Understanding the Lap Band Procedure

The Lap Band surgical procedure is one of the fastest growing bariatric surgeries in North America. Because it is far less permanent and invasive than other bariatric surgeries, many obese individuals are choosing it as an option when other weight loss strategies fail. Some even turn to the procedure before trying more conventional weight loss options. The Lap Band device was approved for use in the United States in 2001, although it has been being used successfully in other areas of the world since 1993. For Canadians seeking a surgery center that uses Lap Band, Toronto has several to choose from.

How the Procedure Works

Lap Band surgery is technically called laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. The goal of the surgery is to help the patient achieve significant weight loss by limiting the amount of food that the stomach can hold at one time. Other bariatric surgeries involve actually changing the size of the stomach, or bypassing portions of the stomach altogether. Lap Band surgery is different, because it does not cut the stomach at all.

Instead, this surgery makes the stomach smaller by placing a silicone band around the upper portion of the organ. The band is a hollow tube that is filled with sterile saline, which makes it completely adjustable. It creates a pouch where the food that the patient eats enters to begin the digestive process. The pouch has an opening that allows the food to flow slowly into the rest of the stomach. This opening can be made smaller or larger depending on the patient's needs by changing the amount of saline in the band. The band is put in place laparoscopically, which reduces much of the trauma on the body caused by stomach stapling or rerouting procedures.

After the patient is under anesthetic, the physician will begin the procedure by making several small incisions into the abdominal wall. The instruments for the surgery are inserted through tubes placed in these incisions. One such tool is a camera that shows the physician what is happening inside the body. Using small surgical instruments, the band is put in place and secured around the stomach. Once it is in place, the instruments and tubes are removed, the incisions are closed, and the surgery is complete.

Weight Loss After Surgery

The weight loss surgery creates a small gastric pouch at the top of the stomach. This pouch limits how much food the patient can eat. It also slows down the rate at which the stomach can empty into the intestines, effectively slowing the digestion rate. This allows the patient to feel full for a longer period of time.

Sometimes patients who have Lapband surgery do not experience enough weight loss or lose weight too rapidly. Either problem can be resolved by adjusting the band to allow more or less food through the opening. Adjusting the LapBand device is simple, because an access port is placed just underneath the skin during the surgery. A thin needle can add or remove saline from the band through this port whenever the patient's doctor thinks it is necessary, and this procedure takes just a few minutes to do.

Weight loss for patients who have Lap Band surgery occurs for two reasons. First, the patient is eating less due to the smaller size of his stomach and the fact that he is feeling full longer. Second, patients who have this procedure done must carefully consider what they eat for its nutritional value, because they are eating much less than they did before. This helps to control weight as well, since healthy foods are chosen over junk foods. Because of the minimally invasive nature of this weight loss surgery, coupled with the high rate of success for patients who have it done, many obese individuals are choosing Lap Band surgery as their permanent weight loss solution.

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