Hi everyone,

I recently saw my surgeon and was very excited to get my lap band surgery scheduled. However, while with the surgeon she actually recommended against the lap band!! I felt this would be the safer less extreme weight loss surgery and was very optimisitc that it would be the best for me. My doctor said the complication rate was much higher with the band than the gastric bypass. She said if it was her friend or family members she would not want them to have the lap band. She told me of the many complictions and of all the fills that would be needed and kinda freaked me out. She said it was up to me that she would do the surgery if that is what I decided to go with but now I am not so sure. Can anyone advise me on this? I am not sure what to think about this anymore. Other than trying to decide to go forward I am all ready to be scheduled for surgery.

Thanks

Dawn :thumbup:

Hi everyone,

I recently saw my surgeon and was very excited to get my lap band surgery scheduled. However, while with the surgeon she actually recommended against the lap band!! I felt this would be the safer less extreme weight loss surgery and was very optimisitc that it would be the best for me. My doctor said the complication rate was much higher with the band than the gastric bypass. She said if it was her friend or family members she would not want them to have the lap band. She told me of the many complictions and of all the fills that would be needed and kinda freaked me out. She said it was up to me that she would do the surgery if that is what I decided to go with but now I am not so sure. Can anyone advise me on this? I am not sure what to think about this anymore. Other than trying to decide to go forward I am all ready to be scheduled for surgery.

Thanks

Dawn :thumbup:

Hi Dawn!

My surgeon steered me towards the Gastric Sleeve. I am now sure that is what I am going to get. I don't have to worry about insurance issues though. I know some insurance does not cover the sleeve. You can visit the sleeve area of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (VSG) AKA Gastric Sleeve (NEW!) - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

I was already worried about complications of the band and having an object in my body before my surgeon talked about the sleeve so I was more open to following a different path I think.

Lap bands *can* be complication free but I have to say if I lived in America and had to cope with your health system, I dont think its what I would choose. Because a band does need constant maintenance and a good relationship with your doctor - if you're flying in and out to see a doctor, paying $800 for a fill or whatever and thus having a big aggressive fill under fluoro to try to get to a sweet spot in one go, then I think its much more likely to be problematic from the start. Good fill procedure is a series of tiny fills to sneak up on restriction and that's only easy to do if you can drive a suburb or two to your doc every couple of weeks and pay nothing for it.

But I wouldnt touch a malabsorptive procedure with a barge pole.

The sleeve really is looking like a good option. I'd do some research on it. I think bands are great and when they work they work really well, but they dont suit everyone.

Hi everyone,

I recently saw my surgeon and was very excited to get my lap band surgery scheduled. However, while with the surgeon she actually recommended against the lap band!! I felt this would be the safer less extreme weight loss surgery and was very optimisitc that it would be the best for me. My doctor said the complication rate was much higher with the band than the gastric bypass. She said if it was her friend or family members she would not want them to have the lap band. She told me of the many complictions and of all the fills that would be needed and kinda freaked me out. She said it was up to me that she would do the surgery if that is what I decided to go with but now I am not so sure. Can anyone advise me on this? I am not sure what to think about this anymore. Other than trying to decide to go forward I am all ready to be scheduled for surgery.

Thanks

Dawn :thumbup:

Your surgeon is correct. The band is the slowest weight loss and lowest weight loss of all procedures. Per Inamed people are losing about half their excess weight at 5 years. The complication are on the rise and they do not seem to be getting better.

I wouldn't get another band if someone gave it to me for free. Actually, you couldn't pay me to have another band. I value quality of life over banding.

Your surgeon is correct. The band is the slowest weight loss and lowest weight loss of all procedures. Per Inamed people are losing about half their excess weight at 5 years. The complication are on the rise and they do not seem to be getting better.

I wouldn't get another band if someone gave it to me for free. Actually, you couldn't pay me to have another band. I value quality of life over banding.

You feel this way even though you lost 103 lbs?

You feel this way even though you lost 103 lbs?

I lost 132#. And yes, I feel that way.

The band about killed me. I was quite ill by the time I got a revision. Had I not done the revision when I did I wouldn't have been a good surgical risk for even band removal. I still have esophageal damage from the band.

Bands are just not panning out to be good choices long term.

I'm sorry to hear that Was...did you have erosion? The complication rate for the band is generally very low, which is why I opted for it...does anyone know what caused your complications? Congrats on your great weight loss anyway!

I'm sorry to hear that Was...did you have erosion? The complication rate for the band is generally very low, which is why I opted for it...does anyone know what caused your complications? Congrats on your great weight loss anyway!

No, I had band intolerance.

Sadly, the new stats (from Inamed and other sources) are showing complications are going up. 30-50% of people need a 2nd surgery in the first five years to correct something with the band. A slip, erosion, flipped port, etc.

Ok I haven't had my surgery yet and I am getting the band and I will say this yes there are complications but there are complications to all the other surgeries as well as being fat. The thing about the band is that, had you not had the band but the sleeve and something went wrong you can not reverse it , when they cut your stomach for those other surgeries thats it !! Your risk would have been alot higher of dieing had you had the bypass and got infected or leaked, so there are negatives and positives to them all and there are hundreds and hundreds of banders out there that have succeeded I truly believe in my heart that you have to do what is best for you despite what anyone else says and what ever choice you make it was your choice and you work the program and make it succeed for you if you have complications pray and take it one day at a time because all these surgeries are risky but this is a risk I am willing to take to save my life and give myself and my family a better us!!! Think of the percentage of people being becoming diabetic and dieing from being fat ????????????It is a high percentage !!!! I will not be in that percentage I am taking my life back !!:thumbup:

Wasabubblebutt...because I know you never make wild claims without backing them up, would you mind posting a link (or links) to the stats you're quoting? Since they are contrary to what I found (about a year ago, have NOT dug around lately) and what I've experienced (on a limited basis with bandsters, but have seen MANY GI issues etc with bypass patients etc) I'd like to update my "data bank". I need to read and process the source etc...if you don't mind posting?

So . . . one doctor advised against the band? If it was your surgeon who advised against the band but then later said she would perform the operation if it's what you wanted, then no . . . I would not get a lapband with this particular doctor. I guess my questions would be more along the lines of:

How much of your OWN research have you done?

Do you love this surgeon and trust her advice?

Does this surgeon regularly perform lapband procedures or is she advising you against the lapband in favor of her preferred procedure?

Have you gotten any second/third/fourth opinions?

Ultimately, your decision to get or not get the band is up to you. The surgeons decision to perform or not perform the surgery is up to them. When two people can come together on this, then it is brilliant. But . . . when there's a disconnect, then yeah . . . I see major problems.

Personally, my decision was made because the band actually has very few complications (fills are not a complication, by the way. they are a necessary "evil" . . . but not a complication). While complications can arise from fills, they are not complications in and of themselves. My decision was also made because the band is reversible. I was never going to get a gastric bypass or a gastric sleeve. They were too invasive IMO, and my reasons for getting the band were primarily cosmetic. I had zero health problems at my time of banding . . . still have none . . . but I knew I might be destined for problems in the future given my [former] obesity.

To me, the band was a no-brainer. I needed to lose weight. I tried tons and tons of other methods to no avail. I was hungry all the time. And voila . . .the band cured me of that.

Now, I'm only 1 year out . . . but I love my band. IF something were to go wrong with it, I would have it removed, and I would not get gastric bypass or the sleeve. I would *attempt* to keep the weight off myself or live with my obesity if I failed at keeping it off.

Just my thoughts.

Good luck with your decision.

Whilst I said I probably wouldnt choose a band if I lived in America, there's some advanges. One thing to consider is that I find I do have to eat about 2000 calories a day to fuel my average daily activities and maintain my weight. I love to run, so I burn a lot of energy. I am thankful for my ability to manage my restriction to the level I require, because I know how poorly I feel when I dont eat enough and PARTICULARLY when I dont eat carbs like bread and Cereal.

I really dont know how I'd go with something that was non adjustable - if a sleeve restricted me to half cup sizes etc, I think I'd need to eat 20 times a day. At least with a band you can alter how much you can handle at one time.

Another thing I found today: Sleeve Gastrectomy Melbourne, Tube Gastrectomy Obesity Weight Loss Surgery Australia

40 to 60% of your excess weight in a year? Sounds about comparable to a band to me. And it also sounds as if its the same story as with a band - the more obese you are, the less likely you are to lose all your weight from it. So if you have to go back to have the malabsorptive process done to lose ALL your weight - are you happy to do that?

Long term outcomes arent really known because the sleeve is relatively new. But we DO know you can live a long and healthy life with less of your stomach than you were born with, so I wouldnt consider the issue of losing half your stomach too much of a bother. Its more to do with how much of that weight will stay off, how much stretching really occurs (like the band and its complications, how much truth are the medical professionals really telling us about how sleeved stomachs dont stretch?) and what do you do if you regain and dont have anything left to work with?

I'm glad its not me making the decision, sleeves werent an option at all 4 years ago, so I have a band. I really dont know which way I'd swing these days.

Wasabubblebutt...because I know you never make wild claims without backing them up, would you mind posting a link (or links) to the stats you're quoting? Since they are contrary to what I found (about a year ago, have NOT dug around lately) and what I've experienced (on a limited basis with bandsters, but have seen MANY GI issues etc with bypass patients etc) I'd like to update my "data bank". I need to read and process the source etc...if you don't mind posting?

I didn't save the links. But they came from Inamed. Inamed is saying that people are maintaining, on average, a loss of about half their excess weight at the end of five years and the re ops are anywhere from 30-50% depending on what you consider a re op. Whether it be a port replacement or the actual band such as in a slip repair.

They first posted the actual numbers about 3 months ago. Then they changed it to say it's about the same as bypass for reops and weight loss. Well, it isn't the same as bypass, when they first posted the details instead of what they have now, generalities - they were comparing banding to a target group of bypass that did not have enough intestine bypassed.

Drug companies are bottom feeders in every way.

This is only my personal opinion so take it for what it's worth but I feel the band is a good option for SOME, not ALL. There are certain cases that I feel should opt for something other than the band. I think you need to look at a multitude of things before you decide what WLS is right for you. I feel like the band is better for those with lower BMI's. Had I been heavier and had a BMI of 50 or over, there is no way I would have been banded. I would have chosen something with malabsorption in that case. Actually, if my insurance would have covered the sleeve that is what I would have gone with and probably will convert to when/if my band ever gives me trouble.

For alot of people the band is work. It's alot like dieting but with some built in portion control. You still have to make good food choices. You HAVE to exercise if you intend to make it to a normal BMI. If you're fine paying for a band and losing only 30 pounds than maybe you can sit around and let the band do all the work. I know for myself, I will not be satisfied until I've lost at least 100 pounds and I would like to do that by my 1 year bandiversary. This requires me to be meticulous and committed. I have to log my food and I have to exercise at least 5 days a week or I just stall with my weight loss.

Also the band is not without complications of its own, which each WLS surgery has. Do your research and pick the WLS that is right for YOU. Good Luck!

My best suggestion for you is to research what is available and then determine what You feel is going to be the best option for YOU!!

The first surgeon I met tried to push me into a by-pass. He said if I wanted to lose 90lbs and my insurance would pay for it then I should do what was guranteed to get the weight off....well that wasn't an option in my opinion.

The band requires compliance that's the bottom line. If you have been able to successfully lose weight in the past then you are a good canidate for the band (so I've been told). I didn't need WLS to lose weight, I need it to maintain a healthy weight. I Know I can lose weight, unfortunetly it's like playing hide and seek, it ALWAYS finds me again!!

The band is not the right answer for everyone, and it's true that some have issues from the start. I'm not going to quote numbers or stats, I'm only going to speak from my own personal experience.

I've heard horror stories of every WLS as well as successes. I have to personal friends who each have had WLS, one a by-pass one a band. The banded one wishes she'd had a by-pass because she lacks the self control to be a good bandster, the by-pass one wishing she'd been banded because now 5yrs out she has no was to adjust or control, she says she's pretty much back where she was before surgery (only not as heavy now).

It's a personal choice and one that shouldn't be made lightly. Good luck to you, I hope you find the right answer for YOU.

~Monica

In my experience going to support groups, talking to friends and co-workers who have had WLS and reading this board, I have come to the conclusion that almost ALL doctors push the bypass. I think it's less time, effort and after care on thier part, they get the quick results they want, and I'll bet they make a little more money doing it. My surgeon suggested the bypass. I told him, not only "no", but HELL NO. (My personal choice and decision.) I stuck to my guns and was stubborn about it. He did my band and has actually been very pleasantly surprised with my success. He's very good and prudent about my fills, and is now doing more bands. Ultimately, it's your body and the choice is YOURS. Mine was a philosophical and ethical decision I made for myself. I had my reasons, and am now a year and a half out, still VERY happy with my decision. My best friend however has had a tough time with her band and is trying to decide whether to switch to bypass during her upcoming gallbladder surgery. She's agonizing over it. Her first surgeon was a quack out of Houston, and really botched her band. Her new surgeon has worked with her for two years to try and fix the mess he made. She's still having trouble, but it was SURGEON mistake, not band mistake in her case. She doesn't blame the band. He filled her to much to fast and caused erosion. She will lose her band regardless, but she's still undecided. It's a big choice. Be COMPLETELY certain of your choice, because with a bypass you can't change your mind and undo it once it's done. You're stuck with the choice. I didn't like those odds.