Programs : Advanced MI & Robotic Surgery

LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Band
The LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Band is a small device made of silicone rubber which is wrapped around the very uppermost portion of the stomach. Gastric banding works by decreasing the functional size of the stomach. The LAP-BAND® turns the stomach into an hourglass shape—the upper portion of the hourglass is called the stomach pouch. The food you eat quickly fills the pouch, then empties very slowly through the constriction created by the band, just like sand passing through an hourglass. This surgery is performed laparoscopically, through 5–6 very small incisions in the abdominal wall.
The band is adjustable. Four to six weeks after surgery, you will return to the hospital to have your band inflated. The band is inflated by injecting saline (salt water) through an access port located underneath the skin on your stomach. If the
restriction is too tight or too loose, you will come back in for an adjustment (adding or removing saline).
The lap band helps you lose weight by restriction. The new stomach pouch is small. The pouch fills up very quickly after eating only a small amount of food, and provides a sensation of fullness. Thus, the small pouch places a physical restriction on the amount of food you are able (or want) to eat at one sitting.

Advantages
• Lower Risk: Because it is a relatively simple operation, it has the lowest operative
risk of all bariatric surgeries. No cutting or stapling of the stomach is required,
and the small intestine is not rerouted.
• Adjustability: Adjustments allow the amount of restriction to be tailored to your
personal needs. No other operation has this adjustability.
• Reversible: The lap band can be deflated or removed. The other types of surgeries
are permanent.
• Short hospital stay: Most patients go home the same day or after a brief overnight
stay in the hospital.

Disadvantages
• Foreign Body: The LAP-BAND® is a foreign body. Any time a foreign body is
placed around the stomach, problems such as infection or erosion may occur.
• Multiple adjustments: Everyone requires multiple band adjustments (at least 3 or
4). Some people require more adjustments. For some people, it may be difficult to
find the perfect adjustment where the band is tight enough for good weight loss
but not so tight that it causes vomiting.
• Gradual weight loss: Weight loss with the LAP-BAND® is variable. Long-term
weight loss is similar to that seen with gastric bypass but short-term weight loss
tends to be more gradual.