Lap-Band® stands for laparoscopic gastric banding, a minimally invasive procedure in which a hollow doughtnut-shaped tube is placed around the upper part of the stomach and filled with saline (salt water). The Lap-Band works in two ways: it reduces the size of the stomach so it holds less food, and it limits the amount of food that can enter the stomach. This means you feel full faster, so you eat less—and lose weight.

The Lap-Band System is the only weight loss surgery approved by the FDA. It is also the only adjustable and reversible procedure for long-term weight-loss available in the U.S. Lap-Banding is generally considered to be the safest, least invasive, and least traumatic of all weight loss surgeries.

Benefits of the Lap-Band Procedure

• Adjustable
  • The Lap-Band can be tightened or loosened over time to let more or less food pass through and to regulate each patient's rate of weight loss. How does this work? As part of the Lap-Band surgery, an access port is placed under the skin in the abdomen. Saline can then be injected into, or removed from, the Lap-Band through the access port at any time. Thus patients can optimize their weight loss over a period of months or years with no additional surgery.
• Reversible
  • Although it is intended to be a permanent weight loss solution, the Lap-Band can be removed. The stomach usually regains its previous shape and function afterwards. Patients who wish to remove the Lap-Band should be aware that they may regain some or all of the weight they have lost.
• Minimal Trauma and Fewer Risks
  • The Lap-Band procedure involves no stomach cutting or stapling and no gastrointestinal rerouting, as opposed to gastric bypass surgeries such as the Roux-en-Y technique. This significantly lowers the mortality risk during surgery. Lap-Band patients also experience little to no risk of the nutritional deficiencies, hair loss or "dumping syndrome" associated with other weight loss surgeries.
• Minimally Invasive
  • Because the Lap-Band procedure is minimally invasive, patients generally enjoy:
    1. Smaller incisions and scars
    2. Shorter hospital stay
    3. Faster recovery
    4. Less post-operative pain

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