Question:
please tell me about the success or failure of the lap band procedure

I am considering surgery and have a number of factors to evaluate. Firstly, I am self pay and do not have endless dollars. Secondly, I have never had surgery and am a little anxious. The lap band appeals to me due to cost efficiency, however, I do not want to pay for surgery and later be disappointed that it will not help me accomplish my goals. Can I hear from some of you who have also had to make this decision. Thanks-Emily H.    — emily H. (posted on March 11, 2004)

March 11, 2004
Emily, I am not sure of the differences of success rates for each. I can tell you that I too was self pay. I had my surgery 1/24/04. I am actually leaving today for my first fill. During this time without fill I have lost 20 pounds. This initial loss varies from person to person. The band is a tool to help, but you can get around eating properly and you can gain weight. It depends on the individual and their commitment. Overall, so far, I am very pleased with my decision. For me, the bypass was too invasive and more expensive. I wanted something that I could easily reverse if there were complications in the future. I will be glad to discuss specifics with you about cost and where I did my surgery, etc via private email. Let me know. [email protected]
   — Latrell B.

March 12, 2004
After a few years, the results from the lap-band and gastric bypass are pretty much the same. Here is a link to the results of some studies that have been done: http://spotlighthealth.com/morbid_obesity/lap_band/procedure/procedure_study_results.html I personally am 10 months post-op and have lost over 90 pounds. I feel great about my choice and expect to keep losing weight for at least another year. On average lap-band patients can expect to lose 5-10 pounds a month for up to 3 years post-op.
   — K M.

March 12, 2004
Hi Emily,I had never had surgery before either.But I decided to go with the Lapband for a lot of reasons and Im glad I did.Im 10 months post-op as of yesterday .I started at 301 pounds.I weighed this morning and Im down to 173 pounds.Thats a total of 128 pounds!Talking about one happy woman.Good luck and I hope everything goes great for you.
   — stephanie S.

March 12, 2004
My surgeon does both the RNY and Lap band. He says the average band loss is 45 to 50% the average RNY about 75% after 3 years. This agrees with the band manufacturers site that talks of a 45 to 50% loss.<P> I am not knocking any surgery just reporting what I have learned, I think the RNYs loss is better because of malabsorbtion but Its JUST MY OPINION! The RNY is the gold standard of WLS by the NIH.
   — bob-haller

March 12, 2004
No matter what procedure someone selects I think the most important ingredient is motivation. Being VERY diet compliant, following the rules and getting lots of exercise, like several hours a day minimum can help make any patient a WLS success story.
   — bob-haller

March 23, 2004
I also wanted lap band, as felt it would be less invasive and could get back to work asap ect.... However, my sister has worked in a local hospital over 20 yrs and has seen over 10 lap band patients die, and others have almost died. She said the Dr's can't see as well what they are doing, and that it is better to have the Dr open you up so he can see everything better. Also there is less chance of getting bowel or something else knicked when open. I have heard of three people myself that are friends of people at work that had bad complications after lap band, and actually had to have them removed before they got to lose any extensive weight. After doing extensive research on this site, I had open RNY and couldn't be happier. Recovery time and pain was not bad and it is great being off of work and getting paid STD. Didn't mean to scare you, but I'd feel awful if I didn't tell you and something bad happened as a result of you not knowing.
   — bufordslipstick