The Realize Adjustable Gastric Band is a new and innovative bariatric surgery option. It consists of two medical devices implanted at the same time. The first implant is a band that is designed to wrap around the upper part of the stomach. The second band, which is called the Realize Injection Port attaches to the abdominal wall underneath the skin. Both components are made of soft, biocompatible materials.
Gastric banding surgery is a specialized form of bariatric surgery. During the surgery, a gastric band is wrapped around the upper part of the stomach in order to limit food intake and slow the digestive process. The laproscopic surgery process of the Realize Band helps patients achieve significant weight loss by limiting the amount of food that a person can eat at one time, causing patients to feel full sooner than they would previously.
You may be a candidate for this type of surgery if you meet the following criteria, a body mass index, or BMI of at least 40 or 35 when combined with a serious obesity related condition, at least two previous failed conventional weight loss attempts, and are at least eighteen years old. A surgeon will also evaluate your health history to determine whether you have any conditions that may put you at greater risk for developing complications after surgery.
Preparing for your Realize Adjustable Gastric Band surgery means educating yourself about the risks and requirements of your surgery, and familiarizing yourself with your personalized team of health care professionals, which will likely include your bariatric surgeon, primary care physician, psychological counselor, dietician, weight management center, and fitness expert.. It is also recommended that patients attend support groups before their surgery, in order to give them time to find one that they can continue to attend post surgery.
You should also begin following your new diet and exercise routine before your Realize Adjustable Gastric Band surgery. Immediately following your surgery, you will be on a liquid diet, with the introduction of soft foods three to six weeks later. For a short time, you will also need to avoid foods such as carrots, stringy meats, and crusty breads, as these may block your stoma. You will also need to avoid alcohol and all carbonated beverages. It takes time to accustom to any major lifestyle change, and the more time pre surgery you allow yourself, the greater your chances for success.
Adjustable Gastric Band Surgery
Obesity surgery has seen tremendous advances in the past 50 years and modern forms of surgery like gastric lap banding are certainly a lot safer and have many fewer complications than early forms of open gastric bypass surgery. All the same, there are still risks and these need to be fully discussed with your surgeon before you embark on surgery.
Gastric lap band surgery carries a variety risks that are specific to this form of surgery but also carries the same risks which come will any form of major surgery. Furthermore, there are several general risks that accompany any surgery which involves patients who are severely overweight.
The first and most serious risk is of course that of death either during surgery or shortly after and directly related to surgery. At this stage (gastric lap band surgery has been done for some 13 years now but has only been licensed for use in the US since 2001) there have been very few deaths seen and it is difficult to give a figure, though it is generally agreed that the risk of death from gastric lap band surgery is less than 1%.
It is interesting to note that in one study in Australia no deaths were reported amongst a group of some 2,700 patients who have had laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery since 1994. It should be noted however that Australia has been in the forefront of opening up the use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band and that over ninety percent of all weight loss surgeries undertaken in Australia now employ this method. This is significant as, when you interpret the data from this particular study, you have to bear in mind that the experience of the surgeon is a major factor in terms of both complication and risk. Surgeons with extensive experience with this technique demonstrate a far higher rate of success.
Many of the risks encountered during the course of surgery are general rather than lap band specific and are common risks to do with such things as your age, weight, reaction to anesthetic and the existence of disease (whether such disease is or is not directly associated with your weight problem). The chief lap band specific risk during the course of surgery is that of gastric perforation (a tear occurring in the wall of the stomach) which occurs in about 1% of all cases.
The vast majority of complications occur following lap band surgery and the majority of patients will run into some form of complication in the weeks and months following surgery. Such complications will not necessarily be serious and will range from very mild to quite severe.
Around half of patients will suffer varying degrees of nausea and vomiting and approximately one-third of patients will also experience regurgitation (gastroesophageal reflux). About a quarter of patients will suffer band slippage and roughly one patient in seven will suffer a blockage to the passage joining the two parts of the stomach.
Other mild to severe difficulties after surgery can include the erosion of the band into the stomach and twisting or leakage of the access port. Problems with swallowing, constipation and diarrhea are also fairly common.
In a very few patients (under one percent) a whole series of non-serious difficulties can arise including gastritis, hiatal hernia, inflammation of the pancreas, dehydration, abdominal pain, gas, chest pain and infection.
In general lap banding, particularly when it is carried out laparoscopically, carries fewer risks and complications than other forms of weight loss surgery, but these risks are still significant and need to be fully discussed with your surgeon and fully understood before you take any decision to undergo surgery.
Both Jerry Glynn & Donald Saunders.. are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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