Gastric Banding Surgery for Weight Loss
Laparoscopic Gastric Banding Surgery

Gastric banding surgery is usually performed laparoscopically. The adjustable silicone band is inserted through one of 5 to 6 incisions made in the stomach and is wrapped around the upper part of the stomach. This creates a small upper stomach pouch and a narrowed outlet (about an inch wide) between the new upper pouch and lower stomach. The silicone band is connected by a tube to an access port fixed to the muscle wall just below the skin of the abdomen.

Using a fine needle saline solution can be added or removed from the band to find the right level of restriction. As saline inflates the inner surface of the band the stomach outlet becomes smaller this helps reduce the amount of food you eat and slows the emptying food from the upper part to the lower part of the stomach. After surgery, your doctor can adjust the band to make food pass more slowly or quickly through your digestive system.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding on an average leads to a loss of about 40% of excess weight. However, these results differ widely. Gastric banding is considered the least invasive and one of the safest weight loss surgeries. The procedure can be reversed if necessary and the stomach generally returns to its normal size.

Vertical banded gastroplasty 
Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), also known as stomach stapling, is a restrictive operation for weight control. Both a band and staples are used to create a small stomach pouch in the upper part of the stomach. In the bottom of the pouch is an approximate one-centimeter hole through which the pouch contents can flow into the lower part of the stomach and then into the remainder of the gastrointestinal tract. The pouch limits the amount of food a patient can eat at one time and slows passage of the food.

Stomach stapling (a restrictive technique) is more effective when combined with a gastric bypass surgery (a malabsorptive technique), in which part of the digestive tract is bypassed, reducing the absorption of calories and nutrients. It also has a higher complication rate, for these reasons, vertical banded gastroplasty is less common today.