Lap Band Gastric Bypass
A Lap Band is a device that is used in gastric bypass surgery except with this device the stomach is not cut. The Lap Band gastric bypass creates a small pouch in the upper portion of the stomach by installing a band that wraps around it that has a stoma which can be controlled. This is done all without having to staple the stomach and it does the same thing which is limits the amount of food taken in.
The Lap band is installed by small incisions in the skin outside the stomach and again, wraps around the upper part of the stomach forming a new smaller stomach or a small pouch that acts as the new stomach. The whole lap band gastric bypass takes about 1 hour or less and is designed so that the band can be inflated or deflated at any time after operation.
There are a few distinct advantages of having a Lap band gastric bypass versus one where the stomach is actually stapled. For one the hospital stay is shorter, most times the patient leaves within 2 days. It is completely reversible unlike when the stomach is actually stapled. The band can be adjusted after surgery to fit the needs of the patient and help them achieve their differing weight loss goals. There is no cutting or stapling of the stomach.
Hopefully this short article was helpful in aiding your understanding of the uses of the lap band in gastric bypass procedures.
the lap-band is not a gastric bypass in ANY way. Your information about the band is correct, but it doesn’t include any sort of mal-absorptive component, so it is not a bypass.
Comment by mel — January 5, 2006 @ 2:04 pm
What are the sideeffects of lap band surgery?
Comment by Squire — January 25, 2006 @ 5:05 am