Southern Oregon Bariatric Center

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REALIZE band and LAP-BAND®

REALIZE Band^®

Achieve and maintain a healthier weight with the REALIZE Adjustable Gastric Band

The REALIZE Adjustable Gastric Band provides a safe and effective way to achieve and maintain a healthier weight—without cutting or stapling your stomach. The band limits the amount of food you can eat at one time. As a result, you feel full sooner and stay satisfied longer. That makes it easier to adopt, and stick with, healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Learn more about how the REALIZE Band works to help you lose weight.

LAP-BAND^®

With no cutting or stapling of the stomach, the LAP-BAND^® System is up to 10 times safer than more extensive weight loss surgeries, such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.¹ As effective as these procedures are, the LAP-BAND^® System offers fewer risks and a generally faster recovery time — so you can be back to your normal activity in usually about a week’s time.

Step by step: How it’s done
In most cases, the LAP-BAND^® System is put into place during a laparoscopic procedure, using general anesthesia. The procedure is performed using long, thin instruments inserted through a few tiny incisions (usually 0.5-1.5 cm). Often done on an outpatient basis, the surgery itself typically takes about an hour.

Step One: Your surgeon implants the LAP-BAND^® System around the upper part of your stomach, much like a belt.

Step Two: A tube is then connected from the LAP-BAND^® System to a small access port, fixed beneath the skin of your abdomen.

Step Three: After the first four to six weeks, adjustments to the LAP-BAND^® System are made through the access port. This is done as needed — more frequently in the first year — to maintain optimal weight loss, by adding or removing saline solution.

The procedure is essentially the same for both the LAP-BAND^® and Realize Band systems with the exception of placement of the port. These details may be discussed further with your surgeon as you evaluate which band you would prefer.

O’Brien PE, et al. LAP-BAND^®: Outcomes and Results. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2003; 13(4):265-270.

At Southern Oregon Bariatric Center we offer several programs to meet the needs of our community and the surrounding areas.

Southern Oregon Bariatric Center offers a selection of surgical solutions to meet the needs of our patients. These include Adjustable Gastric Banding Procedure in patient and outpatient, Open Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass.