I’m a doctor training in gastroenterology. I don’t come across gastric bands very often but I’ve done some reading and it sound plausible if you allow for her explaining it inaccurately (which many people do as medical information translated into lay language often results in meaning being lost).
You can get something called gastric prolapse aka “band slippage”, where instead of the band sitting neatly around the stomach, a bit of extra stomach can get trapped in the band which can pinch the entrance to the stomach closed or partially closed. Interestingly it is not uncommon (1-14%) and some people don’t get any symptoms from this. The authors also don’t list weight loss as a symptom of this side-effect, but rather reflux, regurgitation and vomiting and rarely sudden upper abdominal pain (she said her pain was back pain,I think?).
The paper I read says the management is to deflate the band and repeat imaging to see if the prolapse resolves, and some cases need surgery.
Helpfully the authors say the following about pregnancy-
“Band unlocking is another alternative, particularly in a pregnant patient where time under anesthesia and fetal health are most important; the patient then can return for a definitive operation when she is postpartum”
I think her story is plausible BUT it doesn’t ring true with me that they would just reposition the band rather than deflate/unlock it, especially when she was approx 8 months pregnant and seemingly very malnourished. Who is to say it wouldn’t slip again, requiring another general anaesthetic?? That’s the aspect of the story I just don’t buy as she hasn’t regained the excess weight, which would have happened if they had unlocked the band. It does make me wonder if she even has a band at all, or an eating disorder.
Link to the paper for anyone interested:
https://bariatrictimes.com/long-term-complications-gastric-banding-balloon/
Sorry if that is more info that anyone needed, I have a professional interest and currently bored at home self isolating as my husband has COVID!