Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan Undergo Lap Band Removal
September 19, 2016Bariatric news always catches my eye and last week there is an interesting story about Buffalo Bills Coach Rex Ryan getting lap band removal done in solidarity with his twin brother, Rob, who both had lap bands to combat their mutual morbid obesity.
Rex Ryan on His Lap Band Removal
Recently, Rex Ryan, who successfully lost well over 100 pounds with his lap band, had it removed because his twin brother’s band has caused complications after he failed to follow the program’s food protocol (according to his firsthand account to the media).
To be honest, I’m conflicted about this story. If someone has been successful with the gastric band, and is not experiencing any complications, why would you remove it?
To me, it seems like Rex Ryan is doing the wrong thing for all the right reasons. It’s certainly honorable to show solidarity with your brother, but not when it involves removing a tool that helped you to lose a substantial amount of weight—and keep it off. (Before his gastric band was inserted, he weighed more than 350 pounds).
Considering the amount of stress he endures due to his job, maintaining a healthy weight is even more important to his longevity.
Lap Band Failure is More Common Than You Might Think
Keep in mind, a significant number of people who have the lap band eventually remove it due to complications or failure to lose an appreciable amount of weight in about 50 percent of people. Many may be surprised to read that most weight loss surgery specialists, including me, no longer perform lap band bariatric surgery. In fact, we remove more and more lap bands every year.
After lap band removal, we often perform revision bariatric surgery, where we change the patient’s procedure to a gastric sleeve or a gastric bypass, which achieves higher overall weight loss, with far fewer long-term complications.
As a bariatric surgeon who has treated many patients over the years, I’m going to make a dire prediction:
Coach Ryan and his brother will eventually gain the majority of their weight back, despite their bravery in publicly stating they will “use the tools they learned with the lap band to live a healthy lifestyle without it.
If Rex and Rob Ryan were my patients, I would advise them to consider having the gastric sleeve or gastric bypass in the off-season. Even before the operation, I’d require them to commit to working out and eating a healthy diet. This will aid them both in the prevention of obesity-related medical conditions that very overweight people are usually forced to battle.
While I truly hope these two men prove me wrong, we will all be able to watch every Sunday afternoon to see how they both fare going forward.
Photo Credit: Keith Allison
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Seun Sowemimo is a board-certified laparoscopic, bariatric and general surgeon, specializing in the treatment of metabolic syndrome (obesity). He is the medical director at Prime Surgicare and co-medical director of Central Jersey Bariatrics, located in Freehold, NJ.Read more articles by Dr. Seun Sowemimo! |
