erosion

Sugarbear · December 7, 2005

I guess everyone has seen pennys post about the erosion and having to have the band removed. She said to follow the rules and take care of your band. Exactly what causes this and now what can she do after healing. Can she have another band? What are the causes of the erosion? I have attended a seminar in Texarkana, TX and have filled out my client info. I am waiting to hear from the doctors there about an appt. for a consult. This is kind of disheartening and scary.

Alexandra · December 7, 2005

There have been several recent threads about this. Essentially, the eroding away of body tissue is a risk posed by any implanted device. There doesn't seem to be any specific cause or way to prevent it from happening. As far as rebanding goes, it may be possible once the stomach has healed, but I don't think it's widely recommended. However, when a band is removed your body goes back to being its pre-band self, possibly with an hourglass shape to the stomach. Since no major rerouting was done in the first place, removal of the band is relatively simple and safe. So while erosion sounds really scary, it's fixable and not going to endanger one's overall health if treated appropriately.

Based on what we read here it may seem like it's happening a lot, but as far as I have ever heard the general rate of this sort of complication is not higher than 3%. This group here at LBT is not a representative sample, so don't be scared off by the recent incidences. Talk with your doctor and let him or her reassure you and explain what the risks really are.

donali · December 7, 2005

I think LBT IS a good representation of the lapband population. We have 4,692 members. IF all 4,692 were banded (which I know they're not), at 3% erosion we could expect that about 140.76 members might erode.

Since all the members here are NOT banded, lets just say only HALF ARE banded - that would be 2,346. Of 2,346 banded people, at 3% erosion we could expect about 70.38 members might erode.

Let's say only 1000 of us here are actually (or were... ) banded. Of 1,000 banded members, at 3% erosion we could expect that about 30 members might erode.

I think we've had at most 15 members erode (I think that's a little high, but I'm just guesstimating most of all this anyway... ). If 15 represented 3%, the expected member base would be 500. Surely at least 500 of the members here are actually banded?

It's hard to know with so many lurkers/researchers. Maybe we could set up an anonymous poll so that all members could report if they're banded or not, and then we could do some percentages from that info.

leatha_g · December 7, 2005

I'm gonna blame those margaritas if any more of us from the 2004 Vegas get together come up with this problem.. Seems like an EXTREMELY high percentage of that one small group.

Alexandra · December 7, 2005

I think LBT IS a good representation of the lapband population. We have 4,692 members. IF all 4,692 were banded (which I know they're not), at 3% erosion we could expect that about 140.76 members might erode.
Since all the members here are NOT banded, lets just say only HALF ARE banded - that would be 2,346. Of 2,346 banded people, at 3% erosion we could expect about 70.38 members might erode.

Let's say only 1000 of us here are actually (or were... ) banded. Of 1,000 banded members, at 3% erosion we could expect that about 30 members might erode.

I think we've had at most 15 members erode (I think that's a little high, but I'm just guesstimating most of all this anyway... ). If 15 represented 3%, the expected member base would be 500. Surely at least 500 of the members here are actually banded?

It's hard to know with so many lurkers/researchers. Maybe we could set up an anonymous poll so that all members could report if they're banded or not, and then we could do some percentages from that info.

I love your math. My point was only that the posting population of LBT is vastly more likely to be people who have had some sort of issue OR who are not yet or very newly banded. As such, that group isn't really a good sample. If there were any way to get every one of the banded members here to come and report on their progress--even if everything is going wonderfully well--we might have a better idea.