Gastric band surgery, also reffered to as lap band surgery, is an alternative procedure that is enjoying a lot of success at the Weight and Wellness Center in Boston. An adjustable gastric band is a silicone strip that looks and feels something like a flea collar and creates a bottleneck near the top of the stomach that will make it hard for a patient to overeat. It is adjustable and it is reversible.
A minimally invasive procedure
The procedure is a minimally invasive surgery that involves placing a saline-filled tube (gastric band) around the stomach--creating a small gastric pouch. This adjustable gastric band is placed "laparoscopically" with the use of small incisions, thin surgical instruments, and a small internal camera that monitors the operation.
Placed around the upper part of the stomach, the band creates a small "upper" stomach without cutting or stapling. This smaller stomach allows the patient to feel full sooner and stay full longer. As a result, the patient no longer feels the need to eat as much and, thus, loses weight.
FDA-approved, the band is a silicone ring filled with saline which is connected by a tube to a small reservoir placed beneath the skin during surgery. By adding or removing saline from the reservoir via a special fine needle, the band can be adjusted to allow more or less food to pass between the two parts of the stomach. This adjustment is performed in the office by injecting saline into the reservoir port with a thin needle through the skin and takes less than 5 minutes.
Helping you get the results you need
Advantages of gastric banding include:
- Reduced surgical trauma, pain and risk
- Less invasive for the abdominal wall (requires small incisions of 5 to10 millimeters) and for the stomach (no cutting or stapling of the organ is needed)
- Shorter hospitalization than standard surgery
- Respect of the anatomical and functional integrity of the stomach without by-passing portions of the stomach or intestines
- Individualized to the patient's needs via inflation or deflation of the band
- Procedure is reversible by removing the band
- Having an adjustable gastric band procedure allows patients to alter their eating habits.
What to expect on your day of surgery
Our team
Our team is dedicated to making sure that while you are in our care you have the best experience possible and are prepared to further your journey towards weight loss. Our surgeons have strong experience in performing laparoscopic gastric band procedures. They, along with our excellent staff will help you to adjust your gastric band and work toward reaching your weight loss goals.
Throughout your time with the Weight and Wellness Center, you will be able to access a wide range of patient resources including a mentor program and gastric band support groups.
