People trying to get an understanding of the lap band frequently ask, “So after you lose all your weight you take the band out, right?” WRONG!  My typical answer is that my lap band comes out only over my cold dead body.  I say this to emphasize how much help my band has provided to me in my journey to health.  I do realize that life happens and sometimes things need to be changed.  If this was asked in a post on Facebook all sorts of people start coming out of the woodwork.  The next statement is “Well they don’t really know how long the band ‘lasts’ do they?”.  My answer to that is they have been doing the procedure in Australia for over 20 years, and there are still lots of original bands in place there.  Folks often continue the questions with, ”If you’ve lost all your weight, and have your diet and exercise routine down pat, why would you leave it in your body?”.  My standard answer for that comes quickly to me, and that is that my lap band helps control my hunger when I choose the right foods to eat.  That is really difficult for some folks to wrap their heads around, especially those who have never experienced uncontrolled hunger.  So I make an analogy to explain further.  Using the other weight loss surgery procedures as my guide I ask them the following questions:

• Why would you want to remove a device that has helped you regain your health?
• Do you think folks that have had gastric bypass have their “plumbing” put back into original order when they reach their goal weight?
• Do folks who have had gastric sleeve procedures ask for the return of the 70%+ of their stomach that has been removed when they reach their goal weight?

I remind them that my lap band was intended to stay put once it was placed, and that this is what I understood 10 years ago, and that is what was explained to me by my doctor.

The next series of questions comes around complications.  I hear that folks have read so many horror stories that they are afraid to get the band.  I understand fear.  I was afraid of any surgery, and had my personal reasons for choosing lap band over any other surgery.  It was the least invasive and had the same outcomes long term as any other surgery.  At 424 pounds with multiple co-morbidities this was my reasoning.  It turned out that I chose the right surgery for me.  By the way, that is typically the case.  If you know what you want, ask for it, and your doctor should help you come to your final decision with your choice in mind when it is made.  Now regarding complications; I would like to point out the obvious, and that is there are MANY complications with gastric bypass as well as with vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).  I ask you to do a Google search of each of those surgeries with the words complications and risks, and take a look at what you find.  You may be amazed.  ALL surgeries have risks and benefits.  That is a fact of life.  Each weight loss surgery has risks and complications.  Some are unpredictable; some are due to doctor error, some to patient error.

I am facing one of those situations myself right now, and it is difficult to put into words the feelings swirling around in my head.  My band is not holding fluid.  My 10 year old lap band, which was made quite differently from today’s lap bands, has a leak that we have not been able to detect.  We thought that replacing my port a year ago would resolve the issue, but it has not.  So I get to sit here and ponder my choices:

• Do I replace my lap band?
• Do I replace my lap band and also get a plication done at the same time?
• Do I get a sleeve?
• Do I even consider gastric bypass?

You may ask why I am considering another surgery at all.  The answer is simple and was stated on my Facebook page very succinctly by Dr. George Fielding:  “In the 15 years I've had my band I loosened it for a couple of weeks three times.  I gained 15 to 20 lbs. every time and I became starving hungry.  This happens to everyone who priest [sic] their band as the physiologic effect of the band on hunger and fullness is lost”.  For more by Dr. Fielding click here.

Thank you Dr. Fielding!  I am hungry and lack satiety, and personally it’s been damned difficult to deal with.  Old emotional eating habits are coming back, and it is a struggle to keep any consistency to my weight.  The lap band works.  It controls hunger and portion size when I choose the right foods.  It is my surgery of choice, but it is NOT the only surgery that “works”.

I am choosing to have my band replaced, and have to hang on tooth and nail until I get my surgery date.  A new LAP BAND is well worth the wait.