Surgical Gastric Band Facts |

A recent study by researchers at the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly fivefold if the surgeon is inexperienced. That’s two percent of patients. See the links below to see stories of patients that died after the operation.

But what happens to the patients that survive the operation? Before the surgery can take place patients are put on a strict diet. This is because to get to the stomach, the liver must be moved out of the way and most people eligible for gastric band surgery have a fatty liver due to overeating. The pre op diet often is low in sugar, fat and carbohydrates. With each ounce of glycogen (a form of sugar stored in the liver, and in muscles for energy) the body also stores 3-4 ounces of water so if you are on this strict diet the body will shrink the liver. Post op, patients are advised to eat soup and blended foods to give the swollen stomach a rest and this reduced calorie diet will allow for further weight loss. So before the band starts to work the patient could lose anything up to 20lb. After the first adjustment of saline fluid the patient is slowly reintroduced to normal solid food and the size of the meal they can eat at each sitting equates to roughly six tablespoons of food. The weight loss will be quite fast at first but will average out at between 1 – 2lbs a week – just the same as sensible weight loss. And not all patients eat sensibly and revert to the same kind of eating they indulged in before surgery, soft foods such as ice-cream, chocolate and alcohol will pass easily through the band and will cause weight gain with little nutritional value.

Then there are the problems once the band is fitted. Here are some stories from the UK Gastric band Co Uk site (www.ukgastricband.co.uk)

Ever since i have had my band if im honest i have had nothing but problems with it.
I have been back to my nurse numerous times only to be told its me and fobbed off, I even paid and had an Xray to ease my mind because I was sure something wasn’t right. The amount in my band doesn’t really make much difference to the effects i have when eating… I always seem to have the same problem. When i eat i will really struggle with the first 2 or 3 mouth fulls and keep being sick back in to my mouth and this will last for about 25-30 minutes. Once that is over I can then go on an pretty much eat as much as I want.
I only have about 1ml in my band at the moment i think as it got to the stage when i had 4-5mls in i could barely drink tea/water without being sick again. When ever i have my band altered its fine for a few weeks then it feels like it gets tighter and tighter. I dont know what to do but I know that it doesn’t feel right and my nurse just wont even listen and keeps saying its me. Since I have had my band a few people i know have had them and its just so different watching them eat to me, Its like they can eat fine but are full after a small portion but thats not the case for me?
It cant be that i have too much in my band because like i said i only have 1ml in it. Could it be band erosion/ band intolerance??
Any ideas how i can get help? can i go to the NHS or will they not investigate because of me having the op done privately. I dont want to go back to my nurse because she just will not listen to me. I have already spent £1500 easily on fills to try and get it right and on the Xray….

In July/August, I spent 4 weeks in total hell because I could hardly drink fluid and I could hardly eat (except teeny teeny teeny bites chewed 42,000000 times and I could only manage about a large tablespoonful of food about twice a day) and I would, on occasion, wake up choking in the night and feel terrible every morning until I had sicked up a whole load of acidy mucas.
Once I had 0.25mls aspirated I felt fine again and could drink normally and could eat small amounts. Great!
However, since my aspiration I haven’t lost any more weight and I found that I could eat more, without really getting the ‘full’ feeling.
I thought that I needed another small fill (ie the 0.25mls put back on again) but what had happened is that my oesophagus was damaged due to all the acid building up in my top pouch when I was uber tightly restricted and then when I started to eat again my oesophagus stretched and extended into my pouch and the food has been collecting in the extended oesophagus and not actually going into a top tummy pouch and so the band hasn’t had to work because the food sits in my extended mis-shaped oesophagus until it just turns to liquid and dribbles out and through the band. My band is fine – it is this enlargement of the oesophagus caused by the side effects of being too tight that is the big problem.

I was banded in July 2008 – have been sick after eating for much of this time, however since Friday before last I just can’t seem to get anything down, I have had my band checked over the last couple of months and the radiographer was adamant it was not too tight ( a bit loose if anything) – my weight loss has been really static have lost about 6 lbs in 6 months. Anyway 10 days ago I was struggling to get tea/coffee down and each time I tried any food (even soup) I was being sick. I have terrible acid reflux, strangely the only thing that seems to be ok is crisps and doritos! – from Friday to the following Thursday I only had fluids – I spoke to my dietitian who said I would have to have my band completely deflated – I was booked in for yesterday morning, anyway on Friday I felt a bit better and even managed two breakfast bars, I had actually lost another 4 lbs this week – due to no food- so, studpidely, I cancelled the deflation – I still can’t eat anything really (had some doritos yesterday) – the acid reflux is terrible. I feel like I need one of those Mr. Muscle sink unblockers washed through my system! – the iron fist and aching between my shoulder blades is murder too – I know I should have kept the appointment and will re-make it for Weds, but I am not ready to give up I have about 21 more pounds to lose and can’t bear the thought of putting weight back on – the whole point of this for me, was that it was permanent and the last 20 years of putting weight on then losing it would be over – £8k well spent, I thought.
Its really confusing going through this alone, on one hand I know something is wrong, although I have been checked under x ray albeit a few months ago, and on the other hand I can’t face being fat again

I to have been diagnosed with acute oesophegus my problem started several months ago when i couldn’t keep anything down i would be sick 2 or 3 times a day at this stage i was on my 3rd fill, I called to see my GP who advised me to go back for an unfill under Xray i have my fills at the Manchester royal hospital when i arrived the Radiologist asked me to try to swollow
under Xray the Barium slop it was at this stage i was diagnosed the Radiologist asperated 6mls leaving me empty that was about 4months ago and tommorow i am going back to see if everything has settled down and also have my fill?.Although it has been great being able to eat again my weight has also gone up and once again i am at the start of my journey, I was banded 2yrs ago and now my weight is higher than before, Oh! Dear well i am going to give it one more go and if i start being sick again i will probably give this journey up.

If no one helps the patients with the way they think about food; how, why and when they eat nothing will change and this is demonstrated by the post below:

Im not sure whats happened to me this past couple of weeks. Ive lost all my willpower and not sure why. I originally lost about 17lb in the first month or so. Then had a fill which was too tight and had 1ml taken out, followed by 5 days in hospital. Since i came home 2 weeks ago, my eating is out of control. Been trying to get hold of my dietician for over a week – 3 phonecalls, assured id be called back each time, and still waiting. I need to speak to him to arrange another fill, but feel im being ignored by my provider. What a let down theyve turned out to be. So, im sitting here totally depressed and can feel the weight going back on. Why isnt there a willpower tablet?? Or a brain band. Why cant i get my head round the fact that although my band is loose, i dont need to eat as much as i can?