Lap Band Deaths...

[TheWomanWithin 0]

I was floored by something my oldest daughter said to me yesterday. She is 19 and has asked all kinds of questions about me getting banded.

When I told her yesterday I had found another plan that will let me go to a new doctor and be banded she got this look on her face and I said what?

She is scared to death for me to have surgery now! I was floored and asked her why? she said Connie at work was going to have the Lap Band done and another lady says DONT do it - she "knows" 2 people who had it done and died! I said WHAT - no way - she knows them personally? HOW is that possible?

Are the facts straight when they tell the death rates and complications? I know that seems like a stupid question, and all deaths, complications I assume have to be reported.

As with any surgery, there can be complications. I told her the gynecological surgery I had done last year I could have died and was a far more complicated one than this is. Plus I am considered healthy other than being obese and occassional sleep apnea.

I went to Inamed but can't seem to find specific death rates from the surgery itself.

It just says:

You should know that death is one of the risks. It can occur any time during the operation. It can also occur as a result of the operation. Death can occur despite all the precautions that are taken

Anyone have those facts or steer me in the right direction? I want to show her this information.

[kim2bhealthy 3]

When I went to the seminar before my consultation, they addressed this issue. They were providing statistics for both the band and the RNY. Their statistics were:

1. Gastric Bypass RNY: 1 in 200 people die.

2. Gastric Lap Band: 1 in 2500 people die.

Now, I'm not sure if these death rates are during surgery, immediately after surgery,after lengthy complications or a combination of all...

Statistics are always difficult to pin down, so take this info with a grain of salt...

[Sunta 5]

Are you certain that your daughter is not confusing the LAP Band with the gastric bypass, or that the woman she knows isn't confusing the two procedures? Most people I told I was having this done reacted the same way because most people do not make a distinction between the band and the bypass. Believe me, I heard numerous reports of knowing someone who knows someone who died during the bypass. It's funny how people feel just fine to say "I know someone who died getting that!" when it's weight loss surgery, but they would never say the same if you were having your gall bladder removed. But the fact is, gall bladder removal has a higher mortality rate than LAP Band surgery.

[lovecats85 2]

As far as I know, and I think I researched this issue more than anyone b/c I am terrified of dying, I could not find one case where someone died in lapband. I found 2 deaths from complications afterwards, but it is because the people did not seek medical care. My PCP has a patient who's stomach lining got punctured in band surgery, but she had a good surgeon who knew it happened and she got medical care and was just fine. There is a case of this happening and the woman ignored the symptoms and didn't seek medical care b/c she didn't want anyone to know she had been banded. Point is, you will not die. At worst you will have complications which you will seek medical care for and ultimatley be fine. I was so scared of dying in this surgery b/c I had never had surgery before --- it turned out this surgery was easier than when I had a twilight sleep for a colonscopy! Anyways, I invite anyone else to research and see if they can find a lap band death. I couldn't.

[Alexandra 55]

I've been online since 2002 in banding communities, and I've heard of one instance where a band surgery was followed closely by death. And from what I understand, the patient ignored significant symptoms that were, in any case, the result of a surgical error (she had a leak, somehow).

Under normal circumstances, banding surgery is among the safest that there is. The patient's health pre-surgery is most important, especially as it relates to the risk of general anaesthesia, but the surgery itself is no big deal at all.

They're mixing up bypass and banding. No question.

[3loves 0]

Death is a reality for either surgery. Personally, I feel it's more unlikely with the band, but it could happen. I have complete peace with my decision and have no fear of the surgery or the life after band. This is an elective surgery and although many have breezed through without ANY problems, there a many variables that play into complications. Like I've said before, this is serious stuff and a decision of this magnitude should not be made lightly or on a whim. Death is a reality. :cry Holy cow....it's real!!

If you pray, pray with your daughter to help bring her peace. I know my mom has the same fear. She doesn't really want me to have the surgery, but I am 100% confident in my decision. My children aren't old enough to really comprehend, but bless the hearts of our children....they don't want anything to happen to mommy or daddy.

[nursekathy2u 0]

I dont know of anyone who died from the surgery but I do know of a man in his upper 40's who had it done.. was discharged from the hospital and was readmitted 3 days later with a horrible infection. He had the band removed but unfortunately became septic with infection and was in ICU for a month. His heart stopped on 2 different occasions and he had to be resussitated. Unfortunately he suffered brain damage and was in a rehab for about 6 months just learning to walk, talk, and preform everyday activities. This happened in 2004 and he is just recently beginning to be his old self again, however with memory problems. This was not related to "Lap Band surgery" but to "Surgery" itself. The doctor speculated it could have been that the band was not sterile from the factory but more likely the sterility of the surgical field was compromised in some way. I was in OR setting up for a surgery when another tech in the room noticed a fly landing on our surgical field. We had to throw everyhting out and set up again.. had she not been looking in that direction at that particular moment the pt would have received surgery with insturments a fly had landed on. My point is... ANYTHING can happen when you undergo anesthesia and have a surgical procedure done.. Not just a lap band. So since this is an elective surgery it is important to treat it as seriously as you would any other surgery. Your surgeon is only human, and he will have an assistant with him operating the laparoscopic instruments on the other side of your body, and an anesthesiologist puts you to sleep. People make mistakes, accidents happen, unfortunate events that cant be helped occur, people have life threatenting reactions to medications and anesthesia and so on and so on.... Now... that being said.. STATISTICALLY Lap Band surgery has a low mortality rate.. 1 in 2500 is what i have heard too. Also, keep in mind that not all people having lap bands are healthy.. they are morbidly obese and many have the health consequences that go along with it.. heart disease, lung disease, diabetes etc, which makes them at a higher risk of undergoing surgery of any kind. Perhaps that may have been the cause of death of the "2 people who died from lap band surgery" Who knows... I know of people who have died having their wisdom teeth removed or during a colonoscopy.. both of those people were only given sedation... Life is unpredictable. If you do everything you are supposed to do, seek out a competent surgeron and go to a reputable facility, and follow all the post op instructions things will likely be fine... thats what the statistics say. Just be sure you would be willing to risk your life to have the surgery and improve your life and health. ALL surgery is a risk. Be sure this is not a first resort but a last resort.. For most of us the surgery is a LIFE SAVER not a LIFE TAKER. I am so thankful for my lap band.. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Kathy

[TheWomanWithin 0]

Thanks everyone :confused:

I asked my daughter if the woman knew what she was talking about?

I did months and months of research and have folders of medical info from doctors and inamed about Lap-Band.

I wanted her to talk to the woman who said this and get more info.

Ask her specific questions like: who was the doctor, what facility, what DID they specifically die from, which surgery did she have RNY Or Lap Band, if they did die DURING the operation what complications, what happened after the surgery if they died after.

I think this woman might have the wrong information on which procedure was done. Or she may not even know what the heck she is talking about - to know not 1 but 2 people to die from being banded is kind of fishy sounding to me. That might be a fault of mine - I tend to listen and then question everything a few times and research and need proof before believing anything.

Being 19 she was scared and then a bit embarrassed because this older woman made such a huge deal of it. Now she doesn't want to talk to the woman about it again.

I have had 3 major surgeries, had no problems whatsoever and took care of my 3 & 5 year olds within a day of surgery last year. I explained to my daughter that my other surgeries were far more complicated than this one would be. She has it in her head now from that conversation that something will go wrong.

I figure if Im going to die, then so be it. I had sespis before and lived (thankfully) from it. I think she is thinking of back then when I was horribly sick and almost died.

I just wanted to get some concrete info that she could read on the death rates - there are plenty of facts about complications - like 1% of all bands result in complications, but none about death due to being banded, so maybe there aren't enough to count?

btw, where does [Lap Band surgery mortality rate.. 1 in 2500] come from? I am trying to find the mortality rate - inamed does not have that? can someone point me to a website or brochure? Thanks for all the help :confused:

[*JASMINE* 1]

You know, I've been banded for a little less than a year and I was under the impression that this was only a risk during surgery. Is this a possibility after surgery? Say we do not go in for an annual endo, and there is an erosion. There are no symptoms for it. Is there a possibility of death due to untreated erosion? I was just going to put it off because in my mind, the worst that could happen from not getting an endo is that I will have to get my band removed. Since I am self pay, I just figured that if erosion were to happen, it really woudn't matter if I got an annual endo, or not. The band would have to be removed. I tried to research this on the net, but got nowhere...

So I'm wondering when these deaths occurred. During or after surgery? Does anyone have any info on this?

[leatha_g 4]

If you check around, you can probably find a couple of people who've died from appendix operations, hernia operations, hysterectomy, tonsillectomy, liposuction or even arthroscopic surgery. Of course, there are risks involved. Underlying issues you didn't know you had, sudden new issues exacerbated by anesthesia or allergies, unfortunate, but fortunately rare occurences where there is Dr error, ie nicking an artery, etc. But I'm with the rest of the group. I do recall a lady in the Chicago area who died AFTER her surgery because she had slippage complications that she did not seek medical attention. I do recall hearing of a man who died on the operating table, due to heart attack - no fault of the band. I do recall a lady in Wa. state that had multiple issues over an extended period and I believe she died. Like Alex, I've been on all the boards since 2002 and those are the instances I recall hearing about. Could there be others? I'm sure there must, but out of the thousands and thousands who are rushing to do this surgery, I'd say 3 known cases of death even remotely connected to the surgery itself is a pretty good statistic, compared to the danger I was putting myself in being over 100 lbs overweight and having serious cholesterol, blood clotting and multiple other health issues.

[Alexandra 55]

Hi Solitaire,

From what I understand, even untreated erosion is not a life-threatening complication. The stomach is self-healing and as the band works its way through stomach tissue (which is what is happening in an erosion), it's healing behind. If there are no symptoms, it means this process is going smoothly and eventually the band might end up inside the stomach completely. At that point, there'd be a loss of restriction.

Long before anything really dangerous were to occur, there would be an infection with symptoms. No matter what, the important thing is to pay attention to our bodies and in the case of any unusual symptoms CALL A DOCTOR. Infection is probably the most common complication and if left untreated it can get serious. But who would ignore a bad infection? Death during or after surgery is a HIGHLY UNUSUAL circumstance, and would require complete denial of symptoms on the part of the patients.

[*JASMINE* 1]

Thanks for the info Alexandra. I thought I was over my panic phase, but the thought of death due to erosion just worried me. Thanks for clearing that up for me:).

[TheWomanWithin 0]

the danger I was putting myself in being over 100 lbs overweight

Letha, I totally agree and that was a part of the conversation today.

I said I want you to know I am miserable and not healthy at being 100 lbs overweight so I need something to help me lose and maintain weight. I went over again about the surgery.

She looked at me when I was done and said Mom there is no way you need to lose 100 pounds.

I cried :think and said actually when I started I needed to lose 125 pounds, hugged her and she went off to brunch with her b/f lol

So either I am backing up what I originally told her with facts from the MFG and doctors, patients etc or she is just going to push it to the back of her mind and forget about it.

Is it June yet? lol thats my next appt with the dr and my new MSA plan so I can get a surgery date :confused:

[fiveholts714 0]

take your daughter with you to see the surgeon so she really understands what is going on. You don't want her to be terrified. That's not very fair. You're a good mom for considering her feelings. Many wouldn't.

[TheWomanWithin 0]

Ooo that's a good idea taking her with me to my new appt. I let her go with me to my OB appts when she was younger and I was very open about pregnancy and the facts of life - so maybe that will help her now to go with me.

I really wish there was an easy answer - BUT as we all know, there are no guarantees in life - live, love and laugh for today :confused:

I also told her to come here and read some - to show her how many people there were on here and how many people are doing great.