You have made a decision to start a new life...
One of the most frustrating experiences for obesity surgery patients is inadequate weight loss after the procedure. Often, this is a result of the patient having trouble transitioning into the required new lifestyle. However, inadequate weight loss can also occur when there is a problem with the procedure that allows the patient to continue eating too much.
Inadequate weight loss after a gastric bypass may be due to a physical problem with the procedure, continued overeating, or a combination of both. If the problem is solely due to improper eating and the patient is able to modify his or her habits, the problem can be rectified without additional surgery.
However, if the stomach pouch or the opening between the stomach pouch and intestine have become stretched, or if the stomach pouch has reconnected with the bypassed portion of the stomach (known as a gastro-gastric fistula), surgery is necessary to correct the problem.
Bariatric revision surgery may also be indicated if the patient is suffering from either too much or too little malabsorption, in which case the surgeon will convert the Roux-en-Y to another type of bariatric adjustment.
One of the major benefits of the REALIZE™ Band and LAP-BAND® surgeries is the ease with which their results can be adjusted. If the patient is still able to eat too much, the band can be tightened by increasing the amount of saline solution, thereby increasing restriction.
If the band is too tight and the patient is not able to hold the necessary amount of food for proper nutrition, the amount of saline can be reduced. All of these adjustments can be made using the access port that is attached to the gastric band.
In some cases, even with the gastric band adequately tight, the patient is still able to eat too much or consistently overeats and stretches the stomach pouch. For these patients, a conversion to gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy may be necessary to reach the desired outcome. On occasion, complications may require the gastric band to be removed. This can often be accomplished laparoscopically, but as with all bariatric revision surgery, complete reversal of the procedure without conversion to another type of procedure will most likely result in the regaining of lost weight.