 Departments and Services > Surgery > Bariatric Surgery > Lap-Band Surgery
The Lap-Band® system is the least invasive of all weight loss surgeries. The system includes an adjustable silicon elastomer band that is surgically placed around the stomach. The band induces weight loss by restricting food intake; when eating less, the body draws from its own fat to get the energy it needs.
Approved by the FDA in 2001, adjustable gastric banding is the newest and safest surgical treatment for morbid obesity in the United States. It's also the least invasive and the only adjustable surgical treatment available at this moment.
Since there is no cutting, stapling, or stomach rerouting, it is considered the least traumatic of all weight loss surgeries. This is possible by using laparoscopy to install the band, which offers clear advantages like reduced pain and faster recovery.
The Lap-Band® is the only adjustable weight loss surgery; in fact, band adjustment is a regular part of follow up for this procedure and is done without the need of surgery. The amount of food a patient is able to take in can be adjusted by inflating or deflating the band. The band is adjusted as needed depending on your weight loss progress or other reasons like pregnancy or illness.
If for any reason the band needs to be removed, it can be done surgically. This makes it the only reversible weight loss surgical procedure available in the United States
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