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Procedures Involved In Lap-band And Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

By Joseph Foster


The use of surgery to facilitate weight loss is a practice that has continued to increase in popularity by the day. One of the reasons as to why this is the case is because great advances have been made in the surgical field resulting in operations can be performed through minimal access with very few complications. Lap-band and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy are examples of procedures that have helped many people lose unwanted weight.

Surgical weight loss options should only be considered if lifestyle changes have been tried with no success for a considerable period of time. Although the lifestyle modifications tend to take a bit long before results can be appreciated, they do not have any serious side effects. The two main areas where changes can be made are the diet and level of physical activity. Strive to have a healthier diet and to engage in regular physical exercise.

The alternative name for lap band surgery is gastric banding. This term has been adopted because of the use of a silicon band in the procedure. When this band is fitted to the upper section of the stomach, the capacity of this organ is significantly reduced. This operation is usually done laparoscopically. This means that only small incisions are required to gain entry into the abdominal cavity.

When the size of your stomach is reduced to a small pouch, the amount of food that you can consume at meal time is significantly reduced. You will notice that you get early satiety. Within weeks or months, you will start to lose weight because most of what you eat is used in the provision of energy and very little is converted to fat.

A plastic tubing is usually connected to the silicon tube on the stomach to help make adjustments when need be. This is made possible by filling this tube with saline or withdrawing the same. When the tubing is filled with saline, the degree of the squeeze is increased and the size is reduced further. The reverse happens when the saline is drawn from the tube.

Sleeve gastrectomy works the same way as the band procedure. In this type of surgery, a large section of the stomach is removed leaving between 20 and 25%. The result is a long tubular pouch which fills at a faster rate than the original organ. The pouch also empties at a faster rate meaning that there is less time for nutrients to be absorbed.

There are a number of complications associated with these operations. These include nausea, vomiting, infections, esophageal spasms and leakage of food contents (in the case of gastrectomy). Fortunately, these complications are quite rare and can be easily managed if encountered. This notwithstanding it is important that you have a discussion with your doctor to see whether your risk is higher or lower compared to the general population.

Note that the results are not the same even when performed at the same center. The differences are due to patient as well as doctor factors. The most important patient factors include severity of condition, the type of lifestyle after the procedure and genetic factors. Doctor factors may include techniques used and skill level.




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