdomen pain on left side and left shoulder. take the fill out in about 4 days fever gone but alittle less pain not much. Get a fill and fever would come back within 3 hours (102) take fill out get alittle better. Now Feb 6 go in to check things out (surgery) had to remove said the port, band and everything in between was cover up by the lining of the stomach and had to repair a 1 1/2 hole. The Drs called it the erosion of the band. Everything I can find out when erosion happens it it usually years down the rd. My question to you is do you think this erosion can happen in only 5 months? Or even 4 days? I think they cut his stomach during the surgery for the lap band. Just wondering Thank you for your time.:tt2::confused::tt2:

WasA, can you answer this person's question? I am not sure

why a band would erode this soon, unless the surgeon made a mistake from the beginning. Your thoughts?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WasA, can you answer this person's question? I am not sure

why a band would erode this soon, unless the surgeon made a mistake from the beginning. Your thoughts?

It doesn't sound like erosion to me, it sounds different. Erosion can happen in a few months, what erosion would not cause is fever after a fill. Not that I am aware of anyway.

It's normal to have a low grade fever after surgery, it's the way the body heals itself. But... 102.5 is not low grade. It sounds a lot more like an infection to me.

When the band erodes the stomach tissue grows around it. There isn't a hole per se, not before they actually remove the band.

I'd be interested to see his labs before surgery, I have a hunch it was an infection.

I'd seek out MissMonaAZ, she had something kinda sorta similar in symptoms. What they suspected happened was that during surgery her surgeon scratched the area of the stomach under the band. She ended up in the hospital about a week after banding with a high fever and similar symptoms. She has been told due to the type of injury she will likely erode in the future. She's making the most out of her band while she has it.

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

What a bummer. That would stink being messed up right from the get go. It would seem like the dr would have to compensate the person in some way, if they admitted it was their error.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

What a bummer. That would stink being messed up right from the get go. It would seem like the dr would have to compensate the person in some way, if they admitted it was their error.

Infection isn't necessarily the fault of the surgeon. It might be his fault, might not be. Infection is always a risk of any surgery. What concerns me is not diagnosing these fevers and Fluid in his gut. That is a problem.

[southerngirl21 0]

How common is it that the tubing from the port to the band becomes unconnected, and if it does become unconnected is can it just be repaired, without removal. I have had my band for about a year, and had a splenectomy on 1/15/09. I went in for a fill today and the surgeon told me the tubing had become disconnected but he could fix it. This is the same doctor that did my splenectomy a few weeks ago. I have been experiencing a lot of lower abdominal pain and had seen my family physican and gynecologist. Now I am wondering if this pain could be coming from these two ends just dangling inside me. Prior to the splenectomy I had a lot of restriction and noticed an immediate change in restriction right after surgery, so I feel this is a problem the surgeon created but now I have to pay again to have it fixed.

[GuyMontag 1,264]

It's not an issue of debate, it is an issue of incorrect information being given out.

Here is what Dr. Watkins (the guy who charges over $1,000 for a lap band fill) writes:

He claims lap bands are a proven powerful tool. What is powerful? I guess that is subjective as Inamed just came out with their long term stats and they show that at 5 years people have lost an average of 55-60% of their "excess" weight. Sleeves show 80% at five years. Which is a more powerful tool?

Adjustability. You have a valve at the bottom of your stomach called the pylorus valve. It controls how fast your stomach empties. The idea behind the band is to copy what the pylorus valve does naturally just higher up in the stomach. It HAS to be adjustable because essentially your band is trying to do what my pylorus valve does naturally.

The sleeve is not new, it's been done since the late 1800s, just not for weight loss. It was done for stomach cancer and ulcers and such. We know what happens long term with less of a stomach.

What is new is tracking weight loss. It's been tracked about as long as banding. If new is bad, shouldn't the band be bad?

Normal anatomy with a band... total crap. Studies are showing that with the band the anatomy changes to the point that many/most banded folks suffer from reflux. There is nothing normal about any WLS, nothing. It's not normal to squeeze the upper portion of your stomach nor is it normal to cut out the elastic portion of your stomach.

The one thing he says that I agree with is that many surgeons would disagree with him.

I just want to toss in my two cents here in a little defense of Dr. Watkins. I know it's easy to toss in things like, (the guy who charges over $1,000 for a lap band fill), without really knowing the guy. I was banded by Dr. Watkins on February 13th, 2009. Let me tell you something, he's an amazing doctor. I say this for many reasons. First, his clinic has performed almost 5000 lap band surgeries with only one reported case of 'slippage' and that one case happened after the patient had undergone chemo...not saying that it was the cause but it is an interesting coincidence. Also, when I went in to meet with Dr. Watkins on my initial consult he spent over an hour not only answering every question I had but also filling me in on many aspects of the lap band that I had no idea about. He also took the time to chit chat with me about himself, his upbringing, etc. and made me feel more comfortable than any doctor i've ever met before. Also, i'm about 12 days post-op and my surgery day started at 9:30am and I was in the car heading back home to recover by 1pm the same day. My recovery has been awesome. Since the procedure was laparoscopic my incisions are healing very well and i am exercising and feeling great now. In fact, I've already lost 30lbs. in the last 3 weeks.

I would also like to point out that Dr. Watkins didn't say that the band was more powerful than the sleeve. He said that the band is a powerful tool. He then went on seperately to say that the sleeve is newer...i'm sure he means as far as approval by the FDA for weight loss uses...not as far as invention goes.

Also, his point about the adjustability is for reaching an ideal weight and maintaining it. I have a friend that has the sleeve and honestly he's lost TOO MUCH WEIGHT...he looks like a skeleton now and it's really sad. The nice thing about my band is if I begin loosing too much weight I can always have my band adjusted to whatever ideal weight I desire.

Finally, I would like to address the comment about going to a surgeon that performs all the surgeries for a balanced opinion. I don't know about you but I don't take my Lexus to Wal-Mart to get my servicing. I take it to a specialist that works on my type of car exclusively and has a proven track record working with high performance machines. To me that is what Dr. Watkins has done. He has chosen the procedure that he deems most successful while balancing risks and benefits and has chosen to make a stand and to specialize in that one particular procedure. To me that's a good thing to know that i'm getting specialized care catered specifically for the exact procedure that I chose to receive.

I'm not going to knock the sleeve or bypass just because I have the band. I will however defend my doctor for being nice enough to write a message about why he performs and recommends the lap band over the sleeve. He was taking the time to give his opinion in a polite manner and i don't think that he deserves to be discredited in a public forum by someone that doesn't even know him.

Again, just my two cents.

[odamay 4]

since they HAVE to take it out the insurance may pay for it . Its worth checking out.Good luck.