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Overview
Facts About Lap-Band SurgeryWith obesity and its related illnesses rising to epidemic proportions, more and more people are willing to undergo drastic measures to lose weight. Lap-band surgery is a form of weight loss surgery to help patients for whom long-term diet and drug therapy has failed. As with all surgeries, there are potential benefits and risks that need to be carefully considered.
History
Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, consists of a number of surgical procedures that attempt to control obesity by modifying the gastrointestinal tract. Reducing the stomach size causes an intake and absorption of fewer nutrients, resulting in a dramatically decreased caloric intake and, ultimately, weight loss. Originally, weight loss surgery required the stomach to be stapled or cut or the digestive tract being surgically altered. The lap-band is a less invasive solution to weight-loss surgery.
Features
The lap-band is a restrictive device placed around the stomach to create a smaller "pouch" in the upper portion. The band has a port just under the skin that is accessible by a doctor so that its restrictiveness can be adjusted to meet the patient's comfort level for food intake. The inflated band restricts the movement of food, so that when the upper pouch is full, the patient feels satiated. The food then moves slowly to the rest of the stomach to complete the digestive process.
Procedure
The lap-band, short for laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, is implanted through laparoscopic surgery, which is less invasive than open surgery. This dramatically reduces the risk of surgical complications, decreases hospital stay and makes the lap band more easily reversed or removed if the patient desires. After placement of the band, the patient will return to the doctor several times for non-surgical adjustments. These adjustments are to tweak the band to the person's level of comfort with food intake, while still reducing intake enough to result in weight loss.
Benefits
The lap-band carries lower risks and lower mortality rates than other, more invasive forms of bariatric surgeries. For people who are obese, the risks that lap-band surgery does pose may be lower than the risks and complications of obesity related conditions and illnesses. Unlike other bariatric surgeries, the lap-band does not interfere with the absorption of nutrients, and therefore lap band recipients are less likely than other weight loss surgery patients to suffer from malnutrition.
Drawbacks
Lap-band patients typically lose less weight, and lose more slowly, than patients who have undergone other forms of bariatric surgery. Long term weight loss is not a guarantee, as even with the lap-band weight can be regained over time. Complications can arise, such as the band slipping or not being placed on the stomach properly, the band eroding into the stomach, food blockage, gastritis or ulcerations. Mortality rates for lap-band recipients is 1 in 2000.
