Lap band or Sleeve???

I am still in the early stages of trying to decide which choice is right for me.  SO,  I am wonder which you chose, Lap band or Verical Sleeve, and why??

Thanks for helping a Newbie

From my point of view, you can't go wrong with the sleeve. First off, there's no foreign object in your body, no need for fills, no possibility of having the band slip, having an erosion, the port turning, all the complications that go on with the lap band.

If you need a restrictive-only procedure, getting the sleeve done is your best shot, hands down. I mean, I love my smaller stomach. I just needed the extra malabsorbtion of the switch as well.

Sleeve anyday. No mechanical issues to deal with. Leaves you with a normal functioning stomach with pyloric sphincter intact. Much better way to acheive restriction than with a band. I had the DS which has the same stomach as the sleeve. The only thing I had to do was go on a proton pump inhibitor(prilosec) after the surgery because I developed reflux. But the Prilosec fixed that.
-Wanda

I am VERY glad that I chose the Sleeve. My sister had the Lap-band & feel like my results have been significantly better. Of course, each individual is going to have different results & preferences. From my sister's perspective, my results were too drastic & she happy with her band.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd go sleeve.

 I'd choose the sleeve too.  I know too many people who have had complications with the band.  Actually, I wish I had had the sleeve instead of an RNY.

Linda

i have been fighting with my insurance over the sleeve,   lots of people have problems,  a large percentage of people with the band have to have surgery within 5 yrs  do you ever check out you tube,  they show people going in to get the bands filled??  looks like torture to me,  trying to find the port and where to stick that huge needle,  no thanks   sleeve or nothing for me,  best of luck to you   you should research on the band forum and check out the posts about problems, 

Don't get a band. Period.

http://www.lapband.com/en/learn_about_lapband/safety_informa tion/

If you really insist on a restriction only procedure, get the sleeve.

Better still, get the DS.

The sleeve is safer than the band.  Here is what I wrote to someone else asking the same questions;



>>I'm curious about the long term risks and complications you mention - besides the need for a replacement once every ten years or so?<<

Esophageal spasms (I had this)
Esophageal dilation
Esophageal motility issues (I have permanent damage due to the band)
Pouch dilation
Erosion
Slips
A slip causing necrosis of the stomach
Stoma spasms (I had this)
Port pain (I had this)
Port infections
Band intolerance (I had this)
Scar tissue begins growing on top of the stomach and under the band causing additional restriction that we don't necessarily want and even with an unfilled band you can have too much restriction and an inability to eat solid food.

Mechanical problems:
Tubing disconnected from the band
Tubing disconnected from the port
Port flips
Kinked tubing
Leaks throughout the band, tubing, or port

The ONLY way to fix a mechanical problem with the band is surgical.  Studies range from 30-50% of people need another surgery in the first five years to correct something with the band.

If you need your band surgically repositioned such as after a slip or if you have your band replaced for any reason your odds for a slip are 70% in the first couple of years after re-op.

Banding provides the slowest and the lowest weight loss of all procedures.  When I got a band I knew I'd have to work harder to lose and maintain than with a more drastic procedure and I was fine with that.  I was not fine with puking, sliming, foaming, and all the assorted ways to vomit.  I was prepared for it to be hard, but not that *kind* of hard.  The kind of hard that I had no control over.

>>With the sleeve, are the results still the same? I've spent 25 years overweight and while I'm not looking for a "quick fix", I really don't want something so drastic as surgery only to have it take years and years to actually loose a noticeable amount of weight.<<

No, the results are better with a sleeve.  You'd be surprised at just how NOT drastic a sleeve is.  It takes just a few minutes longer to do than a band and recovery is about the same as a band.

>>I am currently doing portion control and healthy eating and while I might lose a pound here or there, for the most part it's not doing a bloody bit of difference (SO frustrating). I know with the lap band that your portions become miniscule compared to what someone without the surgery would eat - is the sleeve the same?<<

Good questions, btw. ;o)

With a band absolutely everything affects restriction.  Everything.  Time of day, TOM, weather, humidity, altitude, stress and various emotions, food temp, types of food, swelling for unknown reasons, everything.  Anything can affect restriction.  When I was banded I was always one extreme or another.  I could either eat an entire porterhouse or I couldn't keep my own saliva down due to obstruction for unknown reasons.

With a sleeve most people report that restriction is about the same all the time.  I can eat 2.5oz of solid protein and that's it, I'm done.  No more food.  Or, I can eat about 5oz of soft foods such as tuna salad, refriend beans, etc.  No more of "Today I have restriction, yesterday I didn't."  I have restriction 100% of the time across the board.  One thing that does make a difference for me is that if I drink something ice cold before a meal I can eat about half what I usually would.  Other than that, it's the same all the time.

>>I'm also curious if there are medical conditions brought on by excess weight that will make having this surgery impossible?<<

Not that I can think of.  For the most part if you qualify for a band (medically) you'll qualify for a sleeve.

>>I have GERD and a hiatal hernia. I also have arthritis, bursitis among others. I'm curious if the hiatal hernia would affect whether it would be possible to get the surgery (whatever one I end up deciding on) or if the surgery actually fixes or lessens the effects of these conditions.<<

If your GERD is from your hiatal hernia (likely, most of us have HHs due to excess weight) then fixing the hernia gets rid of the GERD.  If your GERD is not from a HH then the only surgery type that will be safe for you is bypass.

Most of us have HHs and especially if you carry a lot of weight in your stomach.  Most surgeons fix HHs at the time of WLS.

Sleeves have no maintenance and aftercare.

Bands have maintenance and aftercare for life.

Bands have the lowest and slowest weight loss.

Bands are not forever.

If you want to do yourself a favor I'd suggest finding 5 people that have been banded for 10 years or longer.  Not someone that your friend heard of or your doctor told you about, YOU find these people and YOU talk to them.  See how they still like their band.  I'll bet you won't find anyone banded for 10 years or longer.  It's been around for at least 18 years for US citizens (we've been going to MX for WLS since at least the 70s) so they should be around, right? ;o)  Bet you won't find any.  I've been posting on WLS boards for 3 years and the longest I've found anyone that had a band was 9 years and she was contacting me to ask about a revision to a sleeve.

Revisions are big big big business for WLS surgeons.  They are doing tons of them.

Never listen to a newbie about how much they love their surgery types.  They are in the honeymoon stage and they all love their WLS type and their surgeons.  At about 6 months they start getting more realistic and realize it isn't their surgeon that is doing the work to get the weight off, it's them.  But they still love their surgery type.

For bands at about 12 months out they are having problems but the scale is moving so they'll live with it.  At 18 months they are sick of the band problems and they are considering revisions.  At 24 months they are getting revisions.

There are some people posting here that have been banded 5-7 years and happy but not many.  They are certainly the minority.

Scan the band boards, scan the sleeve boards.  The band boards are all about not getting restriction, need another fill, getting stuck, dilated pouch, dilated esophagus, slow weight loss, etc.  Scan the sleeve boards, overall people are happy and losing well.  Sleeve people don't usually post long, they post before, during, and immediately after surgery.  Band people post for years trying to get support and information on how to overcome problems.

Just my experience.

Living with a band is a nightmare.

Living with the sleeve is effortless.