Lap-Band weight loss device maker subpoenaed by U.S. government

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Lap-Band maker Allergan has been subpoenaed by the U.S. government over problems with the weight loss device.

Lawsuits have been filed over injuries and deaths related to gastric band products and surgeries.

The company said that the Department of Health and Human Services issued the subpoena earlier this month, but Allergan did not specify the exact information requested about the Lap Band.

The Lap-Band is implanted around the upper portion of the stomach and creates a pouch that limits the amount of food that can be eaten at one time.

In December, the FDA warned consumers about misleading advertising for gastric lap band procedures that did not properly warn about the risks.

The FDA had said that Allergan’s Lap-Band could be used for patients with a body mass index of at least 30 who also have a health condition related to their obesity. But according to lawyers, those standards are not always followed.

In January, several Democratic members of Congress asked for hearings on the Lap-Band and other devices, such as vaginal mesh implants, whose potential dangers have emerged only after  FDA approval.