I just had my appointment with my surgeon and he basically left it up to me whether I want Lapband or Realize band- he believes they are equal and more an issue of support post-op. Hoping all of you may have an opinion you'd like to share. Thank you!

I don't really have an opinion either way. I have the Lapband and so far am very happy with how it is working and have had no problems.

From what my surgeons nurse told me is the only difference in the bands are the ports. The Realize band has a smaller and flatter port than the Lap Band. During my lap band 202 class the nurse mentioned that if you have allot of belly fat the Realize band port is really hard to find, thus sending you to X-ray to locate the port. The Lap Band's port is is a little more wider, sticks out a bit when you loose the belly and is easier to locate by the touch. So, what was told to me is, if you really do not want to be sent to X-ray as much and you have allot of belly fat it's recommended to get the Lap Band. Other than that they pretty much work the same.:ohmy:

LOL, I am not going to be much help, either. I have the Lap-Band and a close friend has the Realize Band and we are both happy. My surgeon did the same thing to me....left it up to me and it was hard to decide. There are already several threads on this subject if you use the search function you will get lots of info.

Best wishes, Mimi

I asked this question to my surgeon during my consult last Friday. His response is that he prefers the REALIZE band for two main reasons. A) The port is larger/wider so it has a larger "target" area for fill injection :ohmy: The Band material itself is a softer more plyable material therefore it is less prone to erosion.

He feels that the Realize band made improvments from the Lap-Band, although he did state that there is nothing bad about the Lap-Band.

I remember during my seminar that he said their practice was involved in the FDA study for both Lap-Band and REALIZE band, and they prefer the REALIZE.

He said a few others but I can't remember exactly what he said and I don't want to give bad info.

I like the fact that the Lap-Band has a few different sizes of band and the doctor decides which one to use during the surgery. The Lap-Band also has two port options, and regular one and a low-profile one, which the doctors decides on at surgery. At least that is what my doctor explained to me last May. :ohmy:

Thank you all so much esp Outside Looking In- as always this site is so full of pratical advice and info. I'm going to read through all the info the surgeon provided and keep in mind what you've all said- Thanks again!

During my LAP-BAND® 202 class the nurse mentioned that if you have allot of belly fat the Realize band port is really hard to find, thus sending you to X-ray to locate the port.

I have the Realize band and a lot of belly fat and there is and will be no difficulty in locating the port even when the belly fat is gone. Granted I'm only 3 weeks past surgery but it's easily felt just beneath the skin.

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The Band material itself is a softer more plyable material therefore it is less prone to erosion.

This may be what they say but according to Lapband their omniform design whereby there are less creases in the band also decreases erosion. If you go into one of the comparison things you will know what i am talking about.

Personally I think that it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other!

The only thing that I have noticed is that people that have the Realize band typically require higher levels of fill to get restriction. Not saying this is good or bad.

I have the Realize band. My surgeon also would not recommend one over the other. He let me look at both and see how they are constructed and the Realize is softer and more pliable and the Lap Band has what I would call little pillows. He said that the port was easier to put in for the Realize band but the band itself a little more difficult, whereas the lap band is easier to put on but the port a little more difficult for the surgeon. And he said that some studies suggest that since the Realize band is wider there is supposedly less chance of a slip. But overall he did not recommend one over the other. Sometimes I wish I did get the lap band because it has taken me several fills to get good restriction (I'm at 8.5 cc's) and surprisingly certain foods like bread do not bother me very much. But then I remember that we always seem to want what we don't have. If I would have had the Lap Band I probably would have thought I'd do better withthe Realize. Bottomline it is just a tool, and they both work equally, it's up to you to work your tool.

P.S. What made my decision for me is that although the Realize hasn't been in the US as long as lap band it has been used the longest in Europe and I believe was the first band on the market (used to be called the Swedish band).

Good luck.

My surgeon does both - he believes they are equal - one month he uses one the other month he uses the other.

At my pre surgery support group we saw and touched both bands, the lapband was a smaller port --

i have the lap band only because that is the one he was using that day..