During the LAP-BAND® procedure, Dr. Kirshenbaum places a safe medical device called a band around the upper stomach, thus restricting the amount of food that can pass through. The benefits of the LAP-BAND procedure are clear — weight loss for improved health and quality of life, plus it is less risky than other weight-loss procedures like gastric bypass.
A New Study Highlights LAP-BAND’s Remission Benefits
LAP-BAND is also proving itself as an effective way to minimize or eliminate the negative health effects of obesity-related conditions like diabetes. In a recent study conducted in Melbourne, Australia, research suggested that LAP-BAND surgery can effectively combat diabetes by encouraging long-term remission as a result of significant weight loss.
In the study, obese diabetes patients with body-mass indexes between 30 and 40 were carefully monitored after undergoing the LAP-BAND procedure, and compared to similar patients who were treated with diet and exercise only. After two years, nearly 75 percent of LAP-BAND patients (but only 13 percent of diet-and-exercise patients) experienced remission. Surgical patients lost an average of 20.7 percent of their body weight, compared to only 2 percent loss for the lifestyle group. The conclusion:Â Three out of four Type 2 diabetes patients fall into remission within two years of having the LAP-BAND inserted.
These results support an earlier study highlighted by Diabetes Health, which found that 64 percent of LAP-BAND patients experienced remission of type 2 diabetes at the one-year mark.
Health and Confidence as Ongoing BenefitsÂ
The renewed confidence and enhanced self-esteem that LAP-BAND patients experience has been described as priceless. And the ability to become more mobile, to improve overall health, and actively participate in life’s many activities make this procedure invaluable. Not only does the weight loss spurred by the LAP-BAND procedure assist diabetes patients into remission, it can prevent high-risk pre-diabetic patients from ever developing the condition.
In addition to diabetes support, LAP-BAND has shown to have positive results on other serious health conditions such as sleep apnea, hypertension, joint pain, and infertility. The  LAP-BAND procedure is a cost-effective investment in your long-term health, considering the cost of doctor visits, copays, prescriptions, and treatment expenses.
As part of the LAP-BAND Rockies experience, patients receive post-surgery monitoring and nutritional support, including no-charge follow-up consultations. To learn more about the many valuable benefits of LAP-BAND including the procedure’s diabetes effects, please contact Dr. Kirshenbaum at LAP-BAND Rockies.Â
—Lindsey Kesel, Bariatric Surgery Consultant
