The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band is a form of restrictive gastric bypass surgery which many surgeons are beginning to favor as it avoids many of the nutritional problems associated with malabsorption surgeries. It also involves no cutting or stapling of the stomach and this, combined with the fact that the procedure can be performed laparoscopically, means that the death rate from surgery is about one-tenth of that seen in the widely used open Roux-en-Y form of surgery.

From the patient’s point of view the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band means a relatively short stay in hospital and a quick recovery. Once in place the band can also be adjusted without further surgery so that the surgeon has much greater control of patient management in the critical weeks following surgery, making it possible to react quickly and easily to problems which the patient might experience.

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band procedure is also fully reversible and, after removal of the band, the stomach will return to its normal pre-operative state.

As with most restrictive forms of surgery weight loss tends to be less dramatic than in malabsorption or combination surgeries and patients have to work a little bit harder in the early months following surgery to achieve a satisfactory rate of weight loss. However, because weight loss is not quite so easy and patients have to learn a strict set of eating habits, gastric band surgery tends to produce better long-term results and weight stability.