Gastric Band Success Rates
The Gastric Band surgical procedure is considered the safest form of weight loss surgery currently available, offering a quicker recovery and fewer complications than any other form of surgery. When half of the excess weight is lost and the loss is maintained for five years the surgery is considered successful. In other words, a patient who loses 50 pounds who started out 100 pounds overweight and a patient who loses 100 pounds who started out 200 pounds overweight are considered success stories. They should also be able to maintain the loss successfully for the following five years. Estimated weight loss in the first 1 to 2 years after Gastric Band surgery is approximately 1/2 to 2/3rd of excess weight. 50% excess weight loss has been documented 10 years and more after Gastric Band surgery. Approximately 10% of Gastric Band surgery patients have had some form of minor complication or problem. The rate of major complications is even lower. The key to success with weight loss surgery begins pre surgery, continues through the hospital experience and beyond.
Most patients experience a transformation of their job performance, life style, and personality. Most medical problems caused by obesity either disappear or are greatly minimized. The Gastric Band procedure allows your body to lose weight at a moderate and healthy pace without major trauma. There are no dramatic changes that can cause long term problems for your body. Gastric Band surgery offer a very high success rate for both short and long term weight loss and health. When dealing with an incurable disease that kills most people and an 85 to 90 percent success rate is achieved, it should be considered successful by any standards. It used to be that roughly one in 100 people died from this operation. It is now about one in 1,000, which makes it far less deadly than most major surgeries. Obesity is considered one of the major causes of type 2 diabetes. Patients who had diabetes before the operation have no diabetes post surgery. Which means they no longer need insulin injections. Studies confirm that about 80 percent of diabetics go into complete remission following the operation. Is it a cure? The patients seem to think so.
Pre operatively, patients must be carefully screened to make sure they are well aware of the benefits and risks of Gastric Band surgery, providing one on one counseling with a dietitian, psychologist, bariatric nurse coordinator and surgeon and providing educational materials. Gastric Band surgery is the only reversible and adjustable weight loss surgery approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the only weight loss surgery available in the United States. More than 80% of patients lose to within 10% of their desired weight. The majority of the weight loss occurs within the first year, with additional weight loss continuing until the 18th month. More than ever, Gastric Band surgery has become the least invasive, safest, and most successful option for hundreds of thousands who suffer from weight related ailments and low quality of life. In one study it was shown that with integrated patient care, 98% of Gastric Band patients studied lost 87% of their excess weight, and kept it off.
