Adjustable gastric banding surgery

Adjustable gastric banding is a surgical operation intended for weight loss in obese people with a body mass index of at least 35 (obesity starts at BMI 30).

It is best done laparoscopically under general anesthesia. Usually, it takes about one hour. It consists in inserting a hollow plastic band around the stomach. This band is connected by a tubulure to a small box implanted in the abdominal wall. You can constrict the band by filling the box with physiologic serum. Band constriction has a restrictive effect on gastric filling capacity and forces the patient to lower his food intake and it can be modulated by emptying or filling the box with a percutaneous needle. This operation is practised only if the patient is highly motivated for changing his/her eating habits and after a psychiatric assessment.

Like any other surgical procedures, it has risks and side-effects: failure, implant infection, gastric perforation, intra-gastric migration.

For very severe obesity (BMI > 50), gastro-jejunal bypass is indicated in the first place. The "lap band surgery" procedure, as it is commonly known, was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for adults in June 2001. However, some hospitals (such as New York University Medical Center) will also perform the procedure on adolescents and children as young as twelve.