What is Lap Band Surgery?

Why lap band surgery is needed?

When there is a craze for food after exceeding the permissible weight limit, then usually dieting is prescribed. But eating less amount of food does not satisfy the food craving, in most of the cases, so an alternative is to besearched for that.

The alternative that one can think of is to reduce the stomach size so that one feels full after eating a certain amount. That is exactly what is done with lap band surgery, wherein a small pouch in the upper part of the stomach is created.

The idea is to fill up the smaller upper pouch of the stomach to give a filled up feeling because it fills quickly with less food. Because of the narrow opening it takes longer to empty into the lower part of the stomach, which means that the next pang of hunger is delayed.

Placing the Lap Band

The procedure involves placing a silicone band around the upper portion of the stomach, so that the stomach gets divided into two with the upper part being a small pouch with a narrow opening to the bigger lower part.

A gastric band device is introduced in the abdomen through a tiny incision of 1 cm. The operation is performed under general anesthesia and takes about 30 minutes to one hour to complete.
The band is a hollow cylinder itself. It can be inflated if further constriction is required, and can be deflated if vomiting, obstruction, oesophagal enlargement, etc. happens.

The band can be inflated by a reservoir of saline solution positioned under the skin at the upper abdomen connected by a tube. Normally six to ten band adjustments during the first year is required for a patient.

Apprehensions and facts about Lap Band

Lap Band involves no major surgery of the stomach and no inside stapling. Adjustments can be done without further operation. When the objective is achieved, the laparoscopic removal of the band is possible.

The Lap Band reduces the size of a normal stomach of 1000 cc’s by 15 to 30 cc's which is about the size of an egg.

Weight loss is slower in case of Lap Band, than in gastric bypass. One can lose only 38 percent of excess body weight during the first two years after which the weight becomes static.

Weight loss is a journey. A journey is meant to help one through. This procedure involves less pain, less risk leading to effective treatment of the weight.

Who qualify for the operation

Though the intake of less food helps the patient continually lose weight, not everybody qualifies for the procedure. People who are obese and require controlling their weights from gaining dangerously exponential proportions are the ones who are normally given this treatment. Although the band can be placed permanently, still it is possible to remove at any time.

Apart from achieving a good weight loss curve, the operation is taken up in case of patients who continuously vomit making intake of solid foods impossible.

To gain an insight about weight-loss needs, the BMI Calculator can be used to determine the current Body Mass Index.

Post operation care

Advantage of the operation is that the stoma size can be adjusted post-operatively without any further surgery.

All surgical weight-loss operations require the patients to consume less than 800 calories of food per day during the first 18 months and up to 1200 calories per day after 36 months.

Herbs for Weight Loss

Herbs That Increase Metabolism for Weight Loss

Some herbs act on digestion, metabolism, or appetite to impact weight loss. Certain substances can increase thermogenesis, or metabolism, which may lead to weight loss.

Certain thermogenic, or stimulant, herbs have a reputation for aiding weight loss, but according to the FDA should be avoided due to serious or possibly fatal side effects. Weight loss herbs to avoid include: ephedra (or products containing ephedra), which can have dangerous cardiac side effects, herbal laxatives such as cascara sagrada or senna, which can cause serious intestinal problems.
Herbs which may safely aid weight loss include the following:

» Cayenne contains a substance called capsaicin, which may stimulate digestion and increase metabolism and fat burning.
» Green tea contains caffeine and antioxidants that appear to stimulate metabolism.
» Seaweed, or kelp, is a natural thyroid stimulant, which may boost metabolism.
» Nettle is considered to be a thermogenic herb.
» Ginseng helps to boost energy and metabolism.

Anyone with problems or health conditions related to any of these herbs or their actions should not use them.
Hoodia Gordonii: "New" Herb for Weight Loss

The herb Hoodia gordonii (or just "Hoodia") has gained recent attention as an aid for weight loss, due to its appetite suppressing actions. The plant grows in African desert regions, and has been used by the Kalahari San Bushmen for many hundreds of years.

Studies at Brown University indicate that Hoodia appears to work by interrupting or stopping the hunger mechanism in the brain. There is almost no research on the effectiveness of Hoodia as an herbal weight loss supplement, and no substantial information on its safety.

Diabetics should probably avoid Hoodia, because this herb "tricks" the brain into thinking that the body has sufficient blood sugar levels, which may interfere with the function of normal physiological processes that indicate when blood sugar is becoming dangerously low.
Fiber to Suppress Appetite

Taking soluble fiber supplements adds bulk and makes one feel full, but without any added calories. It is imperative to drink adequate water when using fiber supplements to avoid constipation and digestive problems, and fiber supplements should be taken under supervision of a health care professional. Foods high in soluble fiber include apples, oatmeal, beans, and pears.

How much one can spend on Lap band surgery

On an average, the cost of Lap Band surgery comes from $17,000 to $30,000 that includes treatment and travel.

Although there was no provision from the insurance companies to reimburse the cost of Lap Band surgery (mainly because it was mistaken as cosmetic surgery), slowly the life risk aspect of the surgery is being realized which is why they are paying for most part of it certified by the doctor according to the NIH standards.

Expense overheads borne by the hospitals

The arrangements are such that the patients are received from the airport to the hotel where a stay of 4-5 days is arranged. The hospital stay is just for one night.

The out-of-town patients get scheduled within three weeks. Most patients can go back to work within 5 days and can start their exercise regime within 10 days. All required Pre-Operative Exams are done on the day prior to surgery.

Some successful doctors

Case 1

Dr. Rumbaut and his team at San José, the most prestigious Private University Affiliated Facility in Northern Mexico, have performed about 1800 Lap-Band procedure without a single case of death.

The mean excess weight loss after 18 months in this case is approximately 67%, other complications with the slippage and erosion of lap band are less then 1%. Infection, bleeding, pneumonia, etc. all less than 2% and all patients were discharged before one week.

Case 2

Dr. Franco Favretti, and Dr. Gianni Segato, two of the most experienced Lap-Band Surgeons in Europe at Saint-Pierre Hospital in Brussels have performed well over 1,700 Lap-Band cases. They have the distinction of performing this surgery along with two other team members namely Dr. Cadiere and Dr. Himpens, in October 1992.

The treatment requires 5 to 6 days stay in Italy which starts meeting the patients at Venice International Airport on Thursday. The patients get admitted to the hospital on Friday Morning for pre-op tests, undergo surgery on Saturday and get discharged from the hospital on Monday.

After surgery, the patients are requested to stay a few more days to make sure about their recovery. After that they are taken for sightseeing to nearby Venice.

By Friday the patients can go back home and can resume work.

Case 3

According to the records of Dr. Cadière and Dr. Himpens, who have done 3000 cases already, not many patients received reimbursement from their insurance.

One patient mortality that in their case was due to over-eating, and esophageal perforation when death occurred some 4 weeks after surgery. The erosion rate is 1%, Pouch dilatation rate is 6 % and band-removal rate 3% after 3.6 years.

Case 4

Dr. Andreas Osterwalder is one of the most experienced Lap-Band Surgeons in Europe at the Ars Medica Clinic near Lugano.

The patients are required to bring the reports of the basic tests like lab/chest x-ray and ECG which prove the fitness to stand general anesthesia for at least 2 hrs, a sonography of the upper abdomen (to exclude gallstones). They are also required to bring reports of a gastroscopy as proof against any gastric disease.

The patient can fly to Zürich, and then to Lugano Airport in Agno to be picked up from there. One should go prepared for a stay of 2-3 days in a hotel room.