Operations can involve risks, including death, particularly in severely obese individuals. This includes the LAP-BAND® System operation. Your surgeon can tell you more about this. Specific complications may also occur with use of the LAP-BAND® System operation.
Risks and complications
Complications can occur during and shortly after all operations, and this also applies to the LAP-BAND® System operation. Fairly general complications include spleen or liver damage, lung problems, thrombosis and rupture of the wound. Specific complications with the LAP-BAND® System are slippage (of the stomach through the band), and dilatation (in which the stomach is stretched because too much has been eaten; this may cause it to tilt thus blocking the opening). Erosion of the band into the stomach can also occur. Finally, perforation of the stomach during surgery may be possible as well. If any of these complications takes place, this may mean that you will have to stay in the hospital longer or be re-hospitalized later. A number of smaller complications can also occur, but these may have little effect on the recovery process. Special precautionary measures and particular care will be necessary in the case of patients known to be suffering from existing disorders such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Removing the band
In some cases it may be necessary for the band to be removed. If the LAP-BAND® System has been put in place via laparoscopy, It can usually be removed again in the same way. Owing to special material of which the band is made, it is not very likely that it will have grown into the stomach and the surrounding tissue. At present there are no known reasons to suggest that the band should be replaced or removed at some point unless there is a complication or you do not lose weight. Despite this, it is difficult to predict whether the band can remain in place for the rest of your life.
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Other information
As already stated, any major operation involves particular risks for very overweight patients. Certainly this also applies to the LAP-BAND® System operation. As with other operations, you need to realize that there is a possibility that you might die during or as a result of the operation, despite all the precautions that are taken. Your age, your excess weight but also the presence of certain diseases, whether caused by severe obesity or not, can play a part in increasing the risk of surgery. Your surgeon can tell you about these risks before a decision is made about the operation. Published results indicate that the LAP-BAND® System operation may involve fewer risks than other operations to reduce the size of the stomach. For example the risk of dying during or shortly after the LAP-BAND® System operation is reported to be less than it is with the other techniques.
Preparations
Before the operation you should have extensive discussions with the surgeon. You may also meet a dietician, a physiotherapist and possibly a psychologist. In particular, they will discuss with you what is going to happen during and after the operation. Then you will undergo a number of comprehensive physical tests. These are necessary in order to evaluate your state of health at the time.
Admission and operation
You will usually be admitted to the hospital in the afternoon of the day before your operation. The operation itself usually takes around 2 hours and is performed under general anaesthetic. As explained earlier, the operation is usually performed via laparoscopy. The LAP-BAND® System is fastened around the upper part of the stomach. This creates a very small stomach above the band. The remainder of the stomach stays in its normal position below the band. in order to place the reservoir in the abdominal wall the surgeon makes a small incision, enlarging slightly one of the incisions already made for the laparoscopic tubes.
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