Lap band surgery can assist in weight loss when other methods have not worked, but there are risks.
Lap band surgery is a bariatric surgery method involving placing a band on the stomach to reduce food intake. Less invasive than other types of bariatric surgery, lap bands have their benefits and risks. An informed decision on any kind of surgery means weighing the benefits against potential problems.
Safety
Lap band surgery has a lower mortality rate and is much less invasive than other bariatric surgeries. Small incisions are made to insert the inflatable band, but it does not involve cutting the stomach or re-routing past the stomach or intestine. The incisions are relatively small, as in most laprascopic surgery, and result in less pain and healing time after the surgery. Due to the method and nature of the surgery, there is less incidence of long-term digestive complications with this type of surgery.
Adjustments and Results
Lap band surgery involves the insertion of a small access port beneath the skin to adjust the saline solution that inflates or deflates the band. The band creates a small portion of the stomach into a pouch, allowing less food to be consumed at a time. The band can be adjusted over time to allow more or less food if needed, resulting in less incidence of risk of malnutrition than with more permanent surgeries. Adjusting the band can help if the patient is not losing enough weight, or it can be loosened if the patient is losing too fast. With a smaller stomach, the advantage is eating less food, and still feeling full for a longer period after eating.
Effectiveness
One disadvantage of the lap band is that weight loss is slower initially than other more drastic surgeries. Patients are on a liquid diet for several weeks after the initial surgery, and may have some digestive difficulties such as nausea, constipation or gas. Over time, if the lap band slips, the effectiveness can be reduced, and may require repeat surgery to correct the problem. Failure to lose weight is one of the most common complications from lap band, but has more to do with patient habits than the device itself.
Risks
Attaching any prosthetic device in the body can cause complications, and with the lap band, ulceration or erosion of the stomach wall can occur. Other complications involve possible leakage of the access port, requiring corrective surgery. There is slight risk of stomach blockage between the two sections separated by the band, in which case the band needs to be removed. Death during any surgery is always a risk, but with lap band the risk is relatively low.
