Oasis Brochure on the Lapband

donali · June 18, 2004

Hi All -

Just a heads up.

I picked up a brochure from Dr. Lopez's office once while I was there, and it had a color xerox cover with the Oasis Hospital logo on it. It was blue, and seemed to be intended to be from the Oasis Hospital. Inside were supposed guidelines for patients who had the lapband. I have to tell you, that article was taken WORD for WORD from an RnY doctor's article, which was written specifically for gastric bypass patients. The word "lapband" had been substituted everywhere the word gastric bypass appeared in the original article. The doctor was not credited. I started getting suspicious because it said that there would be no hunger for 6 months, at which time hunger would start to return. I knew that wasn't true for the lapband - no WAY, no HOW. But, having a sister who had the RnY, I knew it was true for her. Because the brochure was so long, I couldn't believe it was typed from scratch, so I took a key phrase and Googled it, and lo and behold, I found the original bypass article.

The post-op protocol for the RnY is drastically different from the post-op protocol for the lapband. The only thing they have in common is the liquid diet post op. But even that is shorter for lapbanders, and not restricted in quantity, like it is for the RnYers - there is no drinking a thimble-full of Protein shake every hour directly after post-op, like the RnYers are required to do.

The only other similarity between the two is the longterm strategy of how to use the pouch to its fullest advantage - eating solid food, not drinking with meals, waterloading prior to meals, and avoiding gastric irritants like Aspirin, Advil, and other NSAIDs.

There is no "window of opportunity" for weightloss with the band. With the RnY, it is expected that weightloss pretty much stops 18-24 months out. That's how long it takes the body to adjust and compensate for the malabsorptive part of the bypass. For Bandsters, our band will continue to be a tool in our weightloss journey - there are bandsters 4-5 years out who have continued to lose weight with the band.

Also, it is NOT expected that a bandster lose 30-45 pounds in the first month. That is a gastric bypass stat. The expected average weightloss with the band is 1-2 pounds a week.

I'm not sure how widely dispersed this pirated booklet is. But for anyone who has gotten a thick xerox brochure on the lapband while they were in Mexico, beware. It is unlikely that is it truly a lapband brochure, since there does not appear to BE one!! Which I imagine is why someone got the bright idea to create one in this manner.

Here is a link to the original article by Latham Flanagan, Jr., M.D., FACS :

http://obesitysurgery-info.com/understandingsmallgastricpouch.htm

hagerteresa · June 18, 2004

That is funny, Latham Flanagan is the renowned bypass surgeon in the Eugene area. I have met with him a couple of times. Interesting fellow. He is retiring this year from what I understand.

claraluz · June 18, 2004

Wow. It's really disturbing to think that a doctor who does the Lap-Band procedure would not know better than to treat it just like the band, never mind the plagiary. Great detective work, Donali. What did we ever do in the pre-google age?

Nancy

donali · June 18, 2004

I would die without Google... lol

Alexandra · June 18, 2004

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Donali! I think this is SO important to shine a light on. People are being told every day that all WLS surgeries are the same, and we all know that's not true.

Please let us know what Dr. Lopez says when you bring this to his attention. I'm very curious to know!