The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB)

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) is a highly effective and increasingly popular surgical treatment for weight problems.  Gastric band surgery has a number of distinct advantages compared to other types of obesity surgery, the most important of which is that it is the least invasive and by far the safest of the available surgical options. 

Since the first LAP-BAND^® was implanted in 1993, more than 400,000 gastric banding obesity surgery procedures have been performed worldwide.  You can learn more about the laparoscopic gastric band by clicking on the relevant sections below. 

• Easyband - There has recently been a remarkable development in stomach banding technology. The Telemetric Adjustable Gastric Band (TAGB), also known as the Easyband, uses sophisticated electronics to avoid many of the risks and side effects that patients experience with traditional gastric banding techniques.
  
  

• What is a Gastric Band? - The gastric band is a hollow, silicone ring designed to be placed around the upper part of the stomach and filled with saline.
  
  

• How does Gastric Banding work? - All gastric bands work on the same principle – restriction.  The band divides the stomach into a small pouch above (about 5% of the stomach) with the main body of the stomach below. 
  
  

• How is a Gastric Band implanted? - The band is implanted laparoscopically (“keyhole” surgery) and usually takes around 30-45 minutes.  Very briefly, the procedure can be divided into a number of distinct phases. 
  
  

• How much weight will I lose? - In general, we expect that people who have a gastric band fitted will lose 50-60% of their excess weight over a 2-year period (though the majority of the weight is lost in the first year). 
  
  

• What are the health benefits? - Gastric banding has a major – often a dramatic - beneficial impact on a wide variety of obesity-associated conditions. There is, quite simply, no other therapy which improves quality of life so much as gastric banding. 
  
  

• What Are The Risks? - As with any surgery, there are potential operative complications and risks during LAGB, which include the following.
  
  

• What about aftercare? - Although patients tend to focus on the surgical procedure, the most important factor in the long-term success of gastric banding is the quality of aftercare and expert adjustment of your band.  
  
  

• FAQs - Frequently asked questions about Gastric Bands. 
  
  

• Obesity Surgery Support Groups - We encourage all Healthier Weight patients to attend support groups. It's a great way to share your experiences with others. 
  
  

• How does the gastric band compare with gastric bypass? - The main advantage of the gastric band is that it is the safest of all the available surgical procedures.
  
  

• Gastric Band Articles In Our Library - To read more about Gastric band surgery view our library of articles.
  
  

• History and development of the gastric band - The development of the gastric band is a fascinating story, the central character of which is undoubtedly Dr Lubomyr Kuzmak (1929-2006) . Kuzmak was born in the Ukraine and emigrated to the USA in 1965. 
  
  

• Cost of Gastric Band Surgery - The old adage “you get what you pay for” holds true for obesity / weight loss surgery.
  
  

• Gastric band experiences - Our patients' obesity surgery success stories.

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