A Brief History
Weight loss surgery has evolved through the medical professions recognition of how difficult it is for obese patients to lose an excessive amount of weight using conventional methods. And, in particular, to maintain the weight loss.
Over the years a number of different procedures have been developed including the Small Bowel Bypass back in the 50's, and Stomach Stapling, which became popular in the 70's. Both procedures were effective in terms of achieving weight loss but
were not ideal in terms of patient comfort and long term benefit.
The Lap-Band is the most recent evolution and the procedure is enjoying unprecedented popularity as it offers even more benefit
s than its predecessors, while eliminating most of the problems.
The main benefits the Lap-Band procedure offers over the previous procedures are:
- It can be adjusted progressively to ensure that it continues to be both comfortable and effective as each patients condition changes.
- It is placed laparoscopically (key hole surgery), which is a lot less invasive and enables the patient to return to normal activities much quicker than other procedures.
- It is reversible, which means that if at any time someone comes up with a better procedure for treating obesity you can have the Lap-Band removed relatively easily.
The Procedure
The procedure is performed by keyhole surgery (laparoscopic), which is minimally invasive, involving 5 small
incisions on the abdomen. The band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, dividing the stomach into two parts.
(Click image to enlarge)
The upper pouch, where the food that you eat goes initially, is very small so you will feel full and satisfied much quicker. The food then slowly empties into
the larger section through the space left within the band. The fact that the band is adjustable means that the size of the band opening can be varied to the most
comfortable and effective dimension for every patient according to their progress.
(Click image to enlarge)
The inner surface of the band contains a small balloon which is connected by tubing to a reservoir which is placed under the skin in the abdomen during surgery.
While patients feel some discomfort immediately after surgery, it is minor compared to the discomfort experienced after a large incision. Patients are given an intravenous drip overnight to prevent
dehydration, and most are comfortably able to leave hospital the following day.
Who Is Suitable?
Lap Band surgery is really only suitable for people who are obese or morbidly obese, who are serious about
trying to lose weight. It is important, when gauging their suitability, that a person has made significant attempts at weight loss using supervised exercise and diet programmes.
A person would be considered to be obese when their weight is
more than 60% greater than their ideal weight or their Body Mass Index (BMI) is 35 or higher. A morbidly obese person would have a BMI of 40 or more.
Obesity is a serious health problem in today's society with an extensive number of
medical diseases either caused by or made worse by obesity, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, sleep apnoea and joint problems to name a few.
Certainly obese people would tend to have a lifestyle and social life that are severely compromised and it is now accepted that a morbidly obese person has twice as much chance of
premature death than a person who is at their ideal weight.
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