Lap Band Surgery: What Exactly Is It?
There are many questions that people have about Lap Band surgery. For many, it is a great solution to their weight problem and can actually improve their health by helping them to lose the excess pounds. The key, if you feel that you would make a good candidate for the procedure, is to be informed of how the process works and the necessary changes that must occur in your life. In order to enjoy Lap Band success you absolutely must know the details of how the program works and how the actual surgery works.
As of June 2001, the Lap Band surgery gained approval in the United States. It is a technique that uses an adjustable gastric band to close off part of the stomach, thereby creating a stomach pouch. This pouch will only hold about two to four ounces of food at any one time. This dramatic change in your stomach's capacity gives you a quicker sense of being full.
During the procedure, Lap Band patients are given general anesthesia. The next step is for the bariatric surgeon to make five two to three inch incisions in the abdomen. These small incisions allow the doctor to work with a scope rather than being forced to make a larger incision. The smaller incisions mean that there is less recovery time and the healing process is much faster than with past, invasive, weight loss surgeries.
After the lap band procedure is finished you will be wheeled into a recovery room. The expected hospital stay is only two to three days depending on how well you recover. After you have awakened from the anesthesia and are coherent there will be a visit from a nutritionist. You must follow all of his or her rules. There will be many changes in your dietary lifestyle that are important in order for you to stay healthy and lose weight.
You cannot expect your lifestyle to ever be the same again. You have to make fundamental changes in order to maintain weight loss and keep yourself healthy. This means being mindful of what you eat and how often you eat. There will be some foods that you previously loved that will be off limits to you. You have to concentrate on the quality of the food you eat, as well as the quantity. So throw away those empty calories and put more protein into your diet. It also means that caffeine is a definite thing you must avoid.
If you follow the bariatric surgeon and the nutritionist's advice after your Lap Band surgery, then you can be one of the Lap Band patients that enjoy tremendous success. You will still need to be mindful of your diet and you will still need to exercise but it will be much easier when you see the pounds dramatically begin to fall off your body.
Related topics about band surgery
Surgical Weight Loss
So what makes this procedure preferred over the traditional bariatric surgeries? It is far less invasive. You do not have to worry about a lengthy recovery nor do you have to stay for a long period of time in the hospital.
