SURGICAL OPTIONS
Gastric Restrictive Weight Loss Procedure - Adjustable Gastric
Banding Surgery
Lap Band weight loss surgery is a purely restrictive procedure. In this procedure, a hollow band made of silicone rubber is placed around the stomach near its upper end, creating a small pouch and a narrow passage into the rest of the stomach. The band is then inflated with a salt solution through a tube that connects the band to an access port placed under the skin. It can be tightened or loosened over time to change the size of the passage by increasing or decreasing the amount of salt solution. The result is you take in less food. The success of lap band surgery, however, also depends on how motivated you are and how committed you are to your goal of long lasting weight loss.
Advantages
The primary advantage of Lap Band weight loss surgery is that a reduced amount of well-chewed food enters and passes through the digestive tract in the usual order. This allows the nutrients and vitamins/minerals (as well as the calories) to be fully absorbed into the body.
Two years after surgery, weight loss can average 55% of excess body weight.
A 2000 study of 500 patients showed that 96% of certain associated health conditions studied (back pain, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression) were improved or resolved.
Possible complications:
- Ulceration
- Gastritis (irritated stomach tissue)
- Heartburn
- Gas bloat
- Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
- Dehydration
- Constipation
- Weight gain
- Death
- Laparoscopic surgery possible complications
- Spleen or liver damage
- Damage to major blood vessels
- Lung problem
- Thrombosis (blood clots)
- Rupture of the wound
- Perforation of the stomach or esophagus during surgery
- Readmission to the hospital may be required for fluid replacement or nutritional support if there is excessive vomiting and adequate food intake cannot be maintained