Return to Main Menu

New procedure restricts amount of food consumed by Heather Woolwine Public Relations On the heels of becoming a national Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery, MUSC is now offering patients another option for gastric bypass surgery.   The laproscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB or lap band), unlike the traditional gastric bypass procedures that restricts the amount of food as well as alters food absorption, is designed only to restrict the amount of food that a patient can eat, therefore inducing substantial weight loss.   It is the most common weight loss surgery in the world, despite only recently becoming more common in the United States. During the laproscopic surgery, patients receive a hollow silicone band around the top part of the stomach. A subcutaneous port is placed in the abdominal wall of the patient and is connected by a fine tube to the band. During the course of the several months following surgery, the surgeon can adjust the size of the band by injecting saline into it to increase the rate of weight loss.   “The procedure is easier for the surgeon; it takes about 40 minutes,” said Karl Byrne, M.D., Department of Surgery professor. “We bring the patients back in after four to six weeks to check if the weight loss is adequate as things stand, and if it is, we continue to monitor the patient. If it’s not, then we inject saline into the port and it goes into the hollow band where it swells and makes the opening at the top of the stomach a little smaller. We continue to adjust the band until the patient and we feel that their weight loss is moving along as it should.”   So far, Byrne and his colleagues have performed the lap band procedure on four patients who desired a less complex surgery than traditional bypass.   Jennifer Hampe underwent the procedure in June and said she is happy with her experience. “I’ve lost about 20 pounds and just had the band tightened for the first time a few weeks ago, and I’ll go in and have it tightened again Aug. 14,” she said. “There are no real restrictions to what I eat, it's just smaller portions. I am eating better, though. I was hesitant at first to do it, because I thought that I wouldn’t be able to eat and it would be like a complete shock to me. They really prepared me well with the facts and I was a little scared about the surgery and not being able to live a normal life afterwards, but, I’m really happy with it so far and I would recommend for anyone who’s overweight to do it. It’s nice that I can actually lose the weight now.”   While the results of the lap band procedure may not be as dramatic in the beginning as the traditional gastric bypass procedure, patients may find that a slower progression of weight loss fits their quality of life better and there is a decreased risk of complications. “If there are complications with the lap band procedure, they are not catastrophic like those associated with gastric bypass,” Byrne said.   Undergoing the lap band procedure is largely by patient choice, but some criteria exist while Byrne and his colleagues begin to use the procedure more regularly. At this time, only patients with a body mass index of 45 or less are considered for the lap band procedure.   For more information about the lap band procedure, e-mail Amanda Budak at budaka@musc.edu.     Friday, Aug. 25, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.