The LAP-BAND® procedure is garnering increased attention from the media as new developments and successes are reported. If you haven’t heard of LAP-BAND® yet, it’s the weight-loss surgery designed to help patients lose significant amounts of weight by controlling their hunger with smaller amounts of food in conjunction with behavioral modification (the approach to food), diet and exercise. The “band” is a device that is inserted around the upper stomach and creates a small upper pouch which is adjusted to minimize the opening so the pouch empties slowly.  Hunger is controlled with a small amount of food that can fit in this new stomach pouch, and the result is reduced caloric intake leading to weight loss.
This minimally-invasive weight loss surgery has helped improve the lives of countless overweight or obese men and women since gaining approval in the United States. The Allergan
LAP-BAND® System, the pioneer procedure, received FDA approval in 2001. The Ethicon Endo-Surgery
REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band, an alternative banding option, was recently approved in June 2007. Although the laparoscopic banding systems vary somewhat in their construction, both achieve very comparable and impressive weight loss results.
You can check out the following links to see how LAP-BAND® is making headlines.
- LAP-BAND® Patient Profile from CNN
- Washington Post article on the LAP-BAND® procedure’s positive effects on diabetes
- American Obesity Association’s Obesity Surgery Advisor
- Study on how LAP-BAND® helps obese teens
- Article on the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band from DeviceSpace.com
If you would like to learn more about the LAP-BAND® procedure, get started today by visiting the home page of www.lapbandrockies.com, clicking on CONTACT US and filling out the information form.  Once we receive your information, Natalie Cardenas, our Bariatric Coordinator, will contact you by e-mail or phone (please indicate your preference).
—Lindsey Kesel, Bariatric Surgery Consultant
Tags: Lap-Band news
