We are no longer accepting cases regarding these products.  Due to a terrible Supreme Court ruling, consumers injured by this product are no longer permitted to sue the manufacturers of this device.  We wish we could help, but the Supreme Court has taken the rights of citizens away to protect the profits of medical device manufacturers.  For more information, please read the following New York Times article entitled “Medical Device Ruling Redraws Lines on Lawsuits.“

According to a 2001 report by G. Selicchia et al. published in the August edition of Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy & Percutaneous Techniques and titled “Laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric banding: prospective evaluation of intragastric migration of the lap-band.”, a study which aimed “to assess prospectively the incidence of Lap-Band intragastric migration and to establish the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive band removal,” 9.2% of LAP-BAND users suffer major complications.

And, of the 123 patients “with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months” studied, “intragastric band migration was observed in nine (7.5%) patients.”  Intragastric LAP-BAND migration is when the plastic band moves to another area of the stomach, and is also referred to as “slippage.”  Though the authors of this paper attribute this to a surgeon learning curve, “five erosions occurred in the first 30 cases”.  This rate of erosion (16.67%)  is more than 12 times greater than that advertised by the manufacturer of the LAP-BAND (Allergan), in the LAP-BAND Warning Label.

Due to the fact that many patients have entered into LAP-BAND surgery unaware of the true rate at which complications are associated with LAP-BAND use, a number of Allergan LAP-BAND lawsuits were filed.

Our Allergan LAP-BAND Lawsuit Information page is a great place to start if you have any questions about the Allergan LAP-BAND.