In reply
I was puzzled by the letter from Drs Oefelein and Okerson of Allergan Inc, the company located in Irvine, California, that produces and commercializes the Lap Band. They state that scientific dialogue 鈥渕ust be balanced and fundamentally sound鈥� and indicate that they wish to call attention to several 鈥渇acts鈥� about our study1 and the study by Himpens et al,2 both of which were recently published in the Archives of Surgery. In recounting these facts, however, Oefelein and Okerson made numerous inaccurate statements, not only about our study but also about many of other studies they cite. Whether this is due to carelessness or to a biased interpretation of the facts, it is important to set the record straight.