The Lap-Band®
Weight-Loss Program

The short answer is, yes. On average, patients kept off 60% of their excess body weight after 5 years of having the Lap-Band.² It is important to remember that one-size doesn’t fit all. Lap-Band is adjustable and reversible. It has the lowest rate of early postoperative complications and mortality among the approved bariatric procedures. And Lap-Band has the lowest risk for vitamin/mineral deficiencies. ¹⁵

Previous Gastric Band procedures resulted in complications for a minority of patients. However, these complications were due to older placement techniques and poor band management. Since then, placement practices and follow-up procedures have been modified to address potential complications that impact effectiveness. As a result, Lap-Band is now one of the safest, least invasive, and most adaptable bariatric surgery options available. If your surgeon tells you that the Lap-Band is being removed, please feel free to refer them to our resources for healthcare professionals page for more information on the safety, effectiveness, and support for Lap-Band.

Weight loss resulting from the Lap-Band Program has been shown to resolve or improve serious obesity-related health conditions in many people, including Type II Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, and GERD.^4-7 In fact, 73% of all Lap-Band Patients reported remission of their Type II Diabetes due to their weight loss after two years on the program.¹⁰

In addition to chronic conditions, obesity is highly correlated with cancer risk including uterine, gallbladder, kidney, liver, and colon cancers.⁸ Recent studies have pointed to the link between obesity and higher COVID-19 complications and risk of mortality.⁹ Lowering your weight now can help protect you from avoidable risk and a possible health emergency even in the short term.

Most people looking for a long-term weight loss and maintenance solution qualify for the Lap-Band Program. In addition to being prepared to take the next step in your weight-loss journey, you will need to meet body mass index criteria, be over 18, and have a history of unsuccessful weight loss. See here for more information on specific qualifications.

The easiest way to lasting weight loss is to curb constant hunger. The Lap-Band System does this through its unique design. The Lap-Band Program is personalized for every person, with an adjustable Gastric Band that can be tightened and loosened as your body changes over time and a customized aftercare program designed to help you lose the weight and keep it off.

The Lap-Band is adjusted by inserting a fine needle through a small access port located under the skin and injecting or removing saline solution, which tightens or loosens the Gastric Band. The Lap-Band should typically be adjusted an average of 5-6 times in the first year for the best long-term weight-loss results. Adjustments to the Lap-Band are made through a discreet and carefully placed access port that helps improve recovery and ensures comfortable adjustments. When your needs change or you have a major life event like pregnancy, the Lap-Band adjusts to you.

The Lap-Band helps you take control over your weight because only the Lap-Band can be tightened or loosened as your body and your life change over time, helping to provide sustainable weight loss over the long term. The system features an adjustable Gastric band that’s placed around your upper stomach to help limit your food intake and promote your feeling of fullness. With regular adjustments to help you continue losing weight, it’s a long-term tool that gives you more power over your hunger and more control over your weight. The Lap-Band gives you control over your body too, because it’s the safest, least invasive bariatric surgery available, with the lowest complication rate and shortest recovery time. The Lap-Band is the only FDA-approved laparoscopic weight-loss device commercially available in the U.S. The procedure has been performed more than 1 million times worldwide since 1993, and it’s backed by over 25 years of clinical evidence.¹¹

More drastic bariatric surgeries that result in partial “amputation” and permanent alterations to your body require you to limit the kinds of foods you eat. The Lap-Band Program, because of its design and adjustability, gives you the path to enjoying the foods you love through portion control and healthy eating habits. You learn to live life with food in moderation and with mindfulness. Other weight-loss surgeries permanently alter not only your body, but your life. The Lap-Band gives you control and puts you in the driver’s seat of your own weight-loss journey.

Because the Lap-Band does not impact nutrient absorption in the way that other gastric surgeries do, you avoid having to take costly supplements. Typically, only a daily multi-vitamin is required. You can continue to eat the foods you love while maintaining portion control.

The Lap-Band System is the only weight-loss surgery option that is adjustable and can adapt to the changing nutritional requirements of pregnancy.¹⁶ All weight-loss surgeries are contraindicated for patients who currently are or may be pregnant. However, unlike other bariatric surgeries, women who become pregnant after receiving the Lap-Band deliver babies as healthy as the general population.^16-19

Even though the Lap-Band® procedure has the lowest complication and mortality rate versus other bariatric procedures and is the safest, least invasive weight-loss procedure available today, like all surgeries, the Lap-Band doesn’t come without the risk of complications. Some risks, such as band slippage and band erosion, are associated with a patient’s inability to tolerate a foreign object implanted within the body. Improvements in surgical technique, the band itself, and aftercare programs have mitigated band slippage and erosion issues and removal rates are as low as 1.6%¹. Other Lap-Band complications, such as food trapping, may be caused by not chewing well or eating foods that are not appropriate to consume with the band.

Your Lap-Band Team will complete a thorough review of your medical history to ensure you are a safe candidate for the Lap-Band Procedure. But, as with any major surgery, there is an infection risk. By following your surgical team’s recommended aftercare program, which includes regular visits with your team, most Lap-Band Patients will heal successfully and not experience any band complications.  Since there is no cutting out the majority of your stomach,  stapling or re-routing of the organs, the procedure is typically performed in less than an hour, and you can usually return home the same day, with the shortest recovery time vs. other bariatric procedures.