Does anyone know of anyone who has died due to the lap band or complications? Not really something I have seen talked about but just wondering...

I have never seen anyone who has died from lap band, bypass yes, but lapband , no. Don't worry though, you will scare yourself off that way. There are far more complications for staying overweight then there is for being banded. Good luck.

I heard of a woman in Colorado who died because her surgery wounds became infected. She didn't go to the hospital for it and died. I think I have heard of one other case like that too. Generally, if you die from a lap band, it's because you get infection from your wounds. This is extremely rare and if you get to the wounds in time, it's treatable. And yes, Bypass you can die from as well. However, there are more complications that cause death in those cases.

There have been a few deaths but usually due to various complications. There is risk with any surgery but there is a whole lot MORE risk being obese.

I agree with the others, as with any surgery there are risks but it my case being 250 lbs with very high blood pressure, type II diabetes was much more risky than the surgery. I was on 5 different medications and felt terrible. Now I am not on any and feel great. Obesity does carry a lot more risks.

Yeah, people have died as a result of their "relationship" with the band. And the other WLS's as well. I came close to it.

Statistics are difficult to obtain, reliable ones anyway. I hear stats all the time that put the death rate for RNY at anywhere from .03 to 1.5. There have been more deaths from RNY than the other WLS's, BUT that is in large part because until recently RNY was being performed 3 times as much as any of the other WLS's. It's also been done for nearly 50 years, so there, of course, WOULD be more deaths associated with RNY. There is an increasing complication rate with the Lap Band that will make it's "loss" stats rise as well.

Part of the problem is that the statistics are gathered and processed by the Doctors and facilities that DO the WLS's, and i'm not sure that I would trust them to release legit numbers. Another factor is that a person may die as a result of a complication from a WLS, but the ACTUAL cause of death is LISTED as something else, and that "something else" would not have happened if the WLS had not take place.

In the Medical/Pharmaceutical industry it is referred to as "Adverse Event Reporting", and it's tough to get people to report their stats.

BUT....even though an industry-wide stat might offer a particular number, you also need to be concerned about YOUR particular surgeon's numbers. You need to ASK them about their "losses". You need to research them totally.

HH