It’s minimally invasive (no staples required)
Having a silicone band wrapped around one’s stomach may sound like an elaborate form of torture, but it’s actually the least invasive weight-loss surgery available. Where gastric bypass surgery requires carving up the abdomen, lap band is done via a small incision through the belly button. “There’s no stomach cutting or stapling involved,” Dr. Shawn Garber, director of the New York Bariatric Group, tells The Daily Beast.
It’s also safe and speedy
Garber, who has performed band surgery on more than 3,000 patients, says it’s by far the safest weight-loss procedure. The window of recovery is much shorter than other surgeries, he says, with most patients leaving the hospital the same day they came in. It’s also the only procedure that isn’t permanent, since the band can be removed just as easily as it’s put on. But by the same token, it can fall off (commonly referred to as “band slippage”) or erode from exposure to stomach acids, though this occurs only in roughly 5 percent of patients.
So why do more people get full tummy tucks?
Patients don’t shed pounds as quickly after lap band as they do with other surgeries. Christie would likely have dropped t
