Many people confuse the lap band surgery with other bariatric surgeries. The main cause behind this is that the lap band procedure is often referred to as “gastric banding”, which it is. The procedure is also known by it’s official name; laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. The lap band is even now being referred to as the ’slim band’, as different lap band providers battle over the trademarks and marketing slogans they are able to legally use.

At the end of the day, the lap band surgery falls under a bariatric surgery, but it should not be confused with other bariatric surgeries which are much more dangerous when compared to the lap band surgery. Below are some of the most important benefits of the lap band surgery when compared to other bariatric surgeries.

Lower Mortality Rate: Much lower with the lap band surgery. On average, only 1 in 2000 deaths when compared to 1 in 200 for the gastric bypass surgery.

Fully-reversible Procedure: That’s right. The entire lap band surgery is completely reversible since there is no cutting or stapling of the stomach like there is with other malabsorptive weight loss surgeries like Biliopancreatic Diversion (BPD) and Duodenal Switch (DS). As a result, once the band is removed the stomach returns to the same state it was in before the surgery ever occured.

Fast Recovery: The lap band surgery is really a breeze. It only takes about 45 minutes to an hour and then you have your follow up assessments and injections. Remember that the band is adjustable so there is no need for additional surgery once the band has been placed around the stomach. The hospital stay is very short, ranging from a few hours to a couple of days, and most people fully recover within 6-8 weeks.

No Malabsorption Issues: After the lap band surgery, there is no need for calcium supplements and vitamin B12 injections like there is with RNY (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery). Also, there are no chances of gastric dumping since no intestines were removed or re-routed.

It’s usually the last choice a person has to take; because lap band surgery is a fairly expensive procedure, but your health is something that has more value than just money. If you could lose over 100 pounds and dramatically improve your health and life expectancy wouldn’t it be worth the money?

Plus, if you consider how much you would be spending on all the fad diets, weight loss gimmicks and “quick-fix” health products, the cost of the lap band surgery becomes more realistic. Some of these weight loss weight loss gimmicks include expensive diets and their associated “special meal plans”, but the lap band surgery costs doesn’t involve any additional long-term fees.

The prices of the lap band surgery do vary and the objective of this article is to give you an idea of what the costs would be for this surgery and what additional or associated costs to consider as well.

The cost of lap band surgery depends mainly on where you plan to have the procedure done. There are many lap band and gastric banding clinics offering the procedure in both Canada and the United States, but it’s also very common for patients to have the surgery done in foreign countries like Mexico, Brazil and especially India, for a much cheaper price.

CANADA

Within Canada, there are several major lap band clinics offering the lap band procedure. The price of the procedure is between $16,000 - $18,000, and the lap band surgery is not covered by OHIP. As a result, many of these lap band clinics offer financing to patients who qualify. Some of the more popular lap band clinics in Canada include TLBC, CIBO clinic and the Surgical Weight Loss Centre.

From our research, CIBO clinic seems to be the hands-down best provider; some of their success stories are pretty unreal! Their founder, Tom Saridis, got the lap band surgery himself and lost over 260 pounds!! Read about it here and stay tuned as we are in the process of securing an exclusive interview with Tom Saridis for a future post here at lap band blog.

US

In the United States, the cost of lap band surgery has been steadily going down over the past few years. But the range is extreme and can be anywhere from $13,000 - $30,000, not even including any of the associated costs that you’ll have before or after surgery. However, the lap band surgery can be covered by insurance in the United States for those that have health policies and also qualify in terms of the necessary health requirements for the procedure which were outlined in the last post here.

When determining the cost of the surgery you must also take into consideration all the other associated costs, including lab tests, doctor’s and surgeon’s fees, and hospital expenses. Not to mention the post-surgery follow up tests, doctor visits and perhaps psychological support and counseling as well as food, diet and nutritional counseling.

The cost of the lap band surgery has been decreasing in the United States over the past few years. The main two factors are the increased number of surgeons performing the operation as well as the competition from foreign countries like Mexico and India, where they offer the lap band surgery for a fraction of the price.

There may also be more internal competition within the United States, making the lap band surgery cheaper, especially in cities like Houston, Dallas, and Chicago and in states such as Florida, Illinois, Texas and California. For more information on the cost of the lap band surgery in the US, check out Lap Band Solutions.

MEXICO

Many people who want the lap band surgery consider getting it done in Mexico because the entire procedure can be as little as $8000 in Mexico. But when you start to add on on all your travel costs - airfare and airfare for any return visits if necessary, hotel stays, rental cars - the cost does increase. Plus, you will probably need at least one family member their for support so you need to account for their expenses as well when traveling abroad to get the procedure done. The procedure itself is usually a one-night stay or less and the actual hospital costs themselves will be much less when compared to US costs.

Surgery outside the United States will probably not be covered by your health insurance company. Because of this, if you’re covered by your health insurance policy then it would be better and safer to have your lap band surgery in the United States. Plus if medical complications should unfortunately arise you will be better protected legally.

INDIA

One of the mast famous lap band providers in India is Forerunners Healthcare. They have plenty of success stories and are all over the media. They also arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery abroad for low cost, as the lap band and gastric banding surgery is not covered by insurance. They also have photos pasted of their International patients, you can checkout their website here. They have received many glowing reviews as they have highly trained doctors from India, UK, and abroad and offer 5-star facilities for a much cheaper price than what it would cost to have the procedure done in the US or Canada. However, the travel costs would be pretty extreme and might make it unreasonable for a Canadian or American citizen, but for Europeans it might be a more viable option.

CONCLUSION

When deciding whether or not you can afford the surgery, remember to keep in mind that there are many different lap band providers all over the world. However, at the end of the day you’re health is not something you want to risk, and when you take into consideration all the travel expenses (flight, medical and travel insurance, car rentals, hotel rentals, etc.) if you were to get the procedure done abroad; it just makes the most sense to get the procedure done at the best possible available local clinic.

This way you can quickly recover with the support of your friends and family, and you will also be much closer to post-operative support and community groups as well. You will have access to all the post-support programs that your local lap band clinic provides as opposed to just getting the procedure done abroad and having no follow-up checkups or communications.

Also, recovering in a foreign country without your loved ones can be extremely difficult as well. So remember, although you may be saving yourself a little bit of money, it may not be worth the extra risk and hassle to get the lap band surgery done abroad, especially when you consider that you won’t have access to post-surgery support, check-ups and local community groups and lap band groups. Always keep in mind that your health matters most!

Lap band surgery is not for people who are slightly overweight, the procedure is for people who are obese and need to lose weight for health reasons. High cholesterol, heart disease, liver disease; even various forms of cancer can result from obesity. That’s why the lap band procedure is becoming an increasingly popular solution for weight loss for people struggling with obesity.

lap band weight loss

The amount of success stories of people who went through the lap band diet is unbelievable! Even some of the most popular celebrities in the world have embraced the lap band diet and the results have for the most parts have been outstanding. There have obviously been some complications in a few cases, but that’s a topic for another time. In this post we’re going to focus on who qualifies for lap band surgery, in order to qualify for the procedure, a person should have:

  • A Body Mass Index (BMI) of above 40, which translates to those who are 100 pounds (45 kg) or more over their estimated ideal weight
  • Age between 18 and 55 years (although in some reported cases, doctors have worked outside these ages, some patients have been as young as 12)
  • Must have failed all other weight weight-loss drug therapies
  • History of obesity (generally 5 years or more).
  • Should understand the scope of the procedure, and should comply with the substantial lifelong dietary restrictions required for long term success.
  • Acceptable operative risk.

All these features indicate that the lap band surgery is not for people struggling to lose a few pounds, it is for people who are severely overweight, (>100 lbs) have a history of obesity, and have not been able to lose the wight by any other means of weight loss and/or weight loss drug therapy treatment over the span of the 5 years. People need to keep that in mind when they think that the lap band procedure will be the solution to their weight loss struggles.

The lap band diet also needs to be taken into account. The 2nd last point about how the lap band patient or candidate needs to fully understand the scope of the procedure simply cannot be overlooked. The lap band patient, after having the surgery, will have to change their historical eating habits.

Yes, the lap band does assist in reducing the intake of your food, bit if you’re still eating candy, soft drinks/pop, and fast food then you really can’t expect to lose any weight and you have basically just wasted your investment in the lap band procedure.

So it’s very important to remember that the lap band procedure is not just a one-time surgery and BAM you’re 100 lbs lighter; that would not be healthy! Instead the lap band procedure is a combination of the surgery together with a lifestyle change that involves following the lap band diet and an exercise program. The procedure is widely successful, and the risks are very minimal, and if worse comes to worse the entire lap band and gastric banding is reversible. So this list just summarizes which people the lap band surgery would be applicable for, but remember that the process also involves a healthier lifestyle change as well!

Lap band surgery is a procedure aimed to promote weight loss for people struggling to cope with obesity. Overall, the lap band surgery is a simple procedure where, in short, a small implant is placed around the top portion of the stomach to form a “gastric pouch”. Here’s how it works:

Lap Band procedure fully detailed

Lap Band procedure fully detailed

A ‘gastric band‘ with a small balloon inside is attached around the top portion of your stomach, forming a smaller “gastric pouch”. The placement of the band creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach that holds up to approximately 30 ml, which works out to about 1/8 cup. You are inclined to eat less because the pouch holds less food than the whole stomach. As the upper part of the stomach registers itself as being full, it sends a message to the brain saying that the entire stomach is full. This is the main principle behind the lap band procedure; this tightening of the stomach feeling or sensation helps the person to:

  1. be hungry less often
  2. to eat smaller portions
  3. and lose weight over time.

This pouch is filled with a saline solution or a Radiopaque isotonic solution which is injected into the band via a port, which is shown in the above picture. Via the port, the surgeon has control over the amount of saline solution that is inserted into the band. When fluid is injected, the lap band expands and places pressure around the outside of the stomach. This causes a decrease in the size of the passage between the pouch and the lower stomach; restricting the movement of food

The gastric band is adjusted or inflated via a small port inserted just under the surface of the skin. When adjusting the lap band (same as gastric band) a specialized needle must be used as to avoid causing any damage to the port or the port membrane. These ports come is many different styles and designs and may be placed based on the surgeon’s recommendations.

picture of lap band procedure

Picture of lap band procedure

Once the procedure is done, (usually takes about 45 minutes) the next stage is the post operative follow-up adjustments, support, and lifestyle changes. The patient will need to visit their doctor every few weeks in order to receive their saline injections. Over this time the band is filled to the point where the patient feels they’ve hit a “sweet spot” where optimal restriction has been achieved. This is just based on personal preference and each person will be different.

Interestingly enough, the entire lap band operation is fully reversible! The lap band surgery is the ONLY weight loss surgery that is reversible. That’s because gastric band placement, unlike other procedures like malabsorptive weight loss surgery (an example would be Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery), doesn’t cut or remove any part of the stomach or the digestive system. It’s usually easy to remove the band and reverse the surgery, requiring only a laparoscopic procedure, after which point the stomach should return back to its normal pre-banded state.

So that’s how the entire lap-band procedure works, but we still haven’t touched upon post-surgery support, diet plans, proper nutrition, healthy lifestyle, the list goes on and on, so be sure to keep coming back to Lap Band Blog as we continue to examine the new weight loss surgery craze that is the the lap band surgery.

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Welcome to Lap Band Blog and thanks for stopping by! Lap band blog is your online resource for everything related to lap band, lap band surgeries and post lap band surgery support. Our dedicated staff of writers from across North America strive to provide informative, relevant and timely articles and reports on the latest buzz about lap band surgeries, procedures and success stories.

Lap band is formally known as a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, which according to Wikipedia:

is a restrictive device implanted via bariatric surgery and designed for obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or greater—or between 35–40 in cases of patients with certain comorbidities that are known to improve with weight loss, such as sleep apnea, diabetes, osteoarthritis, or metabolic syndrome, among others. The gastric band is an inflatable silicone prosthetic device that is placed around the top portion of the stomach, usually via laparoscopic surgery.

Laparoscopic surgeries are the wave the of the future when it comes to dealing with obesity. But many people still question how risky the procedure really is. One of our primary goals at Lap Band Blog is to inform the general society on the safety policies associated with the gastric banding procedure. Be sure to check out next week’s feature on the most frequently asked questions when it comes to lap band and laparoscopic surgeries.