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Post-surgical care one year after Lap-Band®

March 8, 2020

If you’ve had the Lap-Band® Procedure for a year or longer, by now you know that your life looks drastically different than it did one year ago. However, if you’re still considering the procedure and how your life will change, this blog is for you. Read on to learn more about what you can expect one year after the Lap-Band Surgery.

At about six months after you have the Lap-Band Procedure, your stomach will be healed. Your first adjustments will happen four to six weeks after surgery, and you may have had one or two more adjustments around the six-month period. At the one-year mark, you may have stabilized and will no longer require adjustments to your band to increase or stabilize weight loss. If you have plateaued and aren’t losing weight for more than three weeks, and you aren’t at your goal weight, you may require another adjustment to the band.

You will see results fairly quickly after having the Lap-Band Procedure. So what does weight loss will look like one year after the procedure? With the Lap-Band, patients lose weight slowly and steadily. After just one year, most patients have achieved their weight-loss goals. Studies show that 46% of excess weight is lost after one year passes. If patients had comorbid diseases related to excess weight when they had the surgery, the conditions have typically improved or reversed by this point.

The six months following the procedure may be difficult for some as they adjust to new life patterns, including eating new foods, eating less, chewing slowly and mindfully, and being more active. By one year, patients have typically adjusted to their new, healthier lifestyle. The Lap-Band is a great tool for weight loss, but it requires a commitment to lifelong change. Even after drastic weight loss one year after the procedure, patients will still need to maintain their commitment to a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Source:

  • Dixon John, O’Brien Paul. Health Outcomes of Severely Obese Type 2 Diabetic Subjects 1 Year After Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding. Diabetes Care, Volume 25, Number 2. February 2002.

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Important Lap-Band® System Safety Information

The ReShape Lap-Band Systems are approved for adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or higher, or a BMI of at least 30 with health conditions related to obesity, who have not seen success with other weight loss methods, like supervised diet, exercise, and behavior modification programs. Choosing this surgery means committing to changes in eating habits for the long term.

The Lap-Band procedure is not approved for individuals under 18 yo, those with conditions that may make them poor surgical candidates or lead to poor results, such as inflammatory or cardiopulmonary diseases, problems with the stomach and digestion, symptoms or family history of autoimmune disease, scarring of the liver, individuals unable or unwilling to follow the necessary dietary restrictions, individuals with alcohol or drug addictions, or those currently pregnant. Individuals who become pregnant after band placement may require deflation of their bands.

The ReShape Lap-Band Systems, a long-term tool, may need to be adjusted if you get pregnant, sick, or malnourished. Be careful with anti-inflammatory drugs as they could make the band wear away. Like any surgery, placement of the Lap-Band may have complications such as risks from drugs and methods used, general surgery risks, how well your body handles a foreign object, or in rare cases, risk of death.

As with any surgical procedure, there are risks associated with metabolic and bariatric surgery that you and your doctor should discuss. Potential risks associated with the Lap-Band include nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stomach blockage, constipation, swallowing difficulty, diarrhea, abnormal stools, abdominal pain, weakness, incision pain, infection, fever, hernia, chest pain, band movement, stomach pouch expansion, unusual healing, pain at the port site, port movement, and/or hair loss. Additional surgery might be needed. Losing weight quickly could lead to complications requiring more surgery. 

Talk to your doctor, and/or visit our website at www.lapband.com/safety/ for more information on its benefits and risks.

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