About Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding



Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is a restrictive weight loss surgical procedure that is essentially a saline filled balloon inside a band structure (hence the name “lap band”) that fits around the upper stomach. The weight loss device can be adjusted because there is a reservoir surgically inserted under the skin as a place to change the size of the band’s balloon around the stomach. As the balloon is inflated, it tightens and decreases the quantity of food that can pass through. It has been said it is like putting a putting a straight-jacket on the stomach. The hope is that the patient will develop a much faster rate of satiation. As the lap band is deflated there is less weight loss.

There are several Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding medical devices on the market. They include the most well known, the LAP-BAND ®, to some of the lesser known gastric banding systems such as Swedish Adjustable Band and Mid-Band. Each band system has its own unique benefits and drawbacks. It is important that you speak to your bariatric doctor concerning all available adjustable weight loss medical devices that are on the marketplace.

Benefits of Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

One of the top benefits of the LAGB procedure, is that it doesn’t permanently change the anatomy of the stomach or small intestines. It is a reversible medical procedure. This sets people’s mind’s at ease that do not like the permanency of gastric bypass. Also, there are not the nutritional deficiencies that are side effects of other restrictive weight loss operations.

How About The Safety of This Weight Loss Surgery?

Based on the evidence, LAGB is considered by the medical community to be a safer weight loss surgery procedure than gastric bypass or malabsorptive operations. Like every surgical operation, there are inherent risks always possible. Because you may already have chronic health problems related to the morbid obesity, there are always a chance of complications during or after the weight loss surgery. Your bariatric doctor will need to thoroughly screen you to find out what problems to look out for prior to the operation.

Drawbacks to LAGB?

The primary drawback is that the weight loss is also much slower. Weight-related problems such as type II diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma, & hypertension do improve after LAGB, but it is still less than that of gastric bypass.

Lap Band Advantages and Disadvantages

Some of the Advantages of a Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band procedure include:

  • The surgical procedure is reversible.
  • 71% of hypertension cases show statistically significant improvement.
  • Patients tend to lose roughly 47% of their excess weight.
  • It does help improve cholesterol, including boosting the good cholesterol (HDL) levels.
  • The way that food passes through the digestive tract is unaffected in terms of the digestive process. Because of this, there are virtually no malnutrition issues.
  • 48% of type II diabetes cases are reversed after the operation. (It will not work on Type 1 as it is an autoimmune disease.)
  • Band can be adjusted to increase or decrease restriction via an access port.

Disadvantages of the lap band procedure:

  • Rate of weight loss is slower than other forms of weight loss surgery including gastric bypass
  • Your body may even reject the device
  • Weight loss is slower than other weight loss surgeries
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • There isn’t as much of a feeling of fullness that patients knew from before, and some are not satisfied with that.
  • Gastroesophageal reflux (regurgitation)
  • Band slippage/pouch dilatation
  • Stoma obstruction (stomach-band outlet blockage)
  • Esophageal dilatation or dysmotility (poor esophageal function)
  • Constipation or diarrhea
  • Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
  • Sometimes it is necessary to go back and fix a leaking or twisted access port
  • Lap bands sometimes erode into the stomach lining
  • Slippage of the lap band (although surgical techniques have evolved to reduce these types of problems)