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Weight Loss
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Weight Loss Surgery Type 2. Lap-Band Surgery
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What is the Lap-Band
System?
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How the Lap works
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Best candidates for Lap-Band surgery
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Costs and Prices of Lap-Band surgery
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Lap-Band placement
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How the port works
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Recovery and aftercare
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Possible complications
Adjustable laparoscopic
gastric banding is the commonest form of weight loss surgery .
Gastric band surgery is one of the least invasive approaches to
obesity because neither the stomach nor the intestine is cut.
The amount of weight you lose depends both on the lap band and on
your motivation and commitment to a new lifestyle and eating habits.
The gastric lap band can help you achieve longer-lasting weight loss
by:
 What Is a
Lap-Band?
"Lap-Band System" is the brand name of the FDA-approved, adjustable
gastric band used in the procedure. Most simply, a Lap-Band is a
silicone belt that goes around the top of the stomach. This results
in the ability to control your hunger and achieve a "feeling of
fullness," or satiety. Ultimately, you eat much less and should feel
full sooner.
A key component of the Lap-Band System is its adjustability. The
band is connected to a port, which enables the device to be inflated
over time to expedite the weight loss.
 How
the lap band works
There are various types of gastric band, but essentially they
involve placing a hollow silastic adjustable gastric band around the
upper part of the stomach. This band divides the stomach into a
small upper pouch above the band and a larger pouch below the band.
The small gastric (stomach) pouch limits the amount of food that a
patient can eat at any one time and will result in a feeling of
fullness after eating a small amount of food. For details of the
telemetric adjustable gastric band (TAGB)
Who
are candidates for the Lap-Band
system?
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) requirements for
Lap-Band surgery are the same as for any other weight loss surgery.
These criteria were originally set in the early 1990s and have not
changed. If your BMI, or body mass index, is between 35 and 39, then
you must also have associated severe medical problems, or co-morbid
conditions, in order to be a candidate for the Lap-Band. These
conditions usually include diabetes, hypertension, or high
cholesterol. But if your BMI is greater than 40, then it is not
required that there be any associated medical problems.
Most insurance companies also require a history of previous attempts
at weight loss. How stringent these requirements are can differ from
one insurance company to another.
Many people do not meet the NIH requirements or do not have the
insurance benefit for weight loss surgery, but they may still be
able to pursue the procedure by paying for it themselves.
How
the Lap-Band Is placed in the Body
After performing a series of small incisions, your surgeon would
use a small camera, called a laparoscope, to visualize placement of
the Lap-Band. The Lap-Band is placed around the top of the stomach
and secured in place with sutures. The port is then placed
underneath the skin on the top part of the abdomen. Surgery should
take only about an hour, and an overnight stay in the hospital may
or may not be required.
 Next
:
Costs and Prices of Lap-Band surgery
How the port works
Recovery and aftercare
Possible complications
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