Lap Band Surgery - Details about Lap Band Weight Loss

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in America. It affects one-third of the adult population in this country according to the American Obesity Association. Lap-band is a type of weight loss surgery that, like gastric bypass, alters the anatomy of the stomach to help you reduce food intake. Lap-band is now the second most common weight loss surgery procedure performed in the United States. At present it is the least invasive, the safest, the only adjustable and the only reversible surgical treatment for morbid obesity in the U.S. There is no cutting or stapling needed to divide the upper stomach pouch from the lower stomach. Unlike stomach stapling, the lap-band system can be adjusted to suit your needs.

During lap-band surgery, a surgeon makes a few small incisions in the abdominal wall. Using laparoscopic techniques, a silicone adjustable band is secured around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small stomach pouch.

The band is connected to tubing which attaches to an access port fixed beneath the skin of the abdomen. The port cannot be seen and can only be felt when pushing on the abdomen. The port and tubing allow for adjustments.

The stomach pouch created by the adjustable band controls the amount of food taken in. It allows a small amount of food to pass through, delaying the emptying of the stomach into the intestines. This process creates the sensation of fullness sooner and over time, hunger decreases.

The lap-band procedure takes about 40 to 60 minutes and can be performed on an outpatient basis with no required hospital stay. Recovery times may vary, but patients can generally return to work and normal activities within four to seven days.

Because the surgery uses laparoscopic techniques, patients experience less post-operative pain, recover quicker and are able to return to normal activities sooner, in comparison to other forms of bariatric surgery.

On this website, "lap-band surgery" refers to surgeries involving the use of Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding. When people mention the lap-band, they are almost always referring to the LAP-BAND® System, which is an FDA-approved product developed by the BioEnterics Corporation (now part of Allergan).

The Lap-Band ® System was introduced in Europe in 1993 and approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the United States in 2001. The name "lap-band" comes from the surgical technique used (laparoscopic) and the name of the implanted medical device (gastric band).