Gastric band surgery, also known as Lap Band, is one of the most popular bariatric surgeries in the world. The band restricts how much food you can eat, making you feel full faster and helping you lose weight.
However, like any other surgery, gastric banding comes with its share of risks. So, if you’re thinking about getting gastric banding or have already done so, you should better contact BodyFree for gastric band surgery cost. Here are four things that you should know beforehand:
- How does the gastric band work?
The gastric band restricts food intake by creating a small pouch beyond the stomach. This prevents people from eating large meals and helps them lose weight. The smaller pouch also makes it harder to overeat, which is why many people lose weight with a gastric band even if they haven’t changed their eating habits.
- Gastric banding is permanent
Once your doctor has placed the band around the upper part of your stomach (called endoscopy), he will connect it to a port on your skin with a small tube that goes through your abdomen into the stomach. This port enables him to adjust the size of the silicone ring over time to make sure that it fits comfortably inside your body without causing damage or discomfort.
The good news is that once it’s installed, there’s no need for further surgeries or follow-ups — unless something goes wrong. In some cases, your doctor may recommend removing your gastric band at some point in the future if you’ve reached your desired weight or achieved other goals such as lowering blood pressure or improving cholesterol levels. This is called “restrictive removal.” The procedure varies from doctor to doctor but involves removing the band without removing any part of the stomach wall so that it can be replaced later if necessary.
- It’s not a quick fix
The gastric band isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss, says Dr. David Wilson, president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Instead, he says, it’s a tool that can help people lose weight over time when combined with lifestyle changes like healthy eating and exercise.
- It’s not the same as gastric bypass surgery
Gastric bypass is the extreme end of the surgical weight-loss spectrum, but it’s also the most effective. A gastric bypass involves creating a small pouch at the top of a patient’s stomach and linking the pouch directly to his or her middle section of the small intestine. This creates two effects: First, it reduces food intake by redirecting food toward this smaller pouch (rather than into your larger stomach). Second, it also reduces absorption of nutrients because less food is entering your body in total.
Gastric band surgery does not involve any kind of intestinal rearrangement or pouch creation — it simply involves placing a band around your stomach that restricts its size when you eat. The result is that you feel full after eating less than you would otherwise have eaten without restriction.