From what I have read and understood through my own classes this is true, my healthcare provider (Kaiser/Calif.)is no longer doing lap band at all. Sleeve is becoming increasingly popular and with dedication you will lose the weight.

Do the research I hope you're offered education classes about WLS to make an informed opinion. According to my carrier 9 out of 10 lap bands have to be removed due to problems, the Sleeve is a great tool, as many of our VSG members will tell you. They have been very successful! I hope to have mine done this summer.

Personally, I would not choose the band. It may seem like the "less invasive" technique up front, but in the long run, IMHO the complications outweigh that. I have several friends who had one. Three of these folks have had to have them removed, two because it moved and caused damage to their stomachs, (both of these had enough damage they had to be converted to R/Y. They are doing great now! And one who turned out to have an undiagnosed latex allergy. She had hers removed after a year and has managed to maintain her weight loss. A fourth close friend hasn't had any serious complications other than being restricted on what kinds of foods she can tolerate, (she lives on soup and ice cream), but she gained all her weight back. Don't get me wrong, I know a handful of folks from support group that have had success with the band, but everyone I know well... Not so much. Do your research, but know that there are good reasons the band is falling out of favor with surgeons as they look at the long term results.

I couldn't be happier with the sleeve. I'm 6 months out, 75 pounds down and into a size 8 with 25 pounds to go, (this will land me in the middle of the healthy BMI range). I had no complications and a quick recovery. I can eat pretty much whatever I want, (which is both a blessing and a curse) in small quantities. The 10 prescriptions I took pre-op, GONE along with the High BP, asthma, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, anxiety and general pain form carrying around all that extra weight. I WORK at it now. Log every day in MFP and exercise hard 5 days per week. This is a lifetime commitment. I have no illusions that if I stop food journaling or working out I will get fat again.

Hello:

My sister has had 2 lapbands. Her first one eroded and began coming through her skin to the outside. She had it surgically removed, waited quite awhile before having her 2nd one put in. Of course, she had gained all the weight back before the 2nd one, but having the lapband didn't ever change her eating habits. She still eats all kinds of sugars and fats, but in miniscule quanities; nor does she exercise. She also has a lot of heartburn, throws up quite a bit too.

I am also with Kaiser Permanente as my HMO; they no longer perform Lapband Surgeries because of the complications and the statistics of keeping the weight off is very low. They feel, and the majority of the Bariatric Surgeon's agree, that the Gastric Sleeve and the Gastric Bypass are the way to go. THAT and the fact that we must change of behavior towards food and exercise.

I knew of the Lapband technology through my sister, so when my Bariatric Surgeon said he'd perform a Gastric Sleeve on me, I had to take a few months to process that. I did a lot of research, and I also attended some Weight Loss Surgery Support Groups in my area. I asked a lot of questions, read my manual from cover to cover, and got my pantry and refrigerator inline with the new diet I would be on for the rest of my life. I then had my Gastric Sleeve performed at the end of July 2013. I haven't had any complications at all. I am very pleased that I've been loosing some weight and that my body no longer requires many of the medications I was taking. I'm also excited about being able to exercise again! I'm getting closer and closer to my goal weight; I'm looking like myself again and it feels amazing! I wish the same for you; good luck in your journey. Janis

When I researched the options, RNY had the highest long term success rate with the lowest rate of complications or revision surgery, the band had the highest rate of complications, the lowest rate of weight loss and the highest rate of revisions. When I had my surgery sleeve was a relatively new procedure with few studies done on it and no long term studies.

I was banded on January 28th of this year. Since then I have lost 23 lbs. to date. The band does require more accountability and maintenance. My surgeon says it does work but very few people have what it takes to make it work for them. That being said I had many questions and did much research both externally and internally (soul searching). It isn't the quickest weight loss but I didn't gain it all in a day either. It means retraining how you eat and definitely keeping appointment with your surgeon and nutritionist. You must keep an accounting. The up side is that I feel like I am in total control of my weight loss and enjoy the ownership of that responsibility. If you are that kind of person the band may be right for you.

I had a sleeve on 9/26/16 and have lost 113 pounds with 10 to go. The sleeve is the newest of the three so the long term data is not as strong as RNY. I researched all three and felt (for me) the sleeve was preferable to the band for the following reasons;

1) No port, fills or maintenance. Fills are not covered by insurance and the port site must be medically maintained.
2) Permanent capacity restriction. For me limiting portions has been the key.
3) No band slippage, wear or errosion.
4) No malabsorption issues. What I eat I digest and I do not have to focus on soft foods.
5) I can eat enything I want.

I think the choice of surgery is as individual as a fingerprint.

I was banded and I chose the band because, although complications with the band is higher, serious complications are actually lower than the sleeve or bypass. So - you get more problems but, are less likely to die! (Ok that sounds dramatic but, my kids are still young and staying alive is a bit of a motivating factor). There's loads that can sway this though - obv. those going for sleeve or bypass usually have more to lose making mortality rates higher anyway but, still...

I preferred that my anatomy stayed the same. With the band nothing is mucked about with or removed and it's reversible and absorption of nutrients is exactly the same as before.

Also - I think you should make the surgery fit your eating habits. The band seemed the better option for me as I'm not a grazer, I was a three meal a day binger! The band has effectively stopped that and so far I still eat three meals a day - just radically less in portion size.

No matter what you choose all of them can be cheated. You CAN put on weight with all of them. The surgery is back-up but, the main player is still you.

As for liquid diet - post surgery I very much doubt you would want to eat anything solid for a while anyway! Pre-surgery my team had me on proper food of protein and veg and small dairy of about 800 - 1000 cals a day. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Although I do remember a four day period of being a bit tetchy (understatement).

I completely agree with this. LONG TERM complications are less with the band, long term weight loss is nearly identical to other forms of WLS and IT CAN BE REMOVED. They can't put back the part of your stomach they removed with bypass. All WLS has a risk for complications, there is no safe, complication free surgery. I chose the band because it is adjustable, I find my monthly check ins with my doc are what keep me going, I have a few friends with bypass who basically haven't been to the doc since they had the surgery and most have gained all of their weight back. My surgeon has been offering the band for 14 years and runs a great support network for follow up for patients such as support groups, one on one therapy with a weight loss focused expert etc...

Individual choices, all. I went with the sleeve almost 3 years ago because it seemed like the most "natural" of all the weight loss surgeries. All the sleeve does is permenantly reduce the size of your stomach. No rerouting and reconnecting, no malabsorbtion issues, no problems swallowing pills, and nothing left inside to be maintained or have problems with. And yes, this is a permenant reduction in size. As my doctor explained it to me, all the stretchy part of the stomach was removed, so I cannot restretch my stomach. I like that! Now having said that, please know that it is still possible to regain your weight with any of these, even the sleeve. If we stop eating right, consume way more calories than we need each day and stop exercising, we will regain. With the sleeve, because of the permenant reduction, the regain may be slower, but it will still happen. All of these surgeries are simply tools. As we all know, our changes need to be lifelong changes to get the weight off and keep it off.

+1

Everyone I know that had the band, either went back and had the sleeve, or they are currently working toward getting the sleeve. I have had tremendous success with the sleeve.

I asked my surgeon about the LapBand going away, he said that is a complete falsehood! There may be a new version (currently they are using the 3rd generation) but it will not be going away and is equally as successful long term as other WLS options.