Lap-Band Shown Effective for Long-Term Weight Loss

http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20130117/ lap-band-shown-effective-long-term-weight-loss?page=2

I started to read the above link and realized it was the Monash study they base their article on and quit reading.

Sorry, the Monash study is a total joke, for example anyone that didn't do well were essentially kicked out of the study.  I mean, I can probably list 20 reasons why that study is a joke.  It was written by an Australian band mill.  It was also bought and paid for by Allergan.

Have you actually read it??  You honestly can't help but to laugh when reading it.  It looks like the best work of a 7th grader putting together his first study to impress a teacher.

Oh, btw... Even Dr. Simpson admitted there were serious flaws with that study.  He said he was going to contact the authors to identify why it was so flawed.  So this isn't just me, even a bariatric surgeon agrees there are big questions about that "study".

HAHA!!  Okay, 3rd shot at this!!

Now I just read page 2, beyond the Monash study.  Page two is a LOT more realistic.  Page 2 does pretty well refute page #1. ;o)

I think this is the best NON BIAS studies to date, of course you are bias because you only showed the link to the second page, which gives a fair overall view of what REALLY goes on with the band and WHY complications occur in most cases.

Here is the first page for those who are interested

http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20130117/ lap-band-shown-effective-long-term-weight-loss

This statement below is true in about 70 percent of Lap Band complications:

“The band is a device that requires a lot of maintenance and multiple adjustments, and one problem is that our insurance system is not set up to pay for this,” he says..

“Placing the band is just the first step in the process,” he says. “Compliance and follow-up are critically important. There are plenty of people out there doing this surgery without a follow-up program for their patients, and they are setting them up for failure.”

 You see MOST people DO NOT FOLLOW UP WITH THEIR BAND SURGEONS AFTER INSTALLATION, if they are having issues and many end up going to the ER for issues or emergency surgery to get their bands removed, reasons, vary from  inconvenience, many people got the band placed in Mexico a few years ago, I am SURE this study was based on that too, from 2002-2008 MANY people paid cash for their bands in Mexico but ended up getting it removed in an emergency due to poor or no aftercare here in the US that drove up the complication rate significantly. Most of these people were eventually Sleeved.

Here are the reasons for most band removals/complications/failures:

1. Limited income- or job lost, some people can no longer afford critical upkeep of the band.

2. Some surgeons charge outrageous fees for fill adjustments, some surgeon charge as much as $1,200 for a single fill, most adjustments only last less than a minute. Charging this type of money for a fill will discourage patients to go back for needed fills or unfills and is set up to make the patient fail and have a complication.

3. Some people live too far from their surgeon to see them often for aftercare, some people fail to go back for needed fills to keep weight loss going, once the band is optimally filled, it may only need small tweaks.

4. Living with the band with tight restriction can be challenging for most people, you have to always be remindful of not eating too much and chewing your food well, otherwise this will eventually cause issues and many people will vomit and purge until they get so irritated that they will see their surgeon only when they've started having significant reflux issues, instead of seeing the surgeon immediately when they have issues that last longer than a week to let some saline out of the band, some people fail to go on liquids after vomiting or severe irritation and cause further issues.

5. Just like RNY, Sleeve and DS, complications still can occur with the band despite GREAT aftercare, it is a risk we all take with any weight loss surgery, but having great aftercare and doctor will greatly reduce those chances.

6. Un-skilled fill adjusters that don't know how to give proper fills, oh yes, they can puncture holes in the tubing or port and this can be very annoying to those who are self pay and it requires a second surgery, some people go to shady Medical Centers that don't follow proper hygiene by sterilizing needles and the skin prior to a fill that can introduce bacteria inside the port which can lead to infection, which can lead to band erosion.

Let's face it the Lap band is just not meant for someone with limited income or who is not willing to follow up with their surgeon at least every 6 weeks after surgery for at least a year post op and can't afford any needed diagnostic testing that it sometimes requires. It is a HIGH MAINTENANCE TOOL,

Could it be more of a weight loss surgery for rich and professional people? Probably, is it fair, probably not.

Why is banding more effective in Australia than in the US?

Jamie Ponce one of the best band surgeons in the US says:

Gastric banding is much more popular and widely performed than gastric bypass in Australia.

“In Australia, aftercare is covered by national insurance, so patients don’t have to worry about paying for adjustments,” Ponce says.

And there are plenty of gastric banding success stories here in America, including New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who lost more than 100 pounds after having the procedure in March of 2010.

Ponce says patients who understand that gastric banding will require careful compliance and frequent follow-up visits to their doctor can achieve good results with the gastric banding surgery.

“Patients need to be followed, preferably every month or so,” he says. “If your surgeon doesn’t offer this kind of follow up, you need to go somewhere else.”

Bias or not I was TOLD by OH mods not to post copyrighted material, Just a LINK..... as Usual it's a NO WIN situation here..No worries IF you can READ you can find anything on the Internet

Even knowing it's a horribly flawed study, and paid for by a band maker (so they SHOULD be trying to show it in the best light, even if they have to be manipulative about it) it still sounded pretty bad. 

I still laugh when I think of that study.  'Only' half either DIED for needed re-ops in the first few years.  And keep in mind, they already weeded out anyone that didn't make the study look good.

///eye roll///

I think there is something to be said for the cost part of the follow up care, I thought I would have the same insurance for a long time to come but it was changed where my husband works. So instead of a copay of $30 it was then $225 for a fill or unfill. That made me less inclined to fill and unfill at my first whim. I was quick to get a partial unfill if I was too tight but if I was too loose I'd put it off getting a fill. That and being unable to exercise put the death knell to my band use. Getting lots of small fills was out of the question because of cost. We aren't poor by any means but we are retired so money isn't what it used to be and once my band started tightening without getting a fill there really wasn't any reasonable option but to get it completely unfilled to avoid any further damage to my stomach. It would have been much more user friendly if the fills were covered like they are in Australia!

Same here.  I no longer have money to throw away.  I sure don't miss the filling and unfilling.