Lap-Band® Surgery Patient Guidelines: What to Expect Before, During, and After Surgery

Lap-Band® surgery is a great way to help you lose weight, especially if you are extremely obese and nothing else has worked. It is, however, a fairly new procedure, and many people aren't sure exactly what the surgery entails.

When you first decide to get Lap-Band® surgery, you will need to find a qualified surgeon and figure out how you're going to pay for the procedure. Some insurance companies will help pay for part of the cost, but many do not. There are other financing options available for patients who wish to have Lap-Band® surgery, such as medical credit cards or financing through your doctor's office.

Once your surgeon has decided that you qualify to have the procedure, you may be put on a diet. For people who are extremely obese, some surgeons will not do the procedure until their patients lose a specific amount of their body weight. This is not only to make you as healthy as possible before the surgery, but also to help you develop good eating habits so that you'll have them already established. Healthy eating is part of the care plan your doctor will prescribe following your surgery.

The surgery itself doesn't take long, as it is often done laparoscopically. Sometimes, however, a surgeon will need to cut into you to do the procedure - only your surgeon knows which will be the best option for you. If you have had the procedure performed laparoscopically, you will likely mend in about a week and can go back to work at that time.

However, this doesn't mean that you're fully healed, as you may be on a liquid diet for a bit over a week so that your body can adjust to the band. You may then be put on a diet of soft foods for a time before you're allowed to go to regular foods. Patients will then need to go to their surgeon's office on a semi-regular basis in order to have their band either tightened or released by the surgeon or their staff. Most people report that they lose anywhere from 50 to 60 percent of their extra weight in under two years, making this a great surgical option for someone who is extremely overweight or obese and who needs help losing the excess pounds.




Bariatric surgery may be the only means of survival for the morbidly obese. To learn more about Lap-Band® Surgery and other types of weight loss surgery, speak with a qualified weight loss surgeon.