Laparoscopic gastric band surgery has many benefits:
- It is reversible
- It is adjustable
- It has lower initial death rate than gastric sleeve surgery
The major disadvantages of gastric bands are:
- Long term discomfort or pain from irritation of the stomach lining
- Erosion into stomach (the band may slowly eat through the stomach wall causing a hole)- this requires further gastric sleeve surgery that could be life threatening, requiring life support machines
- Slippage of band (the lower part of the stomach may shoot through the band causing an enlarged upper pouch)- this causes nausea, reflux and vomiting
- Malposition of the band (causing a kink in the stomach) or the band may not encircle the stomach properly giving no restriction of food passing through and, therefore, failing to achieve weight loss
- Problems with the port (requiring further surgery to replace or reposition)
- Internal bleeding
- Infection
- About 30% of gastric band patients fail to lose weight
- 30-40% of gastric band patients require re-operation of a gastric sleeve surgery over time, including removal of gastric band or conversion to sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass
- Requires long term monthly follow-ups, which is time consuming. Patients will require monthly needle adjustments to achieve weight loss.