Lap Band Blog

The History of the Lap Band System

The lap band system dates back to early 1985, when Dr. Dag Hallberg of Sweden applied for a patent for the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB) within Scandinavian countries. Later that March, Dr. Hallberg presented his idea of the “balloon band” at the Swedish Surgical Society and started to use the SAGB in a controlled series of 50 procedures. During this time, laparoscopic adjustable band surgery was not common and Dr. Hallberg and his assistant, Dr. Peter Forsell, started performing the open technique to implant the SAGB on patients within the Scandinavian countries.

In 1992, Dr. Forsell was avidly promoting the lap band system and was in contact with different surgeons from all over Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. These surgeons then began implanting the SAGB using the laparoscopic technique. Dr. Forsell fully owned the patent at this time and in 1994, Dr. Forsell presented his findings to the SAGB at an international workshop for bariatric surgery in Sweden. From then on, the SAGB started to be implanted laparoscopically. During this time period, the SAGB was being manufactured by a Swedish company called ATOS Medical.

However, in the early 1990s when laparoscopic surgery became popular, laparoscopic weight-loss surgery was still a challenge due to the technical difficulties associated with patient excess weight. Check out these obesity trends from the US during that time period:

Obesity Trends in the US that helped spark demand for Lap Band System

Open adjustable silicone gastric banding (ASGB) was already introduced at that time by Dr. Lubomyr Kuzmak (New Jersey, U.S.). In 1991, Drs. Mitiku Belachew and M. Legrand (Huy, Belgium) working on a confidential project with INAMED (then Inamed Development Company) started the development of laparoscopic gastric banding for the treatment of the seriously overweight. After two years of design, development work and testing of various prototypes and variations of the surgical technique in an animal lab, a video of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in an animal model was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) in June 1993.

The presentation was greeted with a lot of enthusiasm, and the first human the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure was performed on September 1, 1993, in Huy, Belgium. From September 1993 to February 1994, twenty-five consecutive patients underwent the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure in the clinical trial program in Belgium. In March 1994, the First International Workshop on laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, including 30 surgeons from around the world, was held in Huy, Belgium.

In July 1994, the Lap Band System became available on the market outside the U.S. to be used by trained surgeons from around the world. After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established U.S.-based clinical trials in 1995 (The FDA regulations require clinical trials in approved centers before an implantable device, such as the Lap Band System, can be used widely in the U.S. in a surgical procedure), they approved the Lap Band System for general use in June 2001

On Sept. 28, 1999, the Lap Band System became available on the market in Canada to be used by the trained surgeons. In June 1995, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved clinical trials in selected U.S. centers. The Lap Band System was approved for use in the United States in June 2001.

To date, over 350,000 Lap Band System devices have been distributed worldwide to allow thousands of patients to lose and control their weight, reduce their health risks, and live happier, more active lives. Benefits of this safe and least invasive procedure are now well known in North America and abroad.

• June, 1986

  First use of open adjustable silicone gastric banding (ASGB)

• April, 1990

  First use of ASGB in Europe

• December, 1990

  ASBG FDA-approved clinical trial started in the U.S. with the first patient surgery 9/91 First ASGB workshop in Europe

• September, 1991

  First ASGB workshop in Europe

• September, 1993

  First laparoscopic adjustable gastric band used in Europe

• March, 1994

  First LAP-BAND® System workshop in Europe

• June, 1995

  LAP-BAND® System FDA-approved clinical trial started in the U.S. with the first patient surgery in the United States

• Sept, 1999

  LAP-BAND® System is approved by H.P.B. for use in Canada

• June, 2001

  The LAP-BAND® System is approved by the FDA for use in the United States

• November, 2005

  200,000 LAP-BAND® Systems implanted worldwide

• January, 2008

  350,000 lap band systems sold worldwide

Here’s a chart showing the average weight loss with the lap band system:

Average Weight Loss with the Lap Band System