If you’ve had the weight loss surgery known as gastric banding, or more commonly, LAP-Band surgery, you might have experienced a lack of successful, lasting weight loss and need revisional surgery. While it was extremely popular about ten years ago, gastric banding has been proven to be not as successful as other forms of bariatric surgery.
At your initial weight loss consult, you were told you had to lose 100 pounds or more to get down to a healthy weight, but you probably thought that LAP-Band surgery would get you down to that weight successfully. Don’t despair, because many others have experienced this same problem. Maybe you didn’t know that there would a possibility you’d need to have the surgery corrected in the future if/once the stomach expands, or maybe you weren’t aware that the gastric band needs periodic adjustments to be effective, causing inconvenience.
Why does LAP-Band surgery need revisions, sometimes?
The reason that gastric banding is not always effective is because the stomach can easily expand above the line where the gastric band has been place. In fact, studies have shown that the gastric band often fails or has complications, higher than previously expected. In fact, Dr. Brian Mirza of Bariatric Care Centers doesn’t recommend LAP-Band surgery for bariatric surgery Houston, anymore, simply because other forms of surgery have come to the forefront as much more effective in the long-haul. One such surgery is gastric sleeve, also called sleeve gastrectomy.
For gastric banding, the saline inflatable silicone band that is used for patients needs to be periodically adjusted and monitored by their weight loss surgeon. Because it requires occasional adjustments, the patient may feel that they are tethered to their Houston bariatric surgeon.
Dr. Mirza, a top weight loss surgeon in Houston, still does not recommend the routine removal of a functional, non-complicated gastric band, but is happy to help patients who are considering the removal of the band for another form of surgery.
Should I Have Revision Surgery?
This decision is best left to you and your Houston bariatric surgeon. If you are happy with your gastric band and do not wish to have revision surgery, then there’s no obligation or need to have the hassle and investment of additional weight loss surgery. However, if you have experienced gastric banding failure and wish to start from scratch with your new weight loss regimen, then consider having gastric banding revision in Houston.
Call us today for your initial consultation at (713) 339-1353 to schedule a free one-on-one!
