What is a Gastric Banding ?

The gastric banding procedure is one of the least invasive approaches for treating obesity. The procedure is done laparoscopically where a laparoscopic band (a type of plastic band) is used. A part of the stomach is sectioned off by using a laparoscopic band and helps in creating a small upper pouch. The food gets restricted as the pouch is very small. The food continues to be digested by the process of absorption and normal digestion. The effect of gastric banding can be for achieved for a long term period by digesting the food slowly, limiting the amount of food and reducing the daily appetite consumption.

Who should consider Gastric Banding ?

• Candidates who have been overweight for more than 5 years.
• Candidates who have a BMI (Body mass index) of 40 or higher.
• Candidates who have made serious attempts to lose weight but had only short-term success.
• Candidates who weigh at least 100 pounds more than their ideal weight.
• Candidates who weigh at least twice their ideal weight.

Benefits of Gastric Banding

• Both absorption and digestion of food are normal.
• It has been observed that the patients lost 41% of excess weight in 3 years following surgery.
• The band can be adjusted to decrease or increase for the purpose of the restriction.
• The process of gastric banding restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at a meal.

Adjustable Gastric Banding

The adjustable gastric banding procedure only decreases the food intake without interfering the normal digestive process. A band is placed around the upper part of the stomach so as to dissect the stomach in 2 parts- a small portion and the other a relatively larger portion. The purpose of creating separate large and small portions is to allow the stomach to hold 1 ounce of food. From the small pouch, the food in the stomach empties into the closed-off portion of the stomach. The food then resumes its normal digestive process.

The procedure involves not a single staple. The diameter of the band can be adjusted by removing or adding the saline water. After some time the pouch can expand for holding 2-3 ounces of food. The digestion remains normal as part of the stomach is removed.

LAGB (Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding) is the minimally invasive procedure for obesity. The procedure is also commonly known as 'Lap Band'. The procedure is performed by making small abdominal cuts of about 1 cm. No large cut is made in this procedure. A laparoscope is placed through these cuts. The band is then placed around the top portion of the stomach leaving a small pouch for food. The purpose of creating a small pouch of food is that the patient will feel full after eating only small amounts of food. This procedure will help the patient to lose weight.

Gastric Band Hypnotherapy

The concern of hypnotherapy is to deal with any psychological and emotional issues caused to an individual who have started eating a large amount of food. The hypnotherapy helps in eliminating over eating so that a person can maintain a healthy lifestyle even after years of early hypnotherapy treatment.

The procedure of gastric band hypnotherapy uses techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnotherapy and also Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The procedure of hypnotherapy is cost effective and safe. Gastric band hypnotherapy has proved as the best alternative to traditional gastric band surgery.

Vertical Gastric Banding

Vertical gastric banding, also referred to as sleeve Gastroplasty and stomach stapling, is a procedure where the amount of food consumed is decreased so that a person feels full before consuming more food. This restrictive weight loss surgery joins every aspect of gastric banding and stomach stapling procedures.

The procedure first limits the size of the meals to one ounce by isolating a small section of the stomach that processes food. The procedure then slows down the digestion process in order to force the food to pass from a restrictive ring. The success of this procedure can only be achieved if the patient is intended to make radical changes in their lifestyle and food intake.

Cost of Gastric Banding

Compared to the surgical costs in Europe and America, the cost of Gastric Banding in India is substantially lower due to its excellent health care facilities. A large number of patients travel from across the world as India has some of the best weight loss clinics in the world.