With the obesity epidemic claiming more victims every day, modern surgery has risen to the challenge, providing grossly overweight patients with several options for reducing their weight when diet and exercise just don’t seem to work. Though gastric bypass surgeries are safer now than ever before, the risks involved with such invasive surgery and the possible complications are enough to steer people towards less drastic choices. Of these, the gastric band procedure is a viable alternative that facilitates sustained weight loss. While not as swift at slimming a patient as the gastric bypass, the gastric band produces the same level of results in the long term.

The gastric band is an adjustable silicone device that is comprised of a variable plastic ring that can be expanded or contracted by filling it with a saline solution, and a delivery tubing and introduction port system through which the solution can be pumped or drained until the ideal amount of restriction is achieved. The tubing is normally attached to the muscle wall around and within the diaphragm, and the port is sutured or stapled into place. The latest generation of gastric band devices utilizes soft, precurved individual sections to minimize leakage due to creases and folds, and to equalize pressure distribution throughout the ring. The gastric band is inserted mainly through laparoscopic instruments and several small incisions into the body and wrapped around the stomach, dividing it in such a manner that an upper pouch is created and isolated from the rest of the stomach. This pouch controls the amount of food intake of the patient, as well as the passage of food from the pouch to the rest of the stomach. This creates a feeling of fullness from relatively minimal food consumption, and this fullness is sustained longer as the food is gradually passed from the pouch.

Achieving the optimal restriction level, whereby hunger is restrained but food can still be digested properly, differs from person to person and requires several visits to the doctor to reach the proper adjustment. Most doctors will only perform the first adjustment within 6 to 8 weeks after the surgery, so that the stomach is given sufficient time to heal. Prior to the first adjustment, since the restriction is relatively minimal due to little or no saline fill, the diet of the patient must be carefully monitored and controlled. Patients will usually be placed on a liquid only diet, followed by soft foods, and then finally returning to solids.

The average amount of weight loss that can be attained with a gastric band is between 500 grams to 1 kilogram a week, which is not as rapid as the results produced by gastric bypass surgery. However, studies have shown that the gradual reduction encouraged by the gastric band promotes a healthier lifestyle and comparable long-term weight loss that can be sustained due to the shift in dietary habits. Moreover, the gastric band process is considered much safer, with a far lower mortality rate than gastric bypass surgery, and far reduced post-surgical pain and time needed for recovery. Patients who have undergone a gastric band procedure can resume work and normal activity within one week. Most importantly, the gastric band process is completely reversible, since the restriction does not involve stapling or suturing of the stomach, much less the complete re-sectioning and detachment demanded by a typical gastric bypass. Yet another advantage of the gastric band is that, unlike with other gastric manipulation procedures, the patient does not normally suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and vitamin and mineral supplements are not crucial since the intestine is not re-sectioned or partially removed.