What happens after 3-4 years

michaelms · August 9, 2006

Hi All,

I'm still doing research on the band - my doc appt is October 2006, but what happens 3-4 years later? How long doe sthe band stay with you?

I have seen so many posts of people who have had the band taken off due to slippage, erosion, pain etc etc - does anyone know on average how long will the band remin in? Doe w eall have to plan a second surgery for removal in a few years?

If life long - doe sthis mean all life - chew mushie food, eat extremely slowly and very small qty - once you have reached ideal weight, wontthe small tiny qty cause malnutrition?

Lastly - when theband is out the scarring on the stomach - does that cause serious complications?

How does one get aroudn these probelms?

Alexandra · August 9, 2006

Hi Michaelms,

Welcome to LBT! I'm coming up on three years banded and am settling in for the long haul. The band is designed to be permanent, but like any implanted medical device things may happen that require maintenance or removal/replacement. It's only been in use for 15 years worldwide so there's not a large body of information on the very-long-term, but I'm hoping to find out!

As far as what happens when you reach ideal weight, you can always have the band adjusted if you're having any trouble getting in enough calories. (That's the beauty of it!) In my experience, as I lose weight I lose a bit of restriction along with it, so I don't expect to have any problems at all getting in enough calories.

When and if the band is removed, there is unlikely to be any long-term complications. The shape of the stomach may have been permanently altered, but it will still work the same way as before banding since no systems have been altered. There are several people on this board who have had their bands removed, and as far as I know none of them are dealing with any resulting complications.

Keep asking questions! :biggrin1:

LittleBird · August 9, 2006

I've wondered long, long term, what things look like...You know like 30-35 years down the road - praying I live that long! *wink* But with a 15 year history I guess we won't know for another 15 years.