Laproscopic Gastric Band Surgery
Laproscopic Gastric Band surgery, also known as the Adjustable Gastric Banding System, is an innovative and highly effective surgical weight loss option for obesity. This option, offered by the Weight Management program at Swedish Covenant Hospital, reduces the capacity of the stomach and thereby restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at one time.
Laproscopic Gastric Band surgery is a minimally invasive procedure, and is both adjustable and reversible. People who are at least 100 pounds overweight and suffer from multiple chronic health conditions can benefit from the Laproscopic Gastric Band procedure.
Some of the Laproscopic Gastric Band advantages include:
- Least invasive, safest surgical option
- No stomach stapling or intestinal rerouting
- Only adjustable surgical option for customized weight loss
- Completely reversible
- More than 100,000 procedures performed worldwide
The highly skilled surgeons on staff at Swedish Covenant Hospital are specially trained on the Laproscopic Gastric Band procedure and many patients lose excess weight, 75 pounds on average in the first year, and can maintain that weight loss for years.
To maintain results, participants are encouraged to join the Galter LifeCenter, Chicago's premier medically based fitness center located on the Swedish Covenant Hospital campus.
Gastric Bypass Surgery
Swedish Covenant Hospital offers Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery, which has been endorsed by the National Institute of Health as an effective solution to permanent weight loss.
During Gastric Bypass surgery, the surgeon reduces the size of the stomach to a small pouch, which limits the amount of food the patient can eat and digest. As a result, nerve endings send signals to the brain that the stomach is full after eating as little as one tenth the amount of food previously consumed. The surgery requires no removal of any part of the stomach.
Unlike other weight loss methods, patients don't suffer from hunger; in fact, caloric intake is generally about a moderate 1200 calories. And unlike the earliest bariatric procedures, gastric bypass permits normal absorption of food, medicines and most vitamins. Some foods, such as candies and fruit juices containing refined sugar, as well as milk, are not well tolerated, and should be avoided or consumed in very small quantities.
Compliance with dietary guidelines after Gastric Bypass surgery has a significant impact on the outcome and success of obesity surgery. Following surgery, surgeons generally prescribe vitamins and nutritional supplements to help assure that patients receive the nutrients they need.
The surgery itself typically takes between 90 minutes and two hours. After a hospital stay of several days, patients can usually return to work in four to six weeks, depending on their job.
If you have any questions or would like more information on our Weight Management program, feel free to e-mail weightmanagement@schosp.org or call (773) 907-7700.
