Gastric banding is a surgical treatment for obesity. Such interventions are known as bariatric surgery.
What is Gastric Band?
Gastric banding is a surgical treatment for obesity. Such interventions are known as bariatric surgery. This surgical procedure shrinks the stomach so that the patient feels full after eating less than usual.
About Gastric Band Surgery
- Gastric band surgery is a type of weight loss or bariatric surgery.
- It is a minimally invasive, rapid, reversible and adjustable surgical procedure that reduces the size of the stomach to reduce food intake.
- It involves placing an inflatable band at the top of the stomach, causing a person to feel fuller with less food.
- After surgery, a solid diet of liquids only needs to be followed with gradual reintroduction of soft foods for up to 6 weeks.
- Taping can cause significant weight loss and improve diabetes, weight loss is substantial.
How is the Gastric Band Attached?
A gastric band is inserted under general anesthesia. The patient can usually go home the same day. The surgeon makes one to five small surgical cuts in the abdomen. The surgery is performed with the laparoscope, which is a long and narrow tube with a camera. This process takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes. The patient should not eat from midnight on the day of surgery. Most people can return to most normal activities within 2 days, but may need to take a week off work.
The band is placed on the upper part of the stomach, a tube is connected to the band. The tube is accessible through a port under the skin of the abdomen. Using this port, the surgeon injects saline solution into the band to inflate the band.
Adjustments can change the degree of narrowing around the stomach. The band forms a small stomach pouch. Having a smaller stomach bag reduces the amount of food the stomach can hold at any given time. The feeling of fullness created by eating smaller amounts of food reduces hunger and helps reduce overall calorie intake.
Advantages of Gastric Band
- Long-term weight loss for those with obesity
- Relatively fast recovery
- Reduction in the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, urinary incontinence and overweight
- Improved quality of life after surgery in many cases
- There is also the option to remove or adjust the tape. The adjustability means it can be tightened or loosened, for example if there is not enough weight loss or if there is vomiting after a meal.