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By now you’ve probably learned a little about lap-band surgery and the success so many have from the procedure. What you may be a bit fuzzy on are the details about how it helps you reach those goals – the same goals that have been so elusive until now. This will help clear the air about how laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding works to help you finally find success in your weight loss efforts.
Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Surgery Basics
During the surgery itself, you will be under general anesthesia. The surgery involves one to five tiny cuts into your abdomen at strategic locations to allow the camera and other instruments access to your stomach.
Because lap-band surgery is a laparoscopic procedure involving no internal staples or stitches, it has a shorter recovery time than many other bariatric procedures. This means you can get up, around, and back to work sooner. Most patients can return to work usually within one or two weeks of surgery.
What makes the difference?
The lap-band procedure involves the insertion of a band, wrapping it around the top portion of your stomach. This creates a small pouch with an opening at the bottom to the larger portion of your stomach.
The short story, is that the small pouch fills up quickly, allowing you to feel full faster.
The longer version is that lap-band surgery helps to control both your hunger and the size of portions you consume. Since only so much food can fit into the pouch at once, your brain receives the signal that you are full. This causes you to stop eating before the larger portion of your stomach below the pouch is actually full.
Understanding Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Surgery Adjustability
It’s true that the surgery is simply a tool to aid you in your real efforts to lose weight. It doesn’t melt the pounds away and it doesn’t eliminate calories. You will need to eat a proper diet and incorporate physical activity into your daily routine in order to achieve lasting success with weight loss surgery.
That being said, if you’re not receiving the results you hoped for at first, or you’re losing too much weight too quickly, the gastric band can be adjusted, via a process called a “fill,” in which the doctor injects or removes fluid by inserting a needle into the access port placed beneath your skin.
Why Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band Surgery?
Since there are several different laparoscopic procedures, what’s the big benefit of choosing gastric banding over other options available? It’s a good question and one that rests in the rate of weight loss.
Patients with the lap band tend to lose weight gradually, over time. Most patients lose one to two pounds per week. This is a healthy, sustainable way to lose weight that allows the body to adjust along with the weight loss – as long as you’re keeping up with physical activities along the way.
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery is not the right choice for everyone interested in weight loss. In fact, it’s only recommended for people who have a BMI of 40 or greater and have been severely obese for a number of years or, in some instances, for those with a BMI of 30 or greater who have a comorbid health condition associated with their obesity.
To learn more about the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band procedure, contact the New York Bariatric Group at 800-633-8446.
