Gastric Band Surgery

In general, weight loss surgery is a good option for people who:

• are very overweight
• have medical or other problems caused by their weight
• have tried for several years to lose weight with other methods
• are prepared to go ahead with the follow-up after surgery.

Essentially, the risks of weight loss surgery need to be balanced against the risks of not having surgery. There are many different surgical options available, and it would be foolish to suggest that one solution will suit everyone. It is essential to know about the other options as well to help you make a more balanced decision.

• The gastric band is probably the safest effective procedure developed to allow long-term weight loss. Other operations, although also performed by keyhole surgery, are larger and therefore riskier.
• The band will cause scarring around your upper stomach but otherwise does not change the way your insides are put together.
• A gastric band is easier to remove than prosthetics used in other operations. However, removal of the band invariably leads to weight regain.
• The hospital stay and time off work are less than for other weight reduction operations.

• The gastric band requires quite significant long-term compliance to achieve and maintain weight loss. This requires a degree of retraining, and if you are not able to retrain you will not lose weight. About 10-20% of people find that they are not able to use the band effectively early on, and by 10 years 30-50% have required band removal or revision.
• There will be some foods you will not be able to eat after the operation. These vary from person to person but typically include white bread, chicken, many red meats, and fibrous fruit and vegetables.
• The gastric band is a mechanical device, and like all mechanical devices it can ‘break’. Although the majority of mechanical problems can be fixed, this does mean having another operation. If the band problem is not fixed, about 95% of people will put their weight back on.