Gastric banding, also known as gastric band surgery or adjustable gastric banding, is a form of weight loss surgery that many doctors prescribe to help their patients lose weight.  The gastric band is usually designated for people who have a lot of weight to lose, as it is a surgery and surgical complications are always a possibility.  If your weight is causing serious health problems or you’ve tried to lose weight in the conventional ways without any success, your doctor may bring up adjustable gastric banding as a possibility.

Lap band surgery is often favoured over other forms of weight loss surgery because it is less intrusive and less work has to be done inside the patient’s stomach.  With gastric banding, small incisions are made in your midsection and a band is placed around the upper part of your stomach.  The gastric band is made of the same type of material that is used for other medical products like catheters, would dressing, tubing or pacemaker leads.  Once the band is in place and the bariatric surgery is complete, it can stay inside the patient forever, without the fear of it breaking down or deteriorating in any way.

The way that adjustable gastric banding helps a patient lose weight is by controlling hunger, the ability to eat high amounts of food, and consequently the intake of calories.  When the gastric band is in place, it makes a thin little passage from the upper part of the stomach to the lower part of the stomach.  This means, only a tiny amount of food can get through at a time, which essentially slows digestion and controls hunger and caloric intake.  The band is placed so that the upper part is smaller than the bottom, and can only hold small portions of food.  If too much food is eaten at once, you will likely feel ill and vomit.  Since you will feel full so much faster, your meals will consist of much smaller food portions.  With people who are dangerously overweight, the difference in calorie consumption from before the gastric banding surgery to after the surgery may be massive.
Another benefit of gastric banding surgery is that it is adjustable, meaning if a patient is losing weight too quickly or not quickly enough, the band may be tightened up or loosened to help correct the problem.  The end goal of gastric band surgery for the patient is substantial weight loss and reversal of any weight-related health problems that are evident.  Problems such as arthritis, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and even type 2 diabetes can be cleared up through adjustable gastric banding.  And since the gastric band is adjustable and isn’t going to break down or go away, the patient is able to maintain the weight loss without any further surgeries or interventions.  A healthy lifestyle must be observed for ultimate success with gastric band surgery, but no more than anyone else would have to do to achieve the same results.