What One Should Know About Lap-band And Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

By Catherine Howard


There is an exponential rise in the demand for weight loss surgical operations in New York . The major contributing factor for this surge is the safety and the effectiveness of modern surgical techniques. The two most common types of bariatric surgery are lap-band and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Although these operations can be offered to anyone, the general advice is that one should first try losing weight using lifestyle changes.

The two types of surgeries achieve their effect by reducing the size of the stomach. As a result, one is likely to experience early satiety and their food consumption is going to reduce. Most of what is eaten goes to energy provision with very little being stored in adipose tissues as fat. The net effect within subsequent weeks and months is weight loss. The main difference between sleeve gastrectomy and lap band surgery is that lap band surgery is reversible while gastrectomy is not.

The lap band procedure is usually done using an instrument called a laparoscope. The exact procedure involves minimal access of the abdomen using three small incisions. A silicon band is usually placed on the upper region of the stomach where it causes compression. With the organ now converted into a small pouch, only a small amount of food can be held at any one time.

The surgery is generally safe but one needs to be aware of the potential complications. Nausea, vomiting, bleeding and aversion to food are among those that are most likely to be seen. To reduce nausea and vomiting, the compression by the band is reduced so that the stomach size increases slightly. This is done by drawing saline from a plastic tube joined to the band.

Sleeve gastrectomy reduces the size of the stomach to between 20 and 25% of the original. The shape becomes tubular and closely resembles a sleeve. With a reduction in the capacity, the amount of food that one can eat also reduces markedly. In addition, there is a reduction in the transit time of food within the gut hence less absorption of nutrients.

The ideal body mass index, BMI, of a potential candidate should be more than 40. For persons that are already suffering from conditions believed to be caused or aggravated by excessive weight, a lower BMI is usually considered. Examples of these conditions include sleep apnea, esophageal reflux disease, hypertension and diabetes among others. Research has shown that surgery helps reduce the severity of these conditions.

A number of high risk situations in which having the procedure is not recommended include. One of them is the presence of a hormonal abnormality such as that involving the thyroid hormone. The surgery has to be postponed in this case until the problem is treated. Other likely high risk conditions include esophagitis, inflammatory bowel disease and peptic ulcers among others.

Typically, the surgery is done as a day case which means that one can be released from the hospital on the same day. In a few cases, one may be kept on the hospital for between 24 and 48 hours for observation. A liquid dies is recommended for the first two weeks after the operation so as to allow for proper healing of the stitched regions on the stomach (in the case of gastrectomy).




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