lap band LONG TERM

[Sunta 5]

Hi Guys,

I wrote to Imamed and asked them if it was intended to be permanent and this is the reply I got:

Hello Rebecca,

We do not call the band a life-time device. We call it a long-term device. We do not know if it will eventually need to be replaced like a pacemaker or hip replacement joint. We do know that silicone last a long time in the body. And that the band does not have any moving parts to wear out like some implants.

The longest that anyone has had the band is since 1993.

Don Mills

INAMED Health

[snowhard 0]

Well, I think we can all agree that at least for now, there isnt enough evidence to suggest that the lap band can stay inside someone lifelong. I'm not saying its not possible, or even if its unlikely, it just hasnt been documented.

But I've also asked the question for all other surgeries, like Roux-en-y gastric bypass, which also doesnt have a lot of evidence long term. So the band isn't all that different from any other surgery. Someone suggested that if I was looking for a permanent fix, I should choose another procedure, but HOW DO I KNOW if that will last forever? I don't...

But what I do know is that its a hell of a lot easier to reverse a lap band than a gastric bypass. So I think the band is still the way to GO, since we don't know the long term effects of any surgery, but we do know the lap band is definitely the safest.

So in the end, this has not discouraged me in any way from still looking into getting the lap band.

UGh. Tought thread to see about just being banded. I'm just one day out of surgery and I can't imagine going through this multiple times.

[Constance 0]

I'm glad I saw this thread. This has been a recurring question and internal debate for me. I'm happy to see there are some honest opinions about the long-term use of the band. I would rather hear "yes, another surgery is possible maybe even likely", than "No way! You'll be FINE". I'd rather know the facts.

But really, sometimes I think of all the damage I could do to my body being morbidly obese for another 10 years -- or even 5. Wouldn't that be worse than any corrective or maintenance type surgery that might follow getting the band?

I do strongly believe in the next 20 years there WILL be a safe, effective pharmaceutical breakthrough and obesity will be far less common. It will be like anti-depressants. Huge numbers will get on them and say "wow, why did we suffer so long?" Until then, we have to accept the risks of WLS...or just diet...which basically means staying fat.

[Paulax 8]

My cousin had a hip replacement in her mid thirties. A lap band is made from the same material, (silicone) as any implanted device, hip, knee and pace maker.

I am sure if you asked my cousin if she wanted to go ahead with her hip replacement even at some risk that it would need replacement. I am absolutely sure of what her answer would be.

Ditto a heart patient.

Just thinking out loud here

[tilly 5]

the benefits Ive had from my band so far are so good that I would have it removed and replaced in a heart beat, the pain after surgery, the messing about with the fills, all worth it. I hope this is permanent but if it goes wrong I would do it again and again and again.

most prosthesis, like heart valves and hip replacements arnt permanant but it wouldnt stop me having them if I needed them.

[Kathi 0]

I agree with "fabfatgrl"... Use this now, as it is the safest. Your anatomy will still be intact for anything new that they drum up for us with MO.

I also feel like being banded is the next step for me in my battle with weight loss, that this is my next step to progressively handle this. I worked my way up to this WLS by failing to maintain my weight loss with other diets/pills.

If I need a more drastic surgery in the future, then I guess that I will do it. BUT at least I gave myself the chance to try the least invasive type of surgery available.

[snowhard 0]

Yes, it is made of a material that is supposed to minimize the possibilities of:

1)the band getting eroded

2)autoimmune rejection of the band.

But long term data still hasn't determined the long term risks of band slippage, or esophageal dilatation. So who knows, what the probabilty of having an erosion or a slip 30 years post-op?

The hip replacement seems more risky long term since it involves moving parts and a more complex mechanism. The lap band is a very simple device, and it certainly is very possible and in fact likely (in my opinion) that it can last for a very long time in some people.

My cousin had a hip replacement in her mid thirties. A lap band is made from the same material, (silicone) as any implanted device, hip, knee and pace maker.

I am sure if you asked my cousin if she wanted to go ahead with her hip replacement even at some risk that it would need replacement. I am absolutely sure of what her answer would be.

Ditto a heart patient.

Just thinking out loud here

[snowhard 0]

I agree. Even if you were to conclude that the lap band generally cannot stay long term, the benefits of losing weight would still outweigh the risks.

And I'm not sure about the "magic pharmaceutical bullet" you're talking about... I think that it is wishful thinking, but not guaranteed as to whether their will be "cure" even in our lifetimes.

And "magic pills" don't get to the market right away. It could take many decades for the FDA to approve the therapy.

I'm glad I saw this thread. This has been a recurring question and internal debate for me. I'm happy to see there are some honest opinions about the long-term use of the band. I would rather hear "yes, another surgery is possible maybe even likely", than "No way! You'll be FINE". I'd rather know the facts.

But really, sometimes I think of all the damage I could do to my body being morbidly obese for another 10 years -- or even 5. Wouldn't that be worse than any corrective or maintenance type surgery that might follow getting the band?

I do strongly believe in the next 20 years there WILL be a safe, effective pharmaceutical breakthrough and obesity will be far less common. It will be like anti-depressants. Huge numbers will get on them and say "wow, why did we suffer so long?" Until then, we have to accept the risks of WLS...or just diet...which basically means staying fat.

[dsrjrr 0]

Well Im not banded yet but I will be soon and I plan to take it one day at a time,things with the band may happen to me but not to you vice versa!No two people are the same.

[Poodles 0]

Watched a show last night about plastic surgery. In particular breast implants. They say the average life of a breast implant is 10 years and then they need to be replaced. Thousands of women do that.

I am willing to take the risk that this may need to be replaced. With other WLS you can't replace the things they cut out and you are just screwed if anything goes wrong. (Forgive the way I put that... but it is true.)

[kebabish 0]

thats a good way of putting it MAGIC.......

[YeeHaw 0]

I guess the reason why I am so terrified of this subject is because I am paying $15,000 for my band, so if something goes wrong it will cost me another 5 or 10 thousand to get it removed or "fixed" I am willing to pay 15 for the band but I can't imagine paying to get it removed and then paying to get another one. I could not spend 40 thousand or how much ever it may cost to do all this. So I am praying that this is the right thing for me, I don't expect it to last forever but I would like 5 to 10 years, I hope by then I will know how to eat and can keep off the weight myself. Gastric Bypass is not an option for me, and will never be so it is this or nothing. I am planning that in about 5 years I will have to pay to have it removed, if I get longer great, but it is all worth it to me. I don't want to be like this my whole life. I am 20 years old and I have a lot of life left, but if I continue to eat and gain weight, there is no telling the problems that I will face in the future.

Scheduled for LB on April 17th!!!!

[snowhard 0]

I'm still undecided, mainly by choosing between the gastric bypass versus the band...

I think I've made the decision that I will be getting some type of wls.

It is worthy to note that during my research, speaking to several well known weight loss surgeons, most of them expect the band to last forever, and keep stating the band is indeed a permanent solution.

They claim that if one takes care of their band, and if they don't erode, they see no reason why it can't last forever.

So who knows?

[Kelliebelly 13]

I was just thinking even if the band is not permanant, but say will help you lose all your weight and keep it off for many years to come, wouldnt it be better than having your insides cut and re routed and then if there is a problem what are you going to do? There is no going back. Id take the less permanant route and work with it as much as I could rather than something I could NEVER change or go back on...That is just too scary a thought for me.

I do have to disagree with one statement though.

After 10 yrs shouldnt we have learnt how to eat etc enough to keep the weight off without the band??

Well my answer to that one and just my opinion is NO. It is not about how to eat or anything. To me the band limits how much I eat. It makes me feel full quicker and longer. Without the band to stop me I would eat. You wouldnt be able to help it because you would be hungry sooo much more without the band. I do not think it is as easy as learning the right way to eat and then maintaining that without the band because without the band you are going to go back to having a much larger appetite than you did with the band.

[NewSho 20]

BUT even if you had your band for 10 years (assuming that you need to remove it after that for complications)...

Don't you think that 10 years is way more than enough time to lose all the weight you need, and learn, double learn and triple learn the good eating habits, that you can continue being thin without the band...

It's been 5 years for me, and I'm still trying to get my BMI below 30 (which is technically still "obese" by most chart standards.) Yes, I've gotten nutritional consulting and given much thought to what I eat. So I still have weight to lose, and yes I still try to work and be a "good band citizen." After 5 years of banding and struggling to get to this weight, it simply terrifies me to think of unbanding without a revision to another surgery. So let us not assume it just naturally gets easier over time.

Happy Band Journeys to all...