Cheryl, I think you are exactly right! Fear makes them want to close their ears and only think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts are great, but knowledge is power and knowing what can happen is good. I just know that the uglier this board gets, the fewer return for support on their journey / whether their journey is good or bad. We are destroying our little community here. It is sad. I am sorry Cheryl you had to deal with a band failure. I hope you are ok now.

You know what? I honestly think MOST PEOPLE WANT THE LAP BAND....that's the sad part, those that have had it and revise- SEE THAT THE GRASS IS NOT GREENER  AND THEY REGRET THEIR CURRENT WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY AND THEY ARE MOURNING THEIR LAP BANDS.....

You are correct the Bpass, Sleeve and DS actually have EXTREMELY MORE HORRIBLE COMPLICATIONS THAN THE LAP BAND ALSO....MANY REGAIN WEIGHT...BUT WHY AREN'T THEIR FORUMS BEING DESTROYED...WITH DISGRUNTLED VETS who've suffered horrible complications.?..

WHY DOES THE LAP BAND HAS TO BE SO SPECIAL? THE LAP BAND IS ADVERTISED AS THE SAFEST WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY -- THAT DOES NOT MEAN SAFE...IT MEANS IT IS SAFER THAN RNY, SLEEVE AND THE DS...I THINK MANY GET THAT PART CONFUSED....IT COMES WITH MY WARNINGS AND SAFETY GUIDELINES THAT MANY IGNORE UNTIL IT ALMOST KILLS THEM...

ALLERGAN HAS PUT OUT RISKS AND WARNINGS SINCE THE BAND WAS APPROVED IN THE US SINCE 2001....SO that let you KNOW THE BAND BASHER HAS OTHER MOTIVES FOR THEIR BASHING...AND ITS NOT ABOUT WARNING NEWBIES...HELL MOST OF US VETS USED TO WARN NEWBIES ABOUT TOO TIGHT LAP BANDS, REFLUX AND PICKING A GOOD SURGEON...WHY ARE THEY HERE? THEY ARE HERE ONLY FOR ONE REASON...THEY ARE BITTER AND THEY ARE MOURNING THEIR LAP BANDS...AND THEY DO NOT WANT ANYONE ELSE TO BE HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL WITH IT....THIS IS THE INTENT TO RUN OFF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE AND HAPPY LAP BANDERS.... I REMEMBER READING ON THE SLEEVE FORUM...SOMEONE SAYING THAT SURGEONS NO LONGER PERFORMED THE BAND AND IT WILL SOON BE RECALLED...I GUESS IF THEY CAN'T HAVE SUCCESS WITH IT THEY DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO EITHER.,,

Small clarification, Naomi.  The band surgery is the safest, but long term is what is key and the band is not the safest surgery long term.  The sleeve is.  Stats show regain is highest with the band.  Those who have a failed band go on to have a different surgery type and do well.  Does that show it was the band or the person?  If they get a sleeve is it also merely restrictive in nature.  Yet it has a vastly larger success rate with far fewer long term complications.

I'll take 0.5% additional surgical risk for vastly lower long term complications any day.

My complications with my band were pretty horrible.  Not sure where you get this that an erosion is safer than a leak.  The surgery done to correct the erosion is very tricky and dangerous surgery.  Latest info out now is 33% will eventually erode, 50% have their band removed by 6 years.  How is this better than a safer long term surgery?

Well...SPEAK FOR YOURSELF...I WILL BE 7 YEARS POST AND AND MY BAND IS STILL KICKING.. I CONSIDER MYSELF A LONG TERM LAP BANDER......the key for me? I follow with my band surgeon as needed and dont' vomit often and dont' keep my band too tight...it's just that simple for me.....I don't keep up with stats ...I just make sure I take care of my band...sorry about your complications....

 
First of all I do only speak for myself other than when I post stats and facts.  I didn't write them, I just report them.  Second, I am aware you don't keep up with stats because much of your info is quite frankly, incorrect.  You slam dunk most people with band problems and beat them over the head claiming they didn't follow the rules, or seek aftercare.  It simply isn't accurate info.

Were you able to lose that 40# you regained after your own band issues?  I wish you much success as I know how difficult it can be when you kept your band too tight and need to have fluid removed causing regain.

First of all if your band is GONE...why are you HERE? SO MUCH? I mean if I were moving on to a much BETTER AND SAFER WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY...I would spend more time on THOSE BOARDS....

Now that being said...WE MAKE OUR OWN STATS...I COULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THOSE STATS 5 YEARS AGO...IF I I DID NOT FOLLOW UP WITH MY SURGEON WHEN BY BAND WAS FILLED TOO TIGHT AND PROBABLY WOULD HAVE ALMOST KILLED ME TOO...

BUT YOU KNOW...I'VE BEEN AROUND THESE BOARDS WAY TOO LONG TO DETECT BS..WHEN I HEAR IT.. ..YOU ARE MOURNING YOUR BAND BECAUSE YOU KEPT IT TOO TIGHT TOO LONG JUST LIKE 50 PERCENT OF LAP BANDERS -- AND THE COMPLICATION STATS WILL STAY HIGH AS LONG AS PEOPLE KEEP ABUSING THEIR BANDS

MOST PEOPLE FALL INTO THIS AVOIDABLE TRAP...SALINE IS ADDICTING.....REMEMBER I AM NOT A NEWBIE...YOU KNOW I'VE HEARD OF WORSE STORIES THAN YOURS...OVER 6 YEARS AGO....LAP BAND COMPLICATIONS ARE NOT NEW...IF YOUR SURGEON MISLED YOU....TOO BAD...IF YOU SAY YOU ARE A NURSE....SHAME ON YOU AND SHOULD HAVE DONE YOUR OWN RESEARCH OF HOW TO STAY COMPLICATION FREE...I DID...AND SO FAR SO GOOD FOR ME...

REGARDING GAINING 40 POUNDS....THAT WAS NOT DUE TO MY BAND BEING TOO TIGHT AND FORCED TO GET IT EMPTIED, I GOT IRRITATED LAST YEAR AFTER A COLD AND I WAS PROBABLY EATING TOO MUCH TOO...SO I DECIDED TO GIVE MY BAND A REST AND REMOVED SOME FLUID...THOSE ARE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS I USE LONG TERM....

I COULD HAVE WENT BACK 6 WEEKS LATER..BUT I GOT BUSY WITH LIFE...AND A NEW JOB MARRIED LIFE AND I STAYED LOOSE BY CHOICE..WE HAVE THOSE CHOICES WITH OUR BANDS....BY THE WAY....I AM DOWN 8 POUNDS ALREADY AND AS LONG AS I HAVE MY BAND TO HELP GUIDE ME I AM SURE I WILL GET THE 32 POUNDS OFF PRETTY EASILY....REMEMBER I AM 7 YEARS POST OP...SO I THINK I AM STILL DOING PRETTY DAMN GOOD AND CAN STILL WEAR SOME 12s and if I don't lose the rest I will still be happy...my band has DONE MORE THAN ITS JOB IN HELPING KEEPING MY WEIGHT DOWN FOR 7 YEARS.....

THERE IS NO WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY THAT WORKS AT 7 YEARS POST OP EFFECTIVELY..NONE...IF YOU ARE REVISING OVER TO THE SLEEVE OR RNY....GOOD LUCK WITH LONG LASTING RESTRICTION...EVERYONE I KNOW THAT REVISED OVER TO THE SLEEVE AND RNY MENTIONED THAT THEY HAD TIGHTER RESTRICTION WITH THE LAP BAND ...SO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT BASHING THE BAND....IN FACT I'VE SEEN A FEW THAT HAD A BAND AND REVISED OVER TO RNY AND 4 YEARS LATER...THEY ARE ASKING FOR A BAND AGAIN...

 
Temper temper Naomi, play nice.

1)  I post her because I can.  You don't get to make the rules.

2)  I do post on the sleeve boards throughout the internet as well as band boards.  I know both surgeries first hand.

3)  HA!  I can assure you, I am not mourning my band.  I hated that evil piece of crap and wi**** was taken off the market.  I still have mine in a baggy, wanna see it?

4)  I never kept it too tight.  Regardless of what you wish to believe my band was unfilled all but about 1 month of my banding experience.  But hey, don't worry about facts.  Just do as you always do and make up information when the truth doesn't serve your agenda.

5)  Most people most certainly do not fall into a trap of being addicted to sal****er.  You made that up.  A little projection there, perhaps?

6)  I was the band poster child, I can assure you with 100% certainty that I know 100x more about banding and WLS as a whole than you ever will.  Heck, you fully admit that you don't even know the stats for the band.  Want a link to that post?

7)  Sorry about your 40#.  I have been at goal longer than you and I never gained that much weight.

8)  You are incorrect that there is no WLS that works for 7 years.  Just because you failed doesn't  mean everyone else falls into the same trap.

9)  I don't bash the band.  Posting studies, facts, stats, peer reviewed journal articles, MD interviews, news articles... that is not bashing anything.  I don't write the stuff, I just report it.

Now, do you have anything of truth to write?

You've got to be kidding me...and you call yourself a nurse -HA:!...

If you honestly THINK YOU WILL HAVE TIGHTER RESTRICTION WITH THE SLEEVE THAN THE BAND YOU ARE IN A DREAM WORLD....I WILL PULL SOME POSTS FROM THE REVISION FORUM AND LET YOU SEE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE HONEST ABOUT THEIR SLEEVE COMPARISON IN TERMS OF ABLE TO EAT MORE....

AND OH..SOME PEOPLE EAT SOLID FOODS BEFORE THEIR SIX WEEK POST OP APPOINTMENT....I'VE HEARD OF PEOPLE GOING TO RESTAURANTS AND EATING FULL COURSE MEALS JUST BECAUSE THEY HAD NO RESTRICTION RIGHT AFTER SURGERY --  SO THERE ARE MANY REASON WHY THE LAP AND SLIP.

NOW SOME PEOPLE PROBABLY HAD SLIPPED BANDS AND REMOVING THE BAND WAS A GODSEND TO GET THAT HORRIBLE SLIPPED BAND FROM THEIR BODY....AND FELT BETTER AFTER REVISING TO THE SLEEVE...BUT THERE ARE MANY THAT COMPLAIN THAT THEY HAD MORE RESTRICTION WITH THE BAND..BUT THAT IS BELIEVE SINCE THE BAND CAN BE TIGHTEN SO TIGHT YOU CAN BARELY SWALLOW YOUR SPIT....

NOW WITH ME...I HAVE NO SIDE EFFECTS, REFLUX OR VOMITING WITH MY BAND AT 7 YEARS SO I CANNOT RELATE TO HOW OTHERS FEEL THAT HAVE SUFFERED BAND DAMAGE....

WHO ARE YOU FOOLING? LAP BANDS JUST DON'T OUT OF THE BLUE SLIP...  IN FACT THERE WERE MANY WHO'S BAND SLIPPED RIGHT AFTER SURGERY BECAUSE THEY VOMITED AND THEIR SUTURES WERE NOT YET HEALED AND FIRM ENOUGH TO HOLD THE BAND IS PLACE THIS IS WHY SURGEON GIVE PATIENTS ANTI NAUSEOUS MED TO PREVENT VOMITING..

.BAND SLIPPAGE CAN HAPPEN BEFORE THE BAND ACTUALLY HEALS....BUT FOR THOSE WHO 'S HAD IT FOR OVER A YEAR....THERE WILL BE SOME WARNING SIGNS AND APPARENTLY YOU IGNORED YOURS.....I WISH YOU WELL...IN FACT I WISH YOU HAVE A UNEVENTFUL JOURNEY WITH YOUR SLEEVE.....MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BANDS WISH THOSE WHO HAD REVISION GOOD LUCK AND MUCH SUCCESS...WHAT WE HATE IS BASHING AND GENERALIZING AND SAYING WE WILL BE IN THE SAME BOAT...

..IT'S IS JUST LIKE SAYING WE ALL HAVE THE SAME BODY TYPE, SAME COLOR. WE ALL WEAR THE SAME SIZE SHOES....YOU GET MY POINT....THE BAND WILL NEVER EVER WORK FOR EVERYONE...SOME PEOPLE NEVER GET PAST THE FIRST MONTH...THEY HAVE TO GET IT REMOVED IMMEDIATELY...BUT THOSE WHO'VE HAD IT FOR YEARS AND COMPLAIN THAT IT JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN CAUSE COMPLICATIONS WITH NO WARNING ARE PRETTY MUCH TELLING A BOLD FACE LIE...THAT'S ALL....

 
Not all of us need restriction to the point that we need a total unfill and weight regain.  I've been banded and almost died.  I've been sleeved and at goal longer than you.  I maintain my weight loss, you didn't.  And you don't see the irony here of your lectures to me?

There are tons of reasons for bands slipping.  Just because a few people eat solids days post op doesn't mean we all did.

Not all doctors create sleeves equally.  Some doctors leave huge mega sleeves, other doctors do not.  Just like some doctors are not good at placing bands.

If you don't have reflux why are you here telling everyone to take Protonix because it is stronger?  HA!  Sounds like personal experience to me!  Well, it isn't stronger, just so you know.

I never claimed all bands slipped.  You made that up too.  I never made any such comment, not even close.  Mine certainly never slipped.  You assume it did, but it didn't.  Not once, not ever.

I have had a wonderful journey with the sleeve.  NO REGAIN, no getting stuck, none of it.  Again, I've been at goal longer than you dear.

I've never claimed you will be in the same boat as me.  Not once.  You made that up.  I don't bash the band, posting peer reviewed journal articles is not bashing.  It's sharing information.  You know, those pesky facts.

No, people with band complications are not telling a lie.  Naomi, you fully admit you don't even know current band stats.  You accuse everyone of dishonesty, your negativity is annoying, to be honest.  You slam dunk anyone with band problems and it gets old.

Now, as for you.  Are you watching your carb intake?  You know, the band is only a tool.  It isn't going to do it all for you and you need to start doing your part if you want your band to work.  You have to diet, exercise, and be responsible for what goes in your mouth.  You can't expect the band to do it all for you.  You should walk at least 30 minutes a day.  I would not advise you to run until you are at goal, it can be seriously hard on your knees and I am a prime example of that.  Learn from my own mistake and not your own.

I would suggest staying away from the white carbs, put the donuts and cakes away, just don't even buy them.  They will tempt you if you do.  Soon you can be at goal, too!

Good luck to you!

FYI...this is the latest study on SAFETY AND LONG TERM EFFECT OF THE LAP BAND BUT...THIS IS WITH SURGEONS WHO ARE MEMBER OF THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE ONLY....DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL OTHER SURGICAL PRACTICES...

BY THE WAY BOTH MY SURGEONS ARE PART OF THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.....SO EVERYONE JOURNEY WILL BE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHO INSTALLED THEIR BANDS, WHETHER OR NOT THEIR BAND IS DEFECTIVE...HOW THE BAND WAS INSTALLED...HOW COMPLIANT THE PATIENT IS IN FOLLOWING UP, THERE ARE VARIOUS FACTORS ON THE LONGEVITY OF A PATIENT SUCCESS...AND OH BY THE WAY....EVERYONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A SIZE 4 OR 6 TO BE CONSIDERED SUCCESSFUL..

..I AM HEALTHY AND WEAR MY SIZE 12 VERY WELL....I'VE BEEN AS LOW AS A SIZE 8...BUT THAT WAS TOO SMALL FOR MY 5'8 HEIGHT...BUT TO EACH ITS OWN...I AM STILL HEALTHY AND HAPPY WITH MY BAND AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR MY HEALTH....CAN YOU GO AND PUT STATS ON THE SLEEVE BOARD? AND MOVE ON?

http://www.springerlink.com/content/q7h5605015566218/?MU D=MP



Medicine Surgical Endoscopy Volume 24, Number 8 (2010), 1819-1823, DOI: 10.1007/s00464-009-0858-8

Published in partnership with

SAGES and EAES

Safety of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band: 7-year data from a U.S. center of excellence

Allison M. Carelli, Heekoung Allison Youn, Marina S. Kurian, Christine J. Ren and George A. Fielding

• Download PDF (142
  
  

Abstract

Background

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has become one of the most common weight-loss procedures performed in the United States. The authors’ high-volume academic medical center has gathered a database of almost 3,000 patients who have undergone LAGB since January 2001. The goal of this series, the largest to date on LAGB outcomes at a single institution, was to assess complications associated with LAGB.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed using longitudinal data from adult patients who underwent LAGB between 1 January 2001, and 29 February 2008. General and band-related complications were reported for all patients. Death and reoperation for weight gain (LAGB followed by either a second band insertion or a gastric bypass) also were reported.

Results

Of the 2,965 patients *****ceived LAGB during the study period, 2,909 met the criteria for inclusion in this analysis, and 363 (12.2%) experienced one or more complications. The most common complications were band slip (4.5%) and port-related problems (3.3%). Other complications were rare. Only seven patients (0.2%) had band erosion. Eleven patients (0.4%) underwent reoperation for weight gain. A total of 10 deaths (0.34%****urred during the study period. Three patients died within 30 days of surgery. Two of these deaths (0.06%) were related to surgery, and one resulted from a motor vehicle accident. Seven patients died of causes unrelated to surgery during the course of the study.

Conclusions

The LAGB technique is a relatively safe procedure with few early or late complications. Few LAGB patients undergo reoperation for weight gain, and mortality is very rare.


AND SINCE YOU WANT TO GET INTO STUDIES...HERE ARE A COUPLE OF SLEEVE FAIURE STUDIES FOR YOU........I CAN get a lot more but I don't have time....



http://bariatrictimes.com/2010/07/22/sleeve-gastrectomy-fail ure-just-when-we-thought-we-had-the-perfect-operation/


Sleeve DUMPING SYNDROME....AND SICKNESS..

http://bariatrictimes.com/2010/07/22/sleeve-gastrectomy-fail ure-just-when-we-thought-we-had-the-perfect-operation/


MORE DUMPING SYNDROME WITH THE SLEEVE

http://www.alighterme.com/gastric_sleeve_surgery_side_effect s.html

MORE DUMPING SYNDROME AND SLEEVE STRETCHING...

http://thebariatricsurgeryresource.com/gastric-sleeve-surger y/complications/