Can someone talk to me about Lap-band?

[ATRAVOLTA 0]

I have just started seriously looking into it today. It looks great! This is going to sound dumb but I would go get the procedure done tomorrow if it wasn't for one thing. I am scared to death about the possibility of death due to the surgery!! Does anyone have any info for me that could kind of help me out with this fear? Thanks!

[faithmd 14]

ltravolta, spend some time on this board, there are many threads like yours out there, and many great responses. Since today is your first day seriously looking, take some time and read around, I'm sure many of your questions will be answered, and you may have more come to mind.

May I suggest that you go check out the Pre-op/Post-op Questions and Answers forum here? Lots of great info there! Use the search function and search for words like scared or phrases like need info.

Welcome to the board! I'm a newbie here myself, but I've been lurking for a while, and I've been researching the band since before it was approved in the US in June of 2001. No matter how long I have been doing research, I'm still learning some things.

[ShineOn 0]

You are not alone, I feel the same way. I started a thread agout a week ago on the same topic and got some good advice. It's under "introductions" and is titled "Was anyone else deathly afraid of surgery?".

There are stats out there that say the death risk is 0.1% or 1 in 2000. However, no matter what the numbers for me it's all about the fear in general. My Dr (Spivak in Houston) has done over 2,500 surgeries with no deaths and no occurances of having to "open" a patient after surgey. So, I am feeling good about that.

Personally, I have decided to go ahead with the surgey not so much because of the statistics but becuase I want to be the best mom & wife I can for my family. My surgery is in April & I am trying to focus on the evoloution afterwards and not so much the dreaded surgery day.

What ever you decide, best of luck to you! :biggrin1:

[tonya66 13]

I highly recommend ready the book, Lap-band for life by Dr. Ortiz. Or, Weight loss surgery for Dummies, I've also rady Achieving permenant weight loss with Lap-Band. All three of these books are good, the first two being the best. It really explains what Living with the band really is.

I refer to the books often now that I am banded. It's not easy living with the band, and they all tell you, you have to make life changes. This you really need to understand. I love my band, and I am so happy I went thru with the surgery, I was so afread too. But, it is the safest wls there is. No doubt about it. Would I do it again - in heart beat!

[marys 2]

yes yes yes i was absolutely petrified of dying and almost backed out 3 days before and day of. i kept thinking - well, I've done everything to try to lose weight, watch me die having this surgey and i'm not telling anyone - what will they think - etc etc etc etc etc.

it is scary but after researching it and chosing a doc with a super track record (recommend doing both) i went for it. in fact, my boyfriend who was initially very oppossed to the surgery analytically checked out everything and said the surgery will be the easy part -

of course in the end he was right - the surgery was pretty easy and living with the band has been most challenging. Read, research, meditate, think long and hard, it's ok.

[beachgirl 2]

Yes,

Read, read, and read somemore. I know that my surgeon, Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Zapata have done more than 7000 each and never, ever, lost a patient and complications rate is below 1 percent and that could be anything from waking up slowly, having trouble breathing or just anything minor. Don't be afraid, we were all in your shoes at one time or another. I had a brand new first grandchild and had never been to Mexico in my life and I just had faith that everything would be fine and sure enough, not the first problem. You'll do great.

[Sunta 5]

I felt the exact same way as you! The risk of death from this surgery is similar to the risk of simply having surgery itself and is comparable to routine gall bladder removal and hernia repair surgery. It is scary, but the rewards are worth the relatively small risk.

[Wheetsin 714]

I am scared to death about the possibility of death due to the surgery!!

The risks of dying under anesthesia, due to the anesthesia or sedation-related complication, are very, very small. Most surgical deaths are the result of some complication outside of the anesthesia. If it helps, there have been (last I checked) no recorded deaths because of complications related directly to the lap-band. In other words, if anyone died during placement, it was due to something other than the band. And there have been (also last I checked) no deaths due directly to the band period, during installation or otherwise.

You will have testing done pre-op to identify any high risk factors, and your medical staff will threat those as proactively as possible.

[ReneBean 3]

So far as life-saving surgeries go... I beleive lap band to be as safe as anything!

If you have ever been under anesthesia before, you should be ok.

That is why you have to do pre-op testing.... to be sure that you can withstand the surgery, itself. If your pre-op tests are clear, you will probably fly right thru, with no problems.

I was over 300 lbs at surgery, and certainly NOT in anything resembling good health - but I came through OK - and so will you!

I felt that it was certainly worth a small risk to gain control over my eating.... and if I was so weak that surgery would kill me, then I was going to die soon, anyway.

Hugs and good luck!

[Surby 1]

I figured my chances of dying of an obesity related disease was much higher than dying from the surgery (although I felt like I was dying for about a week after surgery). I would HIGHLY recommend it!