Starting to Back out of this HELP

Someone at work told me his wife had lapband and it was dangerous, he said she had to be reoperated on 3 times and once she couldn't swallow at all.  I really want LAPBAND, but I am so afraid of something bad happening.  Has anyone heard horror stories like this?  Do you think maybe she was not following all the rules or something?  He said her band had flipped and made it where she could not even swallow her own saliva. Please tell me what you all think!

Hi Playmate2b,

I had gastric bypass, not lap band.  I know there are people that post here that have had the lap band so maybe they can chime in with their opinion.  Also there is a forum dedicated just to the Lap Band.  That might be a place to get some opinions as well.  But here's my opinion....for what it's worth.    Every surgery has the possibility of complications.  I don't care what surgery it is, there' s always that chance.  I don't know what happened with your co-worker's wife so I can't comment on that situation, but I think you also have to look at the person that has had the complications.  Did they go into surgery with a lot of health problems?  Were they compliant to their doctor's instructions before and after surgery?  And you also have to consider the surgeon as well.  How experienced was the surgeon?  How many lap bands has that surgeon placed?   And then think about the co-worker.  Was he supportive of his wife's decision?  Maybe he's really talking up the complications because he didn't want his wife to have the surgery in the first place....justifying his feelings by promoting the bad.   There are horror stories floating around out there...you know....so-and-so told so-and-so that someone they knew has a friend that had surgery and they had all kinds of problems.  It's second or even third hand opinions and they probably don't know all the facts of what really happened.  You should talk to people that have actually had surgery and see how they feel about it....the good and the bad.  Most, that I know, are more than willing to talk about their experience before and after surgery.   I'm not telling you that you should or shouldn't have surgery.  That's a decision that only you can make.  But I am saying to research, research, research.  Talk to a lot of people.  Get as many opinions as you can from all different people.  Go to information seminars for as many doctors as you want.    You have to be 100% sure it's the right surgery with the right surgeon.  

post this on the Lap-Band message board and see what they say

My sister and 2 of my best friends had the LapBand, one friend just had hers last week. All 3 have done great with it and have had no problems other than being a little sore around the port every now and then! My sister is 2 years out and the other friend is going on 3 years. We all know nothing is full proof and everyone is different so what may effect one person oneway obviously could effect you the same but odds being way up there it will not! I was going to have the LapBand done for alot of reasons and thought it would be safer than Lap Rny but even with the differences in pros and cons I decided to go with the Lap Rny because of the amount of weight I need to lose! Good luck in whatever you chose to do!