The type of surgery you choose is not only a very personal decision that should be discussed between you and your family, but also one that requires the professional expertise and knowledge of your surgeon. Surgery to promote weight loss is a serious undertaking, and patients who have had surgery require close monitoring as well as life long use of special foods and medications.
Weight loss surgery has shown to be an effective tool in weight loss, but it's only a tool. No method, including surgery, guarantees to produce and maintain weight loss. Success is possible only with your fullest cooperation and commitment to behavioral change and medical follow-up.
Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Procedure (AGB)
The Lap-Band procedure is the least invasive of the weight management tool procedures. The name “LAP-BAND” comes from the surgical technique used (laparoscopic, or “keyhole,” surgery) and the name of the product used (gastric band). There is no re-routing of internal organs or cutting/stapling of internal organs. The procedure involves small incisions with minimal scarring and reduced pain, length of hospital stay and reduced recovery period. The process has a reduced risk of complications such as mortality, nutritional deficiencies and hair loss.
With the LAP-BAND, weight loss is slow and gentle—not as rapid from the start as with Gastric Bypass. Regular follow-up visits for nutrition and exercise education as well as for adjustments are necessary, however, for optimum results.
The Lap-Band is an individualized adjustable restrictive band to achieve long-term weight loss and can be adjusted without surgical procedures. It is removable at any time with no permanent changes to the body. When the band is removed, the stomach generally returns to its original form. In general, it is easier to remove the LAP-BAND than it is to reverse other kinds of surgical procedures for obesity.
The United States Food and Drug Administration's Office of Device Evaluation named the LAP-BAND System as one of the Significant Device Breakthroughs of 2001.