Intragastric band erosion: experiences with gastrointestinal endoscopic removal.

Aim: To remove the migrated bands using a gastrointestinal endoscopic approach. Little is published on complications that can occur.
Methods: From June 2006 to June 2010, eight patients developed intragastric band migration. Two patients had received their AGB in a different hospital, the remaining six were operated by the same surgeon. In all patients gastrointestinal endoscopic removal of the band was attempted by two individual gastroenterologists. Clinical signs of band migration were: persisted nausea, abdominal pain, weight gain, recurrent infection of the port and tubing system and hematemesis.
Results: In four patients removal was performed without complications. In two patients extracting the cleaved gastric band into the stomach appeared impossible. The two remaining patients presented with acute hematemesis and melena. One of these patients was readmitted with hematemesis. The other patient started bleeding during the gastroscopy and was converted to a laparoscopy in which one of the branches of the left gastric artery was oversewn.
Conclusion: Band migration after gastric banding can be life threatening. Gastrointestinal endoscopic removal is a feasible technique that holds the promise of fast reconvalescence.