Post by formerlyfluffy on Jun 26, 2012 5:32:19 GMT -5
After seeing post after post about failed bands on the Lapband forums, I saw the need to start www.facebook.com/groups/FailedBands/ and also www.failedbands.com/.
Every day bandsters (those with Adjustable Gastric Bands) are having their bands removed. Many though are stuck with non-working bands that must remain because they cannot afford the cost of removal. Most of these bandsters were told by Allergan, (and if I’m not mistaken, by Johnson & Johnson (Realize) also), that the bands were a LIFETIME product. This is clearly NOT the case!
The lucky ones are able to revise to an effective weight loss surgery. Some are able to revise at the time of Lap-Band removal, however sometimes when damage caused by the lapband is extensive, the revision has to be done in a separate surgery after there is sufficient time for healing from the band damage.
And the not lucky ones? Well unfortunately sometimes damage from the lapband is permanent and too severe and they are unable to revise.
So let’s talk about lapband complications. Yes you read the disclosed stats when you got your lapband……..but was it accurate? It would appear not! According to the stats stated by HHS (Health and Human Services) in the www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-07/allergan-receives-u-s-subpoena-over-weight-loss-device.html post about the recent government subpoena of Allergan, the lapband has a HUGE percentage of complications. The stats are VERY dismal:
“In January, House Democratic lawmakers called for hearings on medical devices including Lap-Band, following a study in the medical journal Archives of Surgery, that found almost half of patients with a gastric band had no weight loss or needed the device removed after six years. More than 40 percent had long term complications. “
Almost 50% of those with an AGB having NO weight loss or in need of a removal after 6 years! So what happened to that “lifetime product” we were told we were getting?
Another issue I would like to bring up with you is “least invasive“. What an awesome marketing term! Who wouldn’t want a surgery that was “least invasive“? That is a huge selling point for anyone looking into weight loss surgery! Many get the lapband specifically because they want the WLS that is LEAST INVASIVE. But is it really? I know bandsters that have gotten 2 and even 3 bands. Suddenly 1 WLS has become 2 or 3 WLS’s. And if they develop complications with their 3rd bands? What next? Do they need to look into a 4th lapband? Just how many lapband might some (most?) bandsters require to last THEIR lifetime???
So how long will your lapband last? A recent post I saw was of a woman that has been banded 2 1/2 months and has thus far has 2 band surgeries. The one to put the lapband in and a 2nd surgery to do a repair. Now want to hear the band news? She now needs a 3rd surgery! Yes there is another lapband complication and now a 3rd surgery is needed to correct this complication. After needing 3 surgeries in 2 1/2 months she has wisely decided to have her band removed instead of having yet another surgery to repair her useless lapband. Another lady that posted on the forums had to have her band removed after 1 1/2 weeks! Now granted, these are extreme cases, however these things can and do happen. Essentially your band may last 1 1/2 weeks, 2 1/2 months, 4 years…………..you might even be one of the lucky ones that makes it 5 or 6 years out with your band. Or you could be the equivelent of a lottery winner and make it 10, maybe even 20 years out with it. Stranger things have happened……….but that would certainly NOT be the longevity for the majority of bandsters with their “lifetime Lapbands”!
Now what are the common lapband complications? Slip, leak, flipped port. Those are very common, but there are many more that can occur:
Erosion
Dialated Esophagus
Achalasia
Left Referring Shoulder Pain
Esophageal Dysmotility
Barrets Esophagus
Some of the lapband complications are minor. Some require another surgery to correct. Some can cause permanent damage. Suddenly “least invasive” seems anything but! So how long will YOUR lapband last? Will it cause complications? PERMANENT DAMAGE?
How long will YOUR Lapband last?
Are you a lapbander or former lapbander? Do you have a Failed Band? If so please share the experience of your Failed Bands!
Every day bandsters (those with Adjustable Gastric Bands) are having their bands removed. Many though are stuck with non-working bands that must remain because they cannot afford the cost of removal. Most of these bandsters were told by Allergan, (and if I’m not mistaken, by Johnson & Johnson (Realize) also), that the bands were a LIFETIME product. This is clearly NOT the case!
The lucky ones are able to revise to an effective weight loss surgery. Some are able to revise at the time of Lap-Band removal, however sometimes when damage caused by the lapband is extensive, the revision has to be done in a separate surgery after there is sufficient time for healing from the band damage.
And the not lucky ones? Well unfortunately sometimes damage from the lapband is permanent and too severe and they are unable to revise.
So let’s talk about lapband complications. Yes you read the disclosed stats when you got your lapband……..but was it accurate? It would appear not! According to the stats stated by HHS (Health and Human Services) in the www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-07/allergan-receives-u-s-subpoena-over-weight-loss-device.html post about the recent government subpoena of Allergan, the lapband has a HUGE percentage of complications. The stats are VERY dismal:
“In January, House Democratic lawmakers called for hearings on medical devices including Lap-Band, following a study in the medical journal Archives of Surgery, that found almost half of patients with a gastric band had no weight loss or needed the device removed after six years. More than 40 percent had long term complications. “
Almost 50% of those with an AGB having NO weight loss or in need of a removal after 6 years! So what happened to that “lifetime product” we were told we were getting?
Another issue I would like to bring up with you is “least invasive“. What an awesome marketing term! Who wouldn’t want a surgery that was “least invasive“? That is a huge selling point for anyone looking into weight loss surgery! Many get the lapband specifically because they want the WLS that is LEAST INVASIVE. But is it really? I know bandsters that have gotten 2 and even 3 bands. Suddenly 1 WLS has become 2 or 3 WLS’s. And if they develop complications with their 3rd bands? What next? Do they need to look into a 4th lapband? Just how many lapband might some (most?) bandsters require to last THEIR lifetime???
So how long will your lapband last? A recent post I saw was of a woman that has been banded 2 1/2 months and has thus far has 2 band surgeries. The one to put the lapband in and a 2nd surgery to do a repair. Now want to hear the band news? She now needs a 3rd surgery! Yes there is another lapband complication and now a 3rd surgery is needed to correct this complication. After needing 3 surgeries in 2 1/2 months she has wisely decided to have her band removed instead of having yet another surgery to repair her useless lapband. Another lady that posted on the forums had to have her band removed after 1 1/2 weeks! Now granted, these are extreme cases, however these things can and do happen. Essentially your band may last 1 1/2 weeks, 2 1/2 months, 4 years…………..you might even be one of the lucky ones that makes it 5 or 6 years out with your band. Or you could be the equivelent of a lottery winner and make it 10, maybe even 20 years out with it. Stranger things have happened……….but that would certainly NOT be the longevity for the majority of bandsters with their “lifetime Lapbands”!
Now what are the common lapband complications? Slip, leak, flipped port. Those are very common, but there are many more that can occur:
Erosion
Dialated Esophagus
Achalasia
Left Referring Shoulder Pain
Esophageal Dysmotility
Barrets Esophagus
Some of the lapband complications are minor. Some require another surgery to correct. Some can cause permanent damage. Suddenly “least invasive” seems anything but! So how long will YOUR lapband last? Will it cause complications? PERMANENT DAMAGE?
How long will YOUR Lapband last?
Are you a lapbander or former lapbander? Do you have a Failed Band? If so please share the experience of your Failed Bands!
