Could You Be A Suitable Candidate For Laparoscopic Gastric Lap Band Surgery?
An increasing number of people are choosing gastric lap band surgery but not everybody is suitable for this form of surgery.
There are a number of different forms of weight loss surgery available now including the quite new procedure of gastric lap banding which is rising in popularity and is rapidly becoming the preferred choice for many severely overweight or morbidly obese individuals. But would you make a suitable candidate for gastric lap band surgery?
In providing an answer to this question we will begin by assuming that you are suitable for weight loss surgery in general and that your only concern is whether or not you should be considering lap banding. In simple terms this would mean that you are over 18, are severely overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of over 40 (or in excess of 35 with at least one co-morbid condition) and that you have already attempted traditional weight loss methods (possibly including drug treatment) without success.
It is commonly thought that individuals contemplating weight loss surgery are simply overweight and it is all too easy to forget that people who are extremely overweight are often suffering from several other conditions, many of which result from the fact that they are overweight. It is the presence of these other conditions which normally presents a hurdle when it comes to choosing between different forms of surgery.
Because gastric lap banding is a form of restrictive surgery where the stomach is physically reduced in size to limit the amount of food which can pass through the stomach and digestive system, it follows that this form of surgery is unlikely to be suitable if your esophagus, stomach or intestine are abnormal. Any abnormality might be congenital or acquired and a common problem seen is a narrowing at some point along the digestive tract.
Problems within the esophagus or stomach that might result in bleeding (like esophageal or gastric varices � a dilated vein) would also make gastric lap band surgery impractical, as will difficulties at the site at which the band is to be placed around the stomach, like an injury, gastric perforation or scarring.
Problems might also arise if you are suffering from any form of inflammation or inflammatory condition in the gastrointestinal tract like esophagitis, ulcers or Crohn's disease.
Finally, gastric lap band surgery is not suitable for pregnant women or where pregnancy is being considered. Where pregnancy happens following gastric lap band surgery the band can be deflated to compensate for the raised nutritional requirement but, where deflating the band is not enough, the band could have to be removed.
One benefit of gastric band surgery is that the operation can be reversed and, should it prove necessary, the band can be removed and the stomach returned to its previous state. This can however also be a disadvantage of the system. Motivation is key to any form of weight loss surgery but becomes a particularly important issue when it comes to gastric lap band surgery. Should there be any doubt about your determination to succeed then this form of surgery might not be a good option for you.
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