How common is erosion?

[Guest Heatherseven]

I have not had the surgery yet, and I have been reading about erosion and how some people have to have their bands removed. How common is this? Will the band last forever? Will it have to be replaced eventually? Thank you for any answers anyone can give me.

Heather

[Alexandra 55]

Hi Heather,

"Erosion" refers to what happens to the stomach, not the band--the band's material is extremely durable and in the normal course of events will outlast our bodies. From what I've heard, the condition known as "erosion" happens in about 1% - 3% of patients. Sometimes it seems like more, but we have to remember that for every five people who talk about their band in public (online or off) there are probably 20 who do not. We tend to see the problems much more readily than the cases where there are no complications.

That said, there's just no way to know for sure whether any given person will experience a problem. The band is designed to last forever, but whether our stomachs can tolerate a foreign object wrapped tightly around them forever is another story. Even the longest-term bandsters have only been banded for 10-12 years, so there just aren't any real answers to these questions.