Lap-Band Surgery

LAP-BAND surgery, also known as adjustable gastric banding, is a minimally-invasive medical weight loss procedure that is fully reversible and does not require any large incisions or permanent modifications to your digestive tract.

Here at Lenox Hill Bariatric Surgery Program, our team of bariatric surgeons have extensive experience in performing gastric band surgery.

What Is LAP-BAND Surgery?

The LAP-BAND is an FDA-approved adjustable medical device that is surgically placed at the upper portion of the stomach to create a smaller upper pouch section without making any permanent changes to the physiology of the stomach.

During gastric band surgery the patient is given sedation to keep them comfortable while the bariatric surgeon places the band using a surgical instrument inserted through the mouth. Once the LAP-BAND has been placed, the surgeon will then connect a tiny port that is used to inflate the band with saline. This port is installed just beneath the skin in the abdomen area.

The surgeon adjusts the size of the band by filling and removing saline through the port in order to control the size of the upper stomach pouch, which limits the amount of food that the patient can hold in their stomach at any given time.

How Does Gastric Banding Help Patients Lose Weight?

LAP-BAND surgery is a type of medical weight loss treatment known as restrictive. It helps patients feel full on smaller amounts of food by creating a smaller stomach pouch. When used in combination with a medically-supervised nutritional program and exercise plan patients lose weight by eating fewer calories than they previously did.

In order to achieve the best possible outcomes, your gastric surgeon will make adjustments to your gastric band as needed based on your overall health, how full or hungry you feel, and your rate of weight loss. This is done during a regular office visit and no sedation is required.

Unlike other types of weight loss surgery, with gastric banding no malabsorption occurs, which eliminates many of the concerns around digestion and elimination that can develop following surgical weight loss treatment.

Who Qualifies For LAP-BAND Surgery?

Current LAP-BAND surgery requirements include a body mass index (BMI) that is higher than 40 for patients without any comorbid conditions. Patients who have one or more obesity-related co-morbidities such as arthritis, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease may qualify for gastric band surgery if they have a BMI of 30 or greater.

Prospective patients need to attend a pre-operative patient education seminar that provides information on the gastric band and other types of medical weight loss treatments such as gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and the duodenal switch.

Contact Us

To learn more about LAP-BAND surgery and find out if gastric banding may be the right obesity treatment for you, contact us here at Lenox Hill Bariatric Surgery Program by calling 1-866-409-7466 or completing our online contact form.