One of my moms worries is fatalities that result from the lap band surgery.  She was discussing my plans for surgery with her supervisor at work and this woman (*****cently lost like 200lbs through excersize and diet alone) told her that slippage is very commen and that the fatalities associated with it are high.

I have not seen anything referencing that on here and am wondering what you folks have learned/think about it.  It would really help if I could point my mother towards a source of information  on this that might alieviate some of her concerns.

Thanks all!

You do not die from slippage . It can be caused by several things .The actual mortality rate for a band is low .You could always  google lapband and get a ton of info .I would start at Wikipedia even.It is basic info written in plain wording not alot of medical stuff to rumage thru. The best thing to do is to have her go to you next support mtg or Dr visit  and ask all her questions there! Good luck :)

That's a big question!  The doctors will tell you that several things can cause slippage; over-eating, being to tight (overfilling), eating the wrong thing, getting stuck often with vomiting, and poor placement of the band around the stomach.  Slippage seems to happen to about 3% of people, but it is not fatal.  Most slips are corrected by unfilling your band, letting it slip back into place and then cautiously re-filling the band in stages. 

That said, the most dangerous complication from banding is erosion, where the band migrates through the outside of the stomach into the stomach itself.  It is rarely fatal, though, but will require the removal of your band.  It is very preventable, most of the time, and is why we are told no NSAIDS post op.  Over-filling of the band (too aggressive with fills) is also thought to cause erosion and should be avoided.

There are some who will cite studies that involve surgeries from 1994-2003 (appx) where there is a high rate of failure and band removal...the bands are different today and the technique to "install" them is different as well...so when these studies are put up on the board, be sure that you read the entire study and pay close attention to the dates.  I personally know several people with bands who have had long term success and NO complications.  I know you will do fine!

Read my post  www.obesityhelp.com/forums/.../Bandster-Tracking-Chart-Pleas e-Participate/  I have asked all bandsters, new and old to post their experience and am hoping to have this become a sticky...I am going to update weekly.  I am hoping for a more rational perspective on banding and success/complications and happyness.

Never listen to non professional medical people. Now I'm not a big fan of the band anymore but one thing I will agree with is that it is about as safe a surgery as you can get. Slips are not deadly just uncomfortable, but fixable. ANY surgery can be fatal but very few are, there are dangers with any surgery but the band surgery is probably one of the safest out there.