I suggest having it removed. It is surgery with a high fail rate and chances are you'll be back in for another surgery. I experienced a dialated pouch with slippage over a decade ago. The surgeon asked me if I wanted him to fix it, and without second guessing I asked him to get that thing out of me! It can do all sorts of internal damage as well, just think of your esophagus and stomach being squeezed off by a belt (can't be good). I wish I had known now what I new then.

I just had my lap band taken out 2 weeks and have the sleeve. ( oh I had it for 10 years and this past summer it dropped, and was told if I don't get it out it will start shutting down my organs. I was starting to turn gray ect could go on. )

I feel like 15 years younger after this. I am in Canada across from Detroit. I researched so many doctors yeh even Mexico and picked Dr. Mark Pleatman in Michigan yeh I had to pay out of my pocket. In my orientation nutrition ect I had people from Chicago, Indiana, Ohio and Las Vegas. This doctor does 4-6 a week of sleeves, he also teaches doctors on this procedure. This Doctor is so so good and tells you like it is.

Doctors are still putting those Bands in for the money who cares about the patient. Also now they say the bypass is bad too cancer the pills don't absorb in the stomach what stomach, and colon cancer. The problems I had with my body are gone because the band is gone, I can breath, no pain. If you want your wife around see this guy **** he is was my shinning star.

Research Dr. Mark Pleatman 248-334-5444...www.drpleatman.com

Believe me he will help you whats a phone call and free consultation

best of luck Mike

Thanks maybe I should be talking to you glad to hear there's a a lap band success story. so you had no complications and you still have it? how is it minimal pain after wards, how often do you get a fill?

So I am a VSG candidate now, but I'm not the first in my family to have WLS surgery. My wife had a LAP BAND procedure in 2008. And yes she did initially lose a decent amount of weight but not as much as she wanted (my wife asked me not to use specific numbers in this post). In the 1st year, she struggled with keeping food down, as many do. But it was worse than normal. The nausea and choking was very bad. Now she admits she didn't follow the post-surgery diet like she should have. She does blame herself for some of her pain. This is why she is encouraging me to get VSG, because she believes, based on my personality, that I will follow the post-surgery diet exactly and will stick to the nutritional changes.

Her WLS surgeon was not very supportive when she would visit him. He keep wanting to put more fluid in the band, even though it made her even more miserable. Eventually he gave up and within 2 years he had all the fluid removed form her band. She also eventually stopped going to him because of the way he treated her. During this time she was trying to eat gluten free, due to being misdiagnosed with Celiac Disease. She learned to live life with the constant choking and uncontrollable nausea and eventually returned to her normal eating habits (non-gluten free, junk food, etc.). While she didn't gain a lot of weight back she also didn't lose any more. Her blood tests showed she also struggled with low nutrient levels, resulting in her being weak and constantly tired. So basically she had the initial weight loss from the 1st year and she just plateaued for several years, still not being able to keep any or much food down. She had convinced herself that it was just normal for having the band.

In 2016, it was determined that she didn't have Celiac's Disease. Instead she had Sjorgens Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that often results in dry eyes, dry mouth, and dry throat. The rheumatoid doctors believed it was contributing to her problems with nausea because her throat was too dry. She was put on medication to address the Sjorgens and the dryness. Since then she has felt much better. She has better nutrient retention and more energy. She can eat more normally, although she still gets choked up at times if she eats too fast. And since the fall of 2016, she has lost a ton of weight, especially in 2017. It's like the band is working now like it should have worked 10 years ago, even though it doesn't have any fluid in it.

Despite the weight loss, she still has concerns about band slippage and tissue scarring and wants to have the band removed, but she is scared that band removal will result in her regaining the weight. A lot of family are friends are concerned about her rapid weight loss, so many years after the lap band was inserted. She has had a lot of tests run to see if there is another reason for her weight loss, but everything has come back normal (aside from the Sjorgens). Personally I also am still nervous there is something else contributing to her rapid weight loss.

I made her promise to me that if I went to the VSG consult in February, that she would also schedule an appointment with my bariatric group (different doctors than she had in 2008) to discuss her LAP-BAND and options for removal and possibly revision. She hasn't done this yet but insists that she will. The good thing is that since she accompanied me on my initial consult, she was about to share her story, and she feels much more comfortable talking to my surgeon than the surgeon who did her surgery. I just need to stay on her about actually making scheduling the consult.

I'm sorry for the long story but I wanted to share the full history of her WL journey. I was wondering if anyone else has a similar story or if anyone has any advice for what she should do regarding the LAP-Band?

I experienced this and had to get my band removed. I am happy to say that after band removal and revision to a sleeve, all the symptoms went away and my esophagus is back to normal. I was experiencing this dilation with an unfilled band for a few years! So I would encourage you to explore band removal asap to avoid long term damage.