Gastric band erosion and intraluminal migration leading to biliary and small bowel obstruction: case report and discussion

Abstract

Adjustable gastric banding is a safe and effective treatment of morbid obesity that has gained widespread popularity. One of the complications associated with adjustable gastric bands is erosion into the stomach. Larger series have reported an incidence of 1–2% for the adjustable silicone gastric band [1,2], the Swedish gastric band (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Johnson & Johnson, Cincinnati, OH), and the Lap-Band (Inamed, Irvine, CA) [3,4]. Previously described complications have included intraluminal duodenal obstruction after erosion of a Kuzmak adjustable band (BioEnterics, Carpinteria, CA) [5], gastric outlet obstruction after laparoscopic adjustable gastric band Lap-Band [6] placement, and early small bowel obstruction after laparoscopic adjustable gastric band placement.