Weight Loss, Bariatric and Lap-Band®

Is Bariatric Surgery Right For You? What is Morbid Obesity? Though we all use the terms "fat" and "obese" casually in conversation, there is a medical definition of the condition—and yes, obesity is considered a health "condition."

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a person is considered "obese" when he or she weighs 20 percent or more than his or her ideal body weight. At that point, the person's weight poses a real health risk. Obesity becomes "morbid" when it significantly increases the risk of one or more obesity-related health conditions or serious diseases (also known as co-morbidities). Morbid obesity—sometimes called "clinically severe obesity"—is defined as being 100 lbs. or more over ideal body weight or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or higher.

According to the NIH Consensus Report, morbid obesity is a serious chronic disease, meaning that its symptoms build slowly over an extended period of time. Today 97 million Americans, more than one-third of the adult population, are overweight or obese. An estimated 5-10 million of those are considered morbidly obese.

Traditional bypass surgery utilizes one large incision from the top of the abdomen to below the bellybutton. When performed laparoscopically, the surgeon employs a pencil-thin viewing telescope and instruments which can be inserted through several small incisions to access the abdominal organs. Patients undergoing the procedure laparoscopically typically report several major benefits over the traditional method, including:

Gastric bypass surgery has been recognized since 1991 by the National Institutes of Health as the only effective treatment for long-term weight loss for patients who are morbidly obese. This weight loss surgery involves creating a small pouch using stapling techniques and connecting the new pouch to the small intestine, thus bypassing the lower stomach. Patients can expect to lose 80 to 100% of their excess weight as the amount and types of foods consumed are restricted. Compared to other types of bariatric surgery, this procedure has a decreased risk of nutritional side effects.

If you believe you might be a candidate for this surgery, we welcome you to schedule a personal consultation with our multi-disciplinary team. You could soon be on your way to fulfilling your weight loss goal and a lifetime of improved health. Not to mention the opportunity to enjoy many of the little pleasures you’re now missing from your life.

The LAP-BAND® System is an adjustable gastric band designed to help you lose excess body weight, improve weight-related health conditions and enhance quality of life. It reduces the stomach capacity and restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at one time.

The name “LAP-BAND” comes from the surgical technique used, laparoscopic, and the name of the implanted medical device, gastric band. The LAP-BAND® System is a silicone ring designed to be placed around the upper part of the stomach and filled with saline on its inner surface. This creates a new, smaller stomach pouch that can hold only a small amount of food, so the food storage area in the stomach is reduced. The band also controls the stoma (stomach outlet) between the new upper pouch and the lower part of the stomach. When the stomach is smaller, you feel full faster, while the food moves more slowly between your upper and lower stomach as it is digested. As a result, you eat less and lose weight.

During the procedure, surgeons usually use laparoscopic techniques (making tiny incisions rather than a large incision and inserting long-shafted instruments through “ports”), to wrap the LAP-BAND® System around the patient’s stomach. A narrow camera is passed through a port so the surgeon can view the operative site on a nearby video monitor. Like a wristwatch, the band is fastened around the upper stomach to create the new stomach pouch that limits and controls the amount of food you eat. The band is then locked securely in a ring around the stomach.

Once placed around the stomach, tubing connects the LAP-BAND® to an access port fixed beneath the skin of your abdomen. This allows the surgeon to change the stoma (stomach outlet) size by adding or subtracting saline, or salt water, inside the inner balloon through the access port. This adjustment process helps determine the rate of weight loss. If the band is too loose and weight loss is inadequate, adding more saline can reduce the size of the stoma to further restrict the amount of food that can move through it. If the band is too tight, the surgeon will remove some saline to loosen the band and reduce the amount of restriction.

The diameter of the band can be modified to meet your individual needs, which can change as you lose weight. For example, pregnant patients can expand their band to accommodate a growing fetus, while patients who aren't’t experiencing significant weight loss can have their bands tightened.

Small incisions and minimal scarring
Reduced patient pain, length of hospital stay and recovery period

10 times less operative and short-term mortality than gastric bypass(1)
Low risk of nutritional deficiencies associated with gastric bypass
Reduced risk of hair loss
No “dumping syndrome” related to dietary intake restrictions

Allows individualized degree of restriction for ideal rate of weight-loss
Adjustments performed without additional surgery
Supports pregnancy by allowing stomach outlet size to be opened to accommodate increased nutritional needs

Removable at any time
Stomach and other anatomy are generally restored to their original forms and functions

More than 300,000 LAP-BAND® System devices placed worldwide
Standard of care for hundreds of surgeons around the world
#1 selling adjustable gastric band for weight loss
Academic publications with up to 10 years of follow-up

1. Executive summary: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for the treatment of obesity (Update and Re-appraisal). The Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures - Surgical (ASERNIPS) 2002; 1. (Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery, like the LAP-BAND® surgery, is associated with a mean short-term mortality rate of around 0.05% compared to 0.50% for Gastric Bypass and 0.31% for Vertical Banded Gastroplasty.)

As with any surgery, there are specific risks and possible complications associated with the LAP-BAND® System surgery. Talk to your doctor to determine if you are a candidate for the LAP-BAND® System.

The LAP-BAND® Procedure Animation