LAP-BAND Surgery

The LAP-BAND® System is a form of bariatric surgery designed to help very overweight people lose excess body weight, improve weight-related health conditions and enhance their quality of life.

The name “LAP-BAND” refers both to the surgical technique used, laparoscopic, and the name of the implanted medical device, the gastric band. The LAP-BAND consists of a silicone ring containing an inflatable cuff which is placed around the upper part of the stomach, and a fill port which is placed directly beneath the skin and connected to the band by a flexible tube.

How LAP-BAND Surgery Works

The LAP-BAND System involves implantation of a fully adjustable medical device (known as a gastric band) around the upper portion of the stomach during a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Once the band is in place, it can be tightened to satisfy the patient’s appetite with a small amount of food.

Once the LAP-BAND is in place around the upper portion of the stomach, your bariatric surgeon, Dr. Bagnato, injects sterilized saline solution into the fill port until the band reaches the desired tightness.

Dr. John Bagnato has performed over 3100 Lap-Band Surgeries since 2002.

The goal of LAP-BAND surgery is to create a new, smaller stomach pouch that can hold only a tiny amount of food, reducing the stomach’s food storage capacity. The band also controls the stoma (stomach outlet) between the newly created, smaller upper stomach pouch and the lower part of the stomach. The smaller the stomach, the faster people feel full, and the smaller the stoma, theslower food moves between the upper and lower portions of the stomach during digestion. As a result, people feel less hunger, eat less, and lose weight.

 

Benefits of LAP-BAND Surgery

Unlike other bariatric surgery procedures, the LAP-BAND System procedure does not require stomach cutting or stapling or re-routing of the gastrointestinal tract to bypass normal digestion.

LAP-BAND surgery is the least invasive and safest bariatric surgery

Other benefits of LAP-BAND weight loss surgery include:

  • Fast recovery period
  • Reduced risk of post-surgical complication
  • Enhanced weight loss
  • Fully reversible

Like all bariatric procedures, successful long-term weight loss is a combination of the LAP-BAND surgery and lifestyle change to incorporate healthy eating and increased activity.