Sucess rates vs. failure\death rates

[Guest schelski-mn]

Hello, I am new to this and not yet banded.

My husband has reseervations about me doing this, more so about the surgery complications. I am from Minnesota and recently there was a thing on The Early Show

about gastric bypass surgery and the complications. To see this article, go to http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main5002102.shtml and click on the gastric bypass surgery gone bad article. This really scared me, however, I seem to think that what was listed as risks in the surgery was that wich is in any surgery, such as a blood clot, pulmionary embolism, etc... Also listed was things such as a gastric leak, which with banding they do not cut the stomach. Am I right?

Does any one know of anyone who has died from the band surgery? I guess thats my big question.

Thanks for your input and I am so glad that I found this forum.

Schelski-mn

[3labsrus 0]

I haven't heard of anyone dying from the band. I also saw the story on the Early Show and they were talking about the RNY surgery. There are more complications involved with that surgery, not to say that this surgery doesn't have potential for complications.

Make sure you read up on everything, go to support groups and if you make the decision to have surgery, find out about your surgeon. How many surgeries have they done? What complications have they faced? How did they deal with them?

I wish you luck!

[leatha_g 4]

People have died who have had band surgery, but you are right. The stomach is not cut in this surgery. The people who have died were actually not due to the surgery itself persay. One lady in Detroit ignored very important signs of a complication and wound up dying AFTER she was home and did not seek help when she should have. There was also a man who had a heart attack on the table,which was not connected to the surgery at all. I believe there have been a handful of others who were similar situations. You can probably do a search on 'adjustable gastric band deaths' and see what that brings up. All in all, I believe we all know there is a risk anytime you go into the OR of just what you said, possible blood clots, anesthesia complications, underlying problems we didn't realize we had, there is always a risk of the surgeon nicking something by accident, but compared to the RNY, this surgery is far, far, less risky, not to mention there are very few patients who don't go home within 24hrs of having this surgery. If they do not, there is usually some comoridity problem that was anticipated before they even got there.

At www.obesityhelp.com you'll find a Memorial page with hundreds of names of people who have died from gastric bypass. I'm really glad we don't have one of those with the band.

[claraluz 2]

I agree with everything Angela said. Gastric-bypass surgery is a lot riskier than Lap-band surgery. The reasons for this are many: In that surgery, they do cut and re-route the intestines, which leaves the possibility of a leak - a serious and potentially fatal complication. As you suggest, there is no cutting of any internal organs in Lap-band surgery. There is also a much lower risk of embolism with this surgery because it is not as debilitating as gastric bypass surgery. Any surgery that leaves you in bed or immobile for longer periods of time - such as gastric bypass - has a higher risk of embolism. With the Lap-band, most people are up and about with little or no difficulty as soon as they wake up from surgery. I do not know the death-rate, if there is one, of Lap-band. What I have heard on this board is that there have been a few deaths which were not necessarily directly related to the procedure. I would recommend you go to www.asbs.com for more complete info. That is the site of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. They have good information on all of the bariatric procedures.

That being said, all surgery carries some risk. As a hospital worker, I have seen more than one child die from having a tonsillectomy due to rare complications from anesthesia. You need to decide that the risk of having the surgery is less than the risk of not having it before you decide to have it. If you are morbidly obese, this most certainly is true. Good luck with your continued research.

Nancy

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Nancy I don't believe you have put up the right wed page Itis something about building things in Ark. ?????I could be wrong ,but this is what I got???

[claraluz 2]

Whoops! Thanks for catching that! The correct site is www.ASBS.org.

Nancy

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Thanks Nancy! I will try this one!!

[porclndoll 0]

I am not banded yet....and the thought of surgery scares the dickens outta me. However....I have come to terms with the risks somewhat by this: A) Other than being morbidly obese *as if obese wasn't a clear enough picture* I am healthy...no heart problems, breathing problems, no diabeties now....... My little boy, 7yrs old now has Down syndrome and he has had several surgeries and had underlaying medical conditions when he had surgery (he had a hole in his heart when he was born...surgeries were for tonsils and adnoids, tubes in his ears twice..If he can do it I certainly can do it...If I can make the decision to have him put under anestesia, I can certainly make if for myself....and finally C) Being morbidly obese poses a LOT of major health risks. Diabeties which is breathing right down my back (I had it when I was pregnt and it runs rampid in my mothers family), heart attack (my father had 2 of them), certain cancers (also runs in my family), stroke (my mom had 2 strokes).......

So I guess what I am tyring to say is that I have weighed the option of surgery to not having the surgery and it seems that I could possibly face death with or without the surgery.

[Alexandra 55]

Contemplating surgery is very scary, I know. I think the anaesthesia is the biggest risk from banding surgery, and people are aren't facing it arequick to question the need. I know my DH struggled for a long time with the thought of my taking on the risks for something that wasn't "necessary."

Well, of course, it was necessary and I knew I'd be facing a serious situation at some point if I didn't get control of my weight. Deciding to have the surgery was easy once I realized that increased health problems were coming down the pike. Imagine all the people who face emergency surgery every day--people with serious health situations to begin with or who haven't had any time to prepare. If people like that can survive anaesthesia--and of course they do, thousands of times a day--then I'd be happy to take the risk when I'm in good health and can do what my doctor recommends to prepare. And indeed, recovering from the anaesthesia was the hardest part for me.

Lapband surgery is, in most cases, less than an hour long. Surgical risks increase with the length of the procedure, so as surgeries go this is an easy one. Of course there are still risks, but going in with your eyes open and your wits about it will minimize them.

[gynger888 1]

Hi Shelski, I am a sponsor for a lap band patient who wants to undergo surgery. I have recently read many articles (Pubmed...so they are legit) that say there is a roughly 50% long-term failure rate due to complications, which should not be taken lightly. The actual mortality rate is low(.2% death rate) but deaths do occur. I am urging my friend to do more research, as this is seen by many as a low-risk cure-all for obesity, but may in the long run be cery costly due to re-operations and repeated doctor visits for adjustments. Among the issues patients have are vomiting, inability to eat healthy foods, and blockages. Nearly 50% have the band removed by the 7 year mark. I would not take entering into this surgery lightly, as many have little to no reduction in weight as well. Best of luck to you! =)

[paracelsus51 0]

Yep, it's not a cure all and it's not magic. You still have to work. There are real risks in having surgery, so it's not to be taken lightly. The band is a tool and you may be totally successful with it, but like all tools, you have to understand how to use it and maintain it. Many failures are due to not doing what you are supposed to do, so make sure you are ready to commit long term. You can google failure rates and complications of both choices and you are going to find some pretty scary stuff, so read with caution and check sources and dates. Don't be scared into making one choice over another, make the choice that best fits your needs, even if that means waiting and talking to a dozen doctors.

Edited July 26, 2009 by paracelsus51

[mariem 0]

Hi Shelski, I am a sponsor for a lap band patient who wants to undergo surgery. I have recently read many articles (Pubmed...so they are legit) that say there is a roughly 50% long-term failure rate due to complications, which should not be taken lightly. The actual mortality rate is low(.2% death rate) but deaths do occur. I am urging my friend to do more research, as this is seen by many as a low-risk cure-all for obesity, but may in the long run be cery costly due to re-operations and repeated doctor visits for adjustments. Among the issues patients have are vomiting, inability to eat healthy foods, and blockages. Nearly 50% have the band removed by the 7 year mark. I would not take entering into this surgery lightly, as many have little to no reduction in weight as well. Best of luck to you! =)

I had heard the same. As someone who has RNY I have to admit before surgery I was scared so bad. I had even left a note for my family in case I died on the table or shortly after surgery. I had a BMI of 46 so it's not like I was super morbidly obese or anything :tongue2:

Anyway, I was going to to the lap band but did a switcharoo 2 weeks prior to my surgery at my surgeon's request. He told me about these complications of Lap Band and that he didn't think I'd lose all the weight I wanted to and last but not least he said to me, "2 years down the road the last thing I want is for you to tell me you want a revision to RNY when we could just do it now" He told me that was starting to happen a lot.

Long story short, I had lap RNY, I made a mountain out of a molehill. I was up and walking 2 hours after surgery and the pain was very manageable. I felt so silly afterwards with all the worrying I was doing because it really wasn't a big deal at all!

Leaks and stuff you are right is a possibility but my surgeon has over 500 surgeries and no leaks. You do the math lol

[keithf 2]

My surgeon quoted us his statistics:

Out of 1000+ RNY, he's lost 4 patients.

Out of 100+ lap bands, he's lost none.

Long term complications: in the long term, he's seen roughly equivalent rates.

Surgery *should* scare the bejeezus out of you. If you're scared, it just means you're sane. But considering the complications and fatality rates of avoiding it, an obese patient is more likely to enjoy a longer, healthier life with surgery than without.

If diabetes is involved, I wouldn't consider the band: there's a significantly greater chance of reverting diabetes with the bypass surgeries. I don't have diabetes and would rather leave my anatomy otherwise intact and open to future revision should an appropriate technology arise. For those reasons, I chose the band.

[mariem 0]

My surgeon quoted us his statistics:

Out of 1000+ RNY, he's lost 4 patients.

Out of 100+ lap bands, he's lost none.

Long term complications: in the long term, he's seen roughly equivalent rates.

Surgery *should* scare the bejeezus out of you. If you're scared, it just means you're sane. But considering the complications and fatality rates of avoiding it, an obese patient is more likely to enjoy a longer, healthier life with surgery than without.

If diabetes is involved, I wouldn't consider the band: there's a significantly greater chance of reverting diabetes with the bypass surgeries. I don't have diabetes and would rather leave my anatomy otherwise intact and open to future revision should an appropriate technology arise. For those reasons, I chose the band.

The million dollar question however is what did exactly his patients die from? RNY patients on average are much larger than bandsters. Did they die because they were super morbidly obese and would likely die from "any" surgery or did they die because of RNY complications?

[keithf 2]

The million dollar question however is what did exactly his patients die from? RNY patients on average are much larger than bandsters. Did they die because they were super morbidly obese and would likely die from "any" surgery or did they die because of RNY complications?

I don't recall whether he specified, but I *think* it was a combination of both in-op and post-op events.

In any event, compared to the mortality rates from obesity, I would argue that surgery is the *safest* of the two options for the people who aren't able to manage their weight independently. Yes, it's possible to die on the operating table, but if your health was such that you were already dying -- or living as if you were -- what's the additional risk when the result could be a greatly improved lifespan and the ability to enjoy it?

The mortality rates are going to vary by both surgeon and patient, anyway, so seek out the surgeons at the top of the curve, and do what you can to make their work easier and more efficient (like being aggressive during pre-op). It can only improve the odds of a successful outcome.