NEVER let a WLS surgeon choose your surgery for you.

Try to understand that ( I'll use myself as an example here ) when I'm sharing with you my opinion regarding the lap band....please keep in mind that it is not you personally whom I am against, it's the lap band I am against.

 In my opinion...Your choice of WLS should not be a decision that is decided on between you and your surgeon...and here's why.

 If you consult with a surgeon who does not perform the DS surgery...that surgeon will most likely steer you away from the DS and toward a surgery he performs because he does not want to lose you and more importantly your money.$$$$$

Surgeons did not go through the time and expense of medical school to not make money...This is their livelihood and they have to provide for their families too.This is purely a business decision on their part and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that...to a degree.

Out of the 4 main WLS being performed today....the lap band surgery is the money making surgery for WLS surgeons...why you ask...well let me tell you why...

1. It is a quick surgery and lap band surgeons can perform many of them in a single day $$$$$

2. Lap Bands seem to have the highest re-operation rate of all the WLS, therefore pretty much guaranteeing your surgeon a second surgery with you and your money $$$$$

3. Lap Band adjustments guarantee your surgeon more of your money $$$$$

We have a special name for lap band surgeons who perform multiple lap band surgeries almost everyday and they are....Conveyor BeltSurgeons. These CBS are not only performing 3 or 4 lap band surgeries in a day, they are performing 6 and 7 of these money making surgeries a day and this is exactly how Allergan the manufacturer of the Lap Band markets their product, The Lap Band to these surgeons at weight loss surgery conventions every year. These surgeons tend to only work in their offices 1 or 2 days a week. One of those days is set aside for new surgical consults $$$$$ and the other day is set aside for lap band adjustments. That means that it can take a very long time to be seen by your surgeon once you've already been banded.

If your band is too tight and you need to quickly get it unfilled, you will need to make an appointment and it can take up to a month before you can be fit into their schedule. My surgeon was so busy that he would have me come into the ER  between his surgeries so he could unfill my band $$$$$. 

If your band is too loose and if you have chosen a CBS, then you could be waiting for an entire month or more just to get in and see your surgeon for that fill. My surgeon was a busy busy man, but he was very caring and he was able to squeeze me in whenever I needed an appointment. He even gave me his cell phone number so I could call him directly if I ever needed anything. He was a rare breed of doctor.

I sincerely adored my band surgeon, but it was the band itself that caused me and many others like me to suffer permanent damage. For this reason...please choose your surgery first and then choose a qualified surgeon.

For the above stated reasons... do not allow a surgeon to guide you in your choice of WLS. Surgeons are sales people too, they will tell you whatever they want to in order for them to close the deal and if that means lying and/or scaring the living **** out of regarding other WLS then that is exactly what they will do.

" Free " Weight Loss Seminars ( They're all free ) are another tool surgeons use for selling you the WLS they perform. Lately we are starting to see more CBS advertise that they perform all  the WLS, but once they get you there...they or their staff will talk you out of any surgery that they do not perform by scaring the crap out of you or flattering you and telling you that you don't need the bypass or DS surgeries because they are too extreme and you don't have that much to lose.$$$$$

Makes me glad I live in a country with salaried surgeons who don't get paid by the op or by the appointment! 

Reassured that my medical team had no financial reason fir banding me. 

Wonderful ADVISE!! as always

  You will never hear the surgeons recommend a DS at our center, they don't do them.  They will however *******ize a sleeve and perform a RNY on it leaving you the worst of the two.