I assume you want to have your band with you for life, but is this realistic?; I mean if there are no complications how long can the band be intact inside your body? are there studies about this?

I met a woman that was banded out of the country 3 years ago and she had hers removed. I am not wanting mine removed unless there are complications later on. This is a good question for the Dr.

There are plenty of people around on Australian forums that have had their bands for nine or ten years with no problems.

They're silicone which will not react with the body in any way and will not degrade so they should be fine forever.

Jachut....can u please let me know what australian forums these are??

Hi

This is an Australian forum with long term banders 9 -10 yrs BUT I don't know if it is their original band...you would need to ask.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ozband/

I'm getting the impression that alot of banders who have lost their weight don't contribute to the forums as much...probably out enjoying their new slim lives lol.

That question was asked in the information evening that I went to. Basically, the answer boiled down to, with the amount of years they've been doing the band, they haven't seen any deterioration of the actual band, but if you're banded at 20 and live to be 100, there's no guarantee that it'll hold up for that 80 years...

That said, I'm happy to get mine replaced if anything goes wrong. I love my band!!

The material the band is made of itself is intended to last a lifetime and beyond. But as Parvathi said, it's a relatively new invention so there's no experience yet to back that up.