Lap Band Gastric Bypass Surgery

How is it different from other types of gastric bypass?

bariatric surgery picture

This bariatric surgery picture from the National Institute of Health illustrates adjustable gastric banding

Lap band gastric bypass surgery, also known as adjustable gastric banding, is a purely restrictive bariatric surgery type, unlike the combination procedures like roux-en-y. An inflatable ring made of silicone is placed around the upper part of the stomach, which gives you a very small pouch that can hold a small amount of food. The ring only very slowly allows the food to go into the lower portion of the stomach and then into the intestines for digestion. The idea is that when the pouch fills up, you feel full, and you stay full longer because the food remains in the pouch longer.

child with a swim tube
Think of it like one of those swimming rings that small children use in the pool. The more you blow it up, the smaller the space in the centre.

The band is adjustable because it is attached to a tube that goes from the ring to a "port" that is placed on your abdomen. If you aren't feeling enough restriction (you can eat too much or feel hungry too soon after eating), the doctor can inject saline into the port, which pumps up the ring, causing greater restriction.

As with other weight loss surgery types, the adjustable gastric lap band can be done laparoscopic or open. It's usually done as a laparoscopic procedure, but sometimes a patient's weight prevents that.

Adjustable gastric banding has been around for quite some time.

The first one was patented in 1985 by a Swedish company called Obtech Medical and was called (appropriately) the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB). The currently popular Lap-Band System made by Inamed (now owned by Allergen) went on the market in Europe in 1993, and received approval from the Food & Drug Administration in the United States in 2001. Its full name is the BioEnterics® LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System, and the small but important improvements it made over the SAGB made it very popular. There are a number of other manufacturers of adjustable gastric lap band too.

Surgery of this type is gaining popularity with those who feel it is less risky than full blown gastric bypass. In Australia, gastric banding is by far the most prominent type of weight loss surgery. It accounts for over 90% of bariatric surgeries! Although it is generally considered less risky overall, and is reversible, there is still debate over whether its long-term weight loss results measure up to other types of surgery.

Which celebrities have had adjustable gastric lap band gastric bypass surgery? Check out our celebrities page to find out!



Here are some other pages you may find interesting:

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