:cry This is a hard Question but in my making my decision I need to know...anyone heard of deaths...and if so what happen

I read an article last year of a woman that died. The article was vague, but to me it appeared she should have gone to the doctor sooner. She didn't want anyone to know she had the Band, so she kept it a secret. By the time she got medical help it was too late. She would probably be alive and well today if she saw her doctor. I don't know what the cause of death was, but I assume it was erosion or infection.

I read an article last year of a woman that died. The article was vague, but to me it appeared she should have gone to the doctor sooner. She didn't want anyone to know she had the Band, so she kept it a secret. By the time she got medical help it was too late. She would probably be alive and well today if she saw her doctor. I don't know what the cause of death was, but I assume it was erosion or infection.

thnxs for the info...from the looks of it. it must not be a lot of them.....only 1 responce

I've never heard of anyone dying due to anything specifically related to their band if they'd received appropriate medical care. If the story that DeLarla refers to is the one I'm thinking of, it was indeed because the person ignored very severe symptoms for quite a long time past the point where any normally cautious person would have sought help.

There have been deaths due to surgical complications, but the rate is extremely low. ALL surgeries have risks, general anaesthesia being a major factor right there. (Not that it's a major risk, but it makes up a large portion of the relatively small risk of surgical complications.) That's another way of saying that going under at all is the risk, not the band-specific surgery.

We all have to examine our risk-benefit ratio. Is the tiny risk of being banded worth taking to change the (possibly much greater) risk of staying obese and gaining more weight? I know it sure was for me.

Hi,

THere was another guy who died in Massachusetts right after surgery. He woke up and then had a heart attack from the anesthesia. Yes, it was after a lapbanding operation, but he was high risk to start with and they must have missed the heart problem. THere arent too many deaths due to the lapband itself. I only know of the Congresswoman in Michigan that everyone here is referring to and the guy in Boston. I dont know of any others.

Babs in TX

People die all the time from surgery cosmetic or other but your family Doc should clear you for surgery if he thinks your ready. Don't leave it up to the surgeon alone to decide if your ready.

I think any issues that have been linked to this band surgery were early on in the process 2-3 yrs ago.

In short YES you can die.

During the FDA testing, there were two people that died during the study - BUT they both died after having their bands removed (one of a drug overdose and one because of Gastric Bypass done after their band was removed) So - neither were related to the band.

In the European testing, one women died. It is reported that it was due to her severely overeating after the band placement and not seeking care when she began showing signs of complications from overeating.

These were the only references that I could find on the internet. Officially the risk of death is listed as 1/2000 vs. 1/100-1/200 with gastric bypass.

As it was explained to me - this risk is similar to any other surgery of this minimal complexity.

As I see it the risk from the banding itself is minimal. However, because we are MO we are at greater risk from ANY kind of surgery. Our hearts have to work harder as do our lungs in everyday life and being put under is a strain on even the healthiest of bodies. I am not saying that it is a huge risk, but there is an added factor to our mortality rate. Also most of the MO people have high blood pressure or sleep apnea or other co-morbidies and that puts us at greater risk also. I have had 2 foot surgeries in the last year and both times I was informed of my greater risk due to my weight. Again I think the risk is worth the potiential outcome, that is why I am fighting so hard to get this paid for by my insurance. I think that the minimal risk of surgery is much better than the long term risk of being MO. ~Mandy

I have had several surgeries in my lifetime and all because I had no choice. In order to fix problems I didn't even know I had until my doc told me about them.....so I'm thinking this is a problems just like those and now I have a choice....decision..decision freak'n decision...thanks everyone your input has really helped.

I've been on various bandster boards/lists since early 2001 and have only heard of 3 banding-specific deaths.

1. Congresswoman who ignored pain/symptoms, didn't want anyone to know, ended up in the ER of a hospital that knew nothing about banding...either her stomach or liver had been nicked during the surgery. Had she not ignored pain/symptoms, they may have caught it in time to save her.

2. Man in Boston area with the anesthesia error, woke up mid-procedure, heart attack

3. Woman overseas who became too tight to get fluids down (don't recall if she'd just had a fill or if something like a slippage had occurred) and did not call her doctor and died of dehydration. Common sense would have saved her.

Scenarios 1 & 3 were cases where symptoms were ignored...lesson: do not ignore symptoms. It's better to call the surgeon/doctor if there's any doubt than worry that they might think we're being hypochondriacs. Never rely on internet boards for actual medical advice...we can help you guess what something might be but a call should still be made to the medical professionals under whose care you have placed yourself.

Nancy

Hi Everyone I was trying to figure out what the meaning of "pb" is??????

thankyou..

Sorry I think I posted this question in the wrong area

I just came across this discussion and decided to join to reply. I myself have been looking into lapband for quite a while now, but am disabled and my insurance won't cover it. I've heard nothing but good things about the lapband oposed to gastric bypass. That is up until this last week. My cousin called me to say I seriously hope you aren't still considering it. She works with a girl that had it, she's lost a lot of weight, but was in ICU several days last week due to bleeding internally due to the lapband. She also told me about someone that came in her clinic that had just lost a friend due from the lapband lacerating something I believe she said. My aunt is currently in the hospital and her roommate also had the lapband. She lost 135lbs, but developed a hernia and her intestines were all twisted due to complications of the band. She is so weak and sick and can't hold any food down. It definitely make you think...

The mortality rate for lap band is 1 in 2000 compared to 1 in 200 for bypass.

The fact that someone knows someone who knows someone who has a friend who died doesn't change that statistic.

I read in the paper nearly everyday that someone dies in a car accident. I actually know people who have died in car accidents.

I'm going to go get in a car now and go to the store.

There are risks in EVERYTHING in life. Which risks are you willing to take?

Wow first of all I never said it changed the statistics nor did I say that it was even comparable to deaths related to car accidents, cancer, or any other atrocities. I realize it has been extremely beneficial to many people who otherwise wouldn't be alive today opposed to the very few that have had severe complications. I just found it interesting that I had heard of 3 incidents in the last week, so yeah I am definitely more hesitant now. Again though my insurance doesn't cover it and there is no way I could pay for it out of pocket, so I highly doubt I even would have been able to get it done anyway. Congrats on both of your success with the band. That's wonderful, but I am definitely entitled to my own feelings and can post things I know of on here.