Band surgery, or better known as Lap Band surgery, is a procedure used for non-invasive weight loss. What this means is there is no cutting or stapling of the stomach area, the restriction of food is done with a band. You may have also heard this procedure called Lap Band, this is the trademark name of a particular device, the basic procedure itself is called band surgery.
How Does Band Surgery Work?
First, you need to know that this surgery is 10 times safer than other weight loss procedures such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeves.
Band surgery is a laparoscopic procedure which is performed under general anesthesia. The surgeon's first step is to locate the intake tube to your stomach, once this is done they will place a inflatable band around your stomach intake tube at the point it enters your stomach cavity. Next, a tube will be attached to the band, one end on the band and the other end right below your abdomen which will be the access port. Your first band adjustment will come four to six weeks after the band was put in place.
What To Expect The First Year
For the majority of the patients there should be no ill effects. The small tube located below your abdomen is used for band adjustments, these adjustments will be either to loosen or tighten the band. These adjustments are made as needed according to your weight loss objectives.
Costs
Lap Band surgery costs range anywhere from $12,000.00 to $20,000.00. Of course this depends on where you go and where you live. The question most asked is, will insurance cover this procedure?
Because every insurance company has different restrictions to their plans the first step is to consult with you insurance company. The general rule is you must prove you have tried other conventional weight loss methods first and failed, then there is a chance your insurance company will cover the procedure.
You will want to check with your Doctor to see if your are a candidate for band surgery. The whole procedure takes about an hour to do and the recovery time is about the same. If other options fail, then having band surgery can be the perfect answer to a potentially serious problem.