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.“

In a 2011 article published in Surgical Endoscopy titled “Analysis of poor outcomes after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.”, J. Kasza et al. reviewed the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding “experience at an urban academic center in terms of complications, reoperative rates, and comorbidities,” studying 130 female patients.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is a surgical process by which an adjustable plastic band is placed around the stomach, thus limiting the size of the stomach and causing patients to feel full after having consumed less food.

Researchers write that the average percent excess weight loss “was 20% ± 14% at 6 months …, 26% ± 16% at 12 months …, 30% ± 20% at 18 months …, and 34% ± 23% at 24 months”.  Other studies showing significantly more weight loss with Lap-Band, this research illustrates moderate efficacy of the system.

Concerning complications, the Kasza et al. (2011) team found “Complications occurred for 8% of the patients (n = 15) including port flipping, stoma obstruction, tube disconnection, port infections, dysphagia, and band slippage” and state “Overall, 16.7% of the patients (n = 24) required reoperation.”

Due to the fact that the LAP-BAND Warning Label suggests a significantly lower portion of patients are expected to face complications or require reoperation, a number of LAP-BAND lawsuits are currently being filed.

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