Lap Band Surgery
Obesity
Obesity is the excess amount of weight one may gain due to over eating and lack of exercise. In addition, factors such as sitting in front of the TV all day and not moving around much can make an individual obese.
People, especially youngsters, with little to do are the most likely candidates for obesity. Initially they do not realize how slowly such a condition may creep up on them. It must be remembered that there are some people who have a natural tendency to gain weight. This adds to their problems when they lack physical activity and eat too much.
Treatments for Obesity
Treatments for obesity include special diets that help in losing weight. Apart from them, there are medicines and special exercises. However, they do not work well as they need consistency and motivation to work. People cannot follow a consistent diet or exercise routine and a result their obesity remains a big problem.
Lap Band Surgery for Obesity
Surgery means adjustments made to the digestive system. A device is inserted inside the body, which is the main part of the long-term process for controlling one’s appetite, and weight gain.
Surgical solutions are gaining popularity for treating obesity due to their success rate. These forms of surgery are said to be most appropriate for people who are at extreme health risk due to their obesity. Various names for obesity surgery are bariatric surgery, laparoscopic surgery, obesity surgery, etc.
What is Lap Band Surgery?
Lap-Band System is the brand name for the FDA-approved, adjustable gastric band used in the surgical process of the same name. Lap Band is a silicone belt that goes around the top of the stomach. This enables the obese people to control their hunger and achieve a feeling of fullness or satiety. It makes them eat less and stay full for longer time period.
Lap-Band surgery is the best option for controlling and treating obesity. It has proven successful as it works as a long term solution for people who cannot control their weight.
How Lap Band Surgery Works?
Lap-Band surgery reduces the size of digestive tract so that a person does not feel hungry and consume less food, as a result. This is done by creating a smaller gastric pouch that limits the amount of food that the stomach will hold at any time. The inflatable ring controls the flow of food from this smaller pouch to the rest of the digestive tract.
When the digestive tract is smaller, naturally the amount of food that is eaten also becomes limited. By doing so, the nutrition that a person would ordinarily receive is also limited. This means that an obese person would be deprived of these nutrients, causing them to lose weight.
Because of the slow emptying, the patient continues to feel full for several hours reducing the urge to eat between meals.
Benefits of Lap Band Surgery for Obese People
- Reduced surgical trauma and pain
- Less invasive for the abdominal wall and stomach as it only requires a small incision of 5 to 10 millimeters without any need for cutting the organs
- Shorter hospitalizations period as compared to other surgeries
- Respect of the anatomical and functional integrity of the stomach without by-passing portions of the stomach or intestines
- Inflation or the deflation of the band is done according to the patients’ needs
- It is a fully reversible surgery by simple removal of the band.
Surgery is also believed to reduce the risk factors of conditions that arise with obesity such as hypertension, sleep apnea, and diabetes.
There are believed to be minimum side effects. The only thing is that the surgical process has to be carried through smoothly and the rest falls into place. People who are extremely obese and have failed to control their problem with any other treatment, lap band surgery is perfect for them. |
