ASK YOUR SURGEON IF REVERSIBLE PROCEDURES ARE RIGHT FOR YOU- TAKE IT IN...

So sorry about your cousin.  Please be well rehearsed and knowledgable on a subject before you go touting its golden rules and warnings.  

Simply put, the gastric band sucks.  it is not reversible in all the sense  and it does not get removed easily - NOT like removing a hair barrett.  it is pain stakingly dissected from your stomach after all of the scar tissue build up.  This band removal dissection takes hours, it is a most tedious task and can produce a stomach leak.   Most Banded people end up having multiple surgeries - all to do with the band! Then optional revision when it no longer can be worked with to another weight loss surgery -  "IF" their esphogas still works after the band and stomach is in ok condition.  The Band does terrible damage long term!

Anything can happen with any surgery - ANY!  We all know the risks going in and we pray it all goes well but there is that possibility we are willing to take.

On the wonderful side - there have been people with leaks who YES do have a horrible time for a couple of months, but they HEAL and do not regret having been sleeved long term.

All the very best to your cousin.  She will heal!  Despite her trouble, she made an excellent choice in WLS.

Did I say the Band Sucks!

I realize this is a troll, however i think anyone who runs across this post and is looking into the all three surgeries needs to hear it said.  So for future readers, this is for you.

I thought this way when I got my band.  Its easily reversible, it doesn't alter anything, I won't have vitamin issues, I can adjust how it is restricting me....  Its all hype and BS.  The band was the worst decision I ever made.  I'm glad I am wiser now, but I steer everyone away from the band when possible.

It has the most complications, the highest failure rate, and some insurance companies are thinking of dropping the gastric band because of its uselessness and need for more surgeries down the road.

My doctor's nurse said 4 years ago 80% of his wls practice was banding.  Over the last 4 years it has become where he doesn't do any new bands, and 50% of his wls practice is revisions from the band to the sleeve.  That is saying something.  

My personal experience:  I got banded, did pretty well despite some early issues.  Developed horrid reflux and GERD, went to the hospital for aspiration of stomach contents during my sleep a few times, developed pneumonia from it twice, had a slip during my pregnancy that could not be corrected, and was told the reflux and GERD was going to cause cancer eventually if it was not corrected.  So I went in for a revision to RNY and it immediately solved my reflux and GERD.  I have a true restriction which I never fully achieved with the band.  And I have the inability to eat sugar and processed carbs or I will be in severe pain and discomfort.  Sounds perfect to me.  

Oh, and I asked all the questions, I was smart.  There was no stupidity behind my going for RNY.  My stupidity was going with the band when it was not proven.

Well I gotta tell ya, a few years ago when I first started thinking about wls, I was firmly in lap band territory. It was pretty popular back then, & it was the "it" procedure to go with at the time, but then my insurance changed & it wasn't covered.

Flash forward years later, wls covered by insurance & I was still firmly in lap band territory, not because I knew someone who had a bad experience with vsg or a good banding experience, but I was in the don't cut up my stomach mode. I had thoughts similar to yours, hey if it's bad they can take it out, no harm no foul. I was so wrong about that.

Luckily I had months to decide which wls was best for me cuz at the time I had to do the whole Dr supervised weight loss diet for a few months in which I did much more research, went to seminars, spoke with other patients, etc etc.

I would suggest you do some research of your own because it's not as simple to reverse the procedure as you are making it out to be. If you want to talk about money, my Dr would've made much more money on the lap band than the vsg because with the band you have to go back to the Dr for fills & unfills, those items are not covered by my insurance & I would've had to pay $250.00 a pop, trying to find "the sweet spot", where I'd lose & not have food come up in my throat, etc. Then I'd have to go back & let them adjust the band as I got further along in my weight loss. So in addition to the complication risk, the money "pops" weren't that appealing either.

Research everything! I hope your cousin has a speedy recovery.

Yes, surgeons probably ultimately make as much money on a band as they make on a sleevby the time you add in adjustments AND additional required surgeries.  If all they really wanted was extra money, they would push (or do) only RNY or, even better, the DS.

Those office visits add up -- even for us sleeved folks! Out of morbid curiosity I ended up looking at my insurance claims; the surgeon's share of the procedure works out to about 19x what the insurance pays for an office visit. (The real money for the procedure goes to the hospital.)

Sorry your cousin had that experience. I have to disagree with you. The VSG procedure was the best thing I could have ever done for my health. I did not experience the complications your cousin had, but the risk is relatively low, compared to the amount of procedures done annually.

I personally would tell anyone considering the band to run away as fast as they can...

Sorry your cousin had a bad experience with the VSG. 

Actually there are fewer complications with this procedure. The normal digestive path is left intact. 

If the rules are followed , most patients do very well. 

In addition, any competent surgeon will give a patient the possible complications with each type of surgery. The ultimate decision ALWAYS lies with the patient.

As for the band, there are also complications associated with it. There is a higher failure rate, and required constant diligent follow up to keep it adjusted. 

Unless you have gone through the extensive pre op work up, you really don't know what you are talking about!