Significance

• The BioEnterics Lap Band System is one of the most effective ways to combat obesity. Obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths per year, making obesity the second leading cause of preventable death. Obesity can also lead to many serious medical conditions. The BioEnterics Lap Band System provides patients with a way to combat the disease safely by placing a band around the top portion of the patient's stomach. This allows only a small amount of food to enter the stomach, cutting the intake of calories.
  
  

Considerations

• For a patient to be eligible to receive the BioEnterics lap band, they must meet the requirements. The patient must be an adult, at least 18 years old, with a BMI (body mass index) of 40 or higher or weigh at least twice their ideal weight. The patient must be overweight for at least five years and have made serious attempts to lose weight. The patient must have a good health history with no other diseases that cause their obesity. If the patient is serious about the lap band surgery, they must be willing to make major eating habit and lifestyle changes after the procedure, along with working with their specialist. If the patient can commit to the changes and meet the requirements, then he is a good candidate for the surgery.
  
  

Measuring Obesity

• The most widely used measurement for obesity is the BMI (body mass index). A person's BMI is calculated by the body weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. BMI measurements cannot separate the difference between body fat and muscle, which can cause a muscular person to be classified as obese. The patient should always have a physician consider her BMI. Once the BMI is calculated, the physician can use the number to see what category the patient falls in. The obesity categories are set forth by the National Institutes of Health, in which a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 is overweight, a BMI of 30 to 34.9 kg/m2 is obese, a BMI of 35 to 39.9 kg/m2 is severely obese and a BMI of 40 kg/m2 and up is morbidly obese.
  
  

Causes of Obesity

• One quarter of the population of the United Sates is classified as obese and another 97 million Americans are overweight with the risk of becoming obese. Obesity is a chronic disease with many causes. Obesity can be hereditary. Changes in a person's metabolism also have a direct effect on weight gain. Social or emotional eating is the leading cause of gaining weight along with eating an unhealthy diet with lack of exercise.
  
  

Risks and Complications

• There are risks and complications associated with every surgical procedure. The most common complications associated with the lap band system are ulceration, irritated stomach tissue, reflux, heartburn, difficulty swallowing, dehydration and constipation. The actual laparoscopic surgery has risks that include spleen or liver damage, damage to a major blood vessel, lung problems, blood clots, rupture of the wound and puncture of the stomach or esophagus during surgery. In clinical studies, only five percent of patients experienced any of the above complications. Complications and risks associated with the gastric band around the patient's stomach are rare but do exist. These complications include the band becoming deflated due to leakage, the band slipping out of place, blockage of the stoma (outlet of the stomach) and the band eroding into the stomach itself.