Health Information Blog

Most people are familiar with gastric bypass surgery for weight loss, but may not have heard about laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding or lap band surgery for weight loss. The gastric band is a device that looks similar to a shower curtain ring and has an inflatable section around the inside of the ring. The band fits around the upper portion of the stomach. The diameter of the section between the smaller top half of the stomach and the larger bottom half can be narrowed or widened by injecting into or removing saline from the inflatable section of the band. Lap band surgery advantages are many, especially when compared to other weight loss surgery.

One very extreme advantage of the lap band over other types of bariatric surgery is the fact that banding does not require cutting and re-routing of the digestive system. The band can be removed, if necessary, with no damage to the stomach. In addition, because there is no cutting and re-routing, there is no problem with malabsorption of nutrients with lap band surgery.

Anesthesia risks are considerably decreased because the surgery is much shorter. Most lap band surgeries are an hour or less. Band surgery has far fewer complications during and after surgery.

Gastric banding has a much shorter recovery time. Often, individuals are able to go back to work (with lifting restrictions) in less than a week following surgery.

With an adjustable gastric band weight loss is considerably slower compared to gastric bypass weight loss speed. The slower weight loss permits the skin to adjust to the weight loss. This results in less sagging skin when all of the weight is lost.

These are just a few of the lap band surgery advantages. Gastric banding is a viable, less invasive alternative to other types of weight loss surgery.

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