The LAP-BAND® AP System is the safest and least invasive weight-loss procedure in the world. A safe alternative to the more invasive gastric bypass surgery. The LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric BandingSystem has the technology, experience and history of proven success to help you reach your sustained weight-loss.
If your BMI (body mass index) is greater than 35 you should know: the LAP-BAND® System may be able to help you lose weight and keep it off. The LAP-BAND® can help you avoid weight-related health risks like so you can live a healthier life. Doing more of the things you want to do and achiving a better quality of life is bot of our goals.
Below are helpful tools that will However, before you make any decisions about weight loss surgery, you’ll need reliable, detailed information.
In this section, you’ll find virtually all you need to know to get started. Plus, you’ll discover the incredible support that comes before, during, and after making the decision to lose the weight with LAP-BAND®.
Take Control of Your Life with the LAP-BAND® AP System.
Learn now. Start now. Live now.
Obesity is complicated. We are not exactly sure what some of the causes are. There are many reasons that factor in to the problem of being overweight, including genetic, environmental, and metabolic disorders. What really matters is not how you got here but what is important is what you do next.
The LAP-BAND® tool has helped over 400,000 patient Take control of their weight — and their health so they can live now.
Your Lifestyle, Your Health, Your Life.
It seems that everyone has an opinion about your weight. You know that obesity isn't good for you and you know better than anyone else how it affects your life. It effects how you look, how you feel, and the limits on what you can or can't do. What you might not realize is that obesity can also affect how long you live. Carrying excess weight increases your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions.2 But it doesn’t have to — in fact, studies show significant weight loss may improve, or even resolve, these conditions.3
When diet and exercise aren’t enough.
You’ve probably tried to lose weight before, but gained it all back — only to try again. It can truly feel like a never-ending cycle. You should know: you’re not alone. Studies have shown that while people on traditional diet and exercise weight loss programs can lose weight, as much as 2/3 of that weight is regained within one year — and almost all of it within five years.4 The LAP-BAND® System can help you take it off — and keep it off.
A true breakthrough in healthy, long-term weight loss.
Safely and effectively, the revolutionary yet simple technology behind the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System reduces the amount of food that your stomach can hold at one time. This helps you gradually lose weight and keep it off. So you can live a healthier life — for your children, your family, and yourself.
What it is
"LAP-BAND" is often incorrectly referred to as the generic name for any stomach banding procedure. However, "LAP-BAND®" is in fact, the trademark for the original FDA approved adjustable gastric banding device manufactured and sold by Allergan, Inc. When considering stomach banding weight loss surgery — be sure to ask for the LAP-BAND® System by name.
How it works
Without any stomach cutting or stapling, the LAP-BAND® System reduces your stomach’s capacity, restricting the amount of food you are able to eat at one time. Plus, you feel full faster and stay full longer, so you wind up eating less. Today’s LAP-BAND AP® System is:
Designed for Advanced Performance: our most advanced device approved by the FDA.
Developed in collaboration with leading bariatric surgeons, this third-generation device is built on the proven performance of the LAP-BAND® System.
Specially designed with our proprietary OMNIFORM® technology — with pre-curved sections (or pillows) that conform to fit your body better, minimizing leaks due to creases or folds. This offers a 360° inflation area for an even distribution of pressure, more secure placement, and complete coverage of stomach anatomy. The result: a perfect fit right from the start.
Designed for increased flexibility; with two sizes and a wider range of adjustments to suit your precise needs.
Available in two sizes to allow your surgeon to choose the best option for you.
A new standard of excellence
Only the LAP-BAND® System offers the assurance of the LAP-BAND TOTAL CARE® program, a comprehensive set of best practices that provides training for your healthcare team with tools, information and support.
What does this mean for you, the patient? It means that your LAP-BAND® System Bariatric team can access the LAP-BAND TOTAL CARE® tools they need to give you the best care, information and support possible. These tools are designed to provide extra training to support surgeons and patients throughout the weight loss journey.
The LAP-BAND® Procedure
The LAP-BAND® System Procedure
Less invasive. Fewer risks.
Faster recovery.
With no cutting or stapling of the stomach, the LAP-BAND® System is up to 10 times safer than more extensive weight loss surgeries, such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.1 As effective as these procedures are, the LAP-BAND® System offers fewer risks and a generally faster recovery time — so you can be back to your normal activity in usually about a week’s time.
Step by step: How it’s done
In most cases, the LAP-BAND® System is put into place during a laparoscopic procedure, using general anesthesia. The procedure is performed using long, thin instruments inserted through a few tiny incisions (usually 0.5-1.5 cm). Often done on an outpatient basis, the surgery itself typically takes about an hour.
Step One:
Your surgeon implants the LAP-BAND® System around the upper part of your stomach, much like a belt.
Step Two:
A tube is then connected from the LAP-BAND® System to a small access port, fixed beneath the skin of your abdomen.
Step Three:
After the first four to six weeks, adjustments to the LAP-BAND® System are made through the access port. This is done as needed — more frequently in the first year — to maintain optimal weight loss, by adding or removing saline solution.
Specially certified surgeons — providing LAP-BAND TOTAL CARE®
The surgeons who perform the LAP-BAND® System procedure have been trained and certified — meeting our rigid standards for qualification. These standards include:
Demonstrated surgical and advanced laparoscopic skills.
Completed an Allergan training course (mandatory by the FDA).
Performed several surgeries under the observation of an experienced LAP-BAND® System surgeon approved to “Proctor” the case.
Additionally, Allergan offers another level of certification: LAP-BAND TOTAL CARE®.
Surgeons dedicated to furthering their knowledge, experience and patient follow-up care are offered the LAP-BAND TOTAL CARE® certification program. Surgeons certified with this distinction have completed training in the following areas:
Patient education and relationship management
Medical requirements and assessments
Financial requirements and sources
The LAP-BAND® adjustable gastric banding system surgery-related issues
Food choices and lifestyle management
Regular adjustments and checkups
Unsatisfactory weight loss and complications
Whole body image
Reference:
Data on File. Allergan, Inc. Irvine, CA. November, 2009.
1. Data on File. Allergan, Inc. Irvine, CA. November, 2009.
2. Weight-control Information Network (WIN), an information service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Do you know the health risks of being overweight? November 2004. Available at: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/health_risks.htm. Accessed June 6, 2007.
3. Frigg A, Peterli R, Peters T, Ackerman C, Tondelli P. Reduction in co-morbidities 4 years after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Obes Surg. 2004;14:216-223.
4. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists/American College of Endocrinology Obesity Task Force. AACE/ACE Position Statement on the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Obesity (1998 Revision). Endocr Pract. 1998;4:297-350.
5. Weight-control Information Network (WIN), an information service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Statistics related to overweight and obesity. June 2007. Available at: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm. Accessed August 13, 2007.
6. Sturm R. The effects of obesity, smoking and problem drinking on chronic medical problems and health care costs. Health Aff. 2002;21(2):245-253.
7. Roizen M. Oz M, You On A Diet. New York, Free Press, 2006:11,341.
8.Directions For Use (DFU). LAP-BAND AP® Adjustable Gastric Banding System with OMNIFORM® Design. Allergan, Inc. Irvine, CA. 08/09
9.A Surgical Aid in the Treatment of Morbid Obesity, LAP-BAND® System Information for Patients (P/N 94829). Allergan, Inc. Irvine, CA. April, 2008.
O’Brien PE, et al. LAP-BAND®: Outcomes and Results. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2003; 13(4):265-270.
Parikh MS, Laker S, Weiner M, Hajiseyedjavadi O, Ren. CJ. Objective Comparison of Complications Resulting from Laparoscopic Bariatric Procedures. J Am Coll Surg. 2006;202(2):252-261.
