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Some Lapband facts (Can we retire the myths?)
Sorry to come in so late but I had to respond to the posting about the
lap band (adjustable gastric band). Disclaimer: I am not a medical person, not connected to the manufactuerer or provider of any medical device. All information cited here is freely available on the Web. Lapband Cons: 1) Weight loss is small, and not recommended for patients with a BMI over 50 (that is it is not recommended by the INVESTIGATORS who conducted the clinical trials on this product) I guess it depends on what you call "small." I've lost 73 pounds since Janaury 10. I personally know at least a dozen people who have lost over 100 pounds. (And two guys who have lost more than 200 pounds each.) An excellent study on the question of 50 BMI : "Results of the Italian multicenter study on 239 super-obese patients treated by adjustable gastric banding." Obestity Surgery, December 12, 2002. From the American Journal of Surgery (December 2002): "For the international series, the percent excess weight loss (%EWL) at 2 years has been between 52% and 65%. In our series, %EWL at 5 years and 6 years was 54% and 57%, respectively. The LAP-BAND is proving to be extremely safe, able to facilitate good weight loss, and able to maintain weight loss over time." 2) Band slippage is a big problem and can result in reoperation or device removal The Journal of Obesity surgery ("Outcome after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding - 8 years experience." June 13, 2003) reports on 973 patients. The slippage rate was 3.7% and most of those were in a surgeon's first 100 patients. (Surgical experience counts.) 3) Surgical risks are no less than for a roux-en-y or other bypass procedure. Even the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y is much more dangerous than the lap band. The Archives of Surgery ("Predictors of complication and suboptimal weight loss after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: a series of 188 patients" May 2003) reports "Of the 188 patients who underwent laparoscopic RYGB, 50 (26.6%) developed complications that required an invasive therapeutic intervention, including 2 deaths." On the other hand the internation record for the lapband as reported in the American Journal of Surgery("Weight loss and early and late complications--the international experience." December 2002) reports that "A report analyzing international data on laparoscopic adjustable gastric bands identified 3 deaths in 5,827 patients (approximately 1 in 2,000). In our series of 1,120 patients, there have been no deaths and no life-threatening perioperative complications.." 4) Requires frequent band adjustments Average patient has 3-4 adjustments the first year. (I've needed only one.) One or two the following year. Then usually none once goal weight is reached. Adjustments are painless and take about 5 minutes in the surgeon's office. 5) Very easy to "out eat" this procedure If you don't want to lose weight, you certainly can sabotage the surgery. That's true of all procedures, diets, regimes, etc. My personal experience has been that you really have to work at "out eating" the band. It's easier to lose weight than to not lose. 5) No long term data on patients See the Journal of Obesity Surgery article cited above (June 13, 2003) where the authors concluded: "LAGB [laparoscopic adjustable gastric band]is safe, with a lower complication rate than other bariatric operations. Reoperations can be performed laparoscopically with low morbidity and short hospitalizations. The LAGB seems to be the basic bariatric procedure, which can be switched laparoscopically to combined bariatric procedures if treatment fails. After the learning curve of the surgeon, results are markedly improved. On the basis of 8 years long-term follow-up, it is an effective procedure." |
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Some Lapband facts (Can we retire the myths?)
In article , Sharon C
wrote: My lapband buddy has been visiting for a few days and I learned some neat tricks from her. She always carries some protein food with her, hard boiled eggs or ham wrapped in cheese to make a little packet. then if meals or delayed or we're in a movie, she has something to stave off hunger, regulate blood sugar and keep her from being tempted by high varb fppds. She also must drink before she eats and then wait awhile and no drinking with food or directly after. -- Diva ************* The Best Man for the Job is a Woman |
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