Hello, I am the wife of a lap-band patient. My husband had his procedure done several months ago, and one day later died at home. It turns out his stomach was punctured by the laprascope during surgery. This error was not detected until an autopsy was performed. Even tho we went to a very reputable surgeon, this is a risk of laproscopic surgery. Some surgeons will perform a barium swallow test after surgery as an extra precaution to make sure everything has gone well. If this test had been done on my husband directly after his surgery he would be alive today.
PLEASE, if you are considering lap-band surgery be sure to discuss this extra test with your surgeon. Even if the barium swallow increases the cost of the surgery IT IS WELL WORTH IT.
