Bariatric surgery is becoming a more and more popular weight loss option for people who don't succeed with diet and exercise alone.
Lap-Band, What Is It?
The Lap-Band is the trademarked name of one kind of adjustable gastric banding. Surgeons operate laproscopically to attach a band around the top part of the stomach. The size of the band can be adjusted by injecting or removing sterile saline solution through a port just under the skin.
Gastric Sleeve, What Is It?
Gastric sleeves, also known as sleeve gastrectomies, are surgeries performed to remove part of the stomach. The surgeon removes about 75% of the patient's stomach, leaving a tube going from the esophagus to the intestines.
Similarities
Both types of surgery are usually performed with a laproscope so there is no large incision. The intestines are not affected so there are no issues with the absorption of nutrients.
Differences
The Lap-Band is adjustable and even reversible, by removing the band, while the gastric sleeve is permanent since part of the stomach is removed. Gastric sleeve surgery is usually performed on people with very high body mass indexes as a first step before another type of bariatric surgery is performed.
Conclusions
While both types of weight loss surgery are restrictive in nature they are used in very different cases. Gastric sleeve surgery is used as a first step for the morbidly obese patients to lose weight prior to another type of surgery to complete the weight loss process. Lap-Band surgery is used on patients with lower levels of obesity.
