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Bands Comparable After 7 Years

55% (bypass) / 51% (bands) of excess weight lost

Source: http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/11134

Experts Debate Safety of Various Weight-Loss Surgeries While Lawmaker Urges Strict Oversight of Obesity Surgery Programs
Jan 3, 2006 NewsInferno.com

Overweight Americans now have several surgical options to help them lose weight, including gastric bypass surgery, adjustable stomach bands, and an operation which removes part of the stomach and reroutes the intestines. Doctors, however, are divided on what is the safest and most effective procedure.

Gastric bypass, in which the stomach is stapled to reduce its size, is currently the most frequently performed weight loss surgery in America. It is effective in facilitating the rapid loss of a large amount of weight and is used to treat people with heart problems and diabetes caused by obesity.In Europe and Australia, adjustable stomach bands are preferred over gastric bypass. In this type of surgery, a ring is placed over the top of the stomach and inflated with saline to tighten it and restrict how much food can enter and pass through the stomach.This reversible procedure is safer, with a 0.1% death rate compared to about 2% for gastric bypass. Long-term it is nearly as effective at helping patients lose weight. It is also the recommended procedure for children or women who may want to get pregnant after surgery.According to the research of Dr. Paul O'Brien, director of the Centre for Obesity Research and Education at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the bands are just as successful as gastric bypass for achieving weight loss over an extended period.O?Brien considered results on 23,638 patients in 43 published studies to determine that although bypasses induced a greater weight loss in the first three years, bands were comparable after seven years, with 55% (bypass) and 51% (bands) of excess weight lost. The third, and by far the most risky, option is a surgical procedure that removes three-quarters of the stomach to create a banana-shaped organ that is connected to the small intestine. This surgery bypasses more of the small intestine than a regular gastric bypass does. Although the mortality rate can be as high as 5%, the procedure is becoming more common and now represents 5% of U.S. obesity surgeries .....................