Surgeons who utilize Journey Lite facilities are committed to providing the best possible treatment options for their patients. For many patients who qualify, the selected procedure will be laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Journey Lite facilities almost exclusively support and provide programs for the LAGB procedure and long term aftercare of the patient.

The LAGB is one of the safest options available to a seriously overweight person who seeks to lose excess weight through surgery.[12] Unlike alternative procedures that involve irreversibly cutting and stapling the stomach, the LAGB uses a silicone band that is placed around the upper stomach using a minimally invasive procedure.

Laparoscopic surgery involves using small incisions in the abdomen through which long-shafted instruments are inserted. An inflatable silicone band is inserted through the instruments and then fastened around the upper stomach, creating a small pouch. This pouch restricts the amount of food that can be eaten. In addition, the flow of food into the stomach and small intestine is slowed. The result is that one can feel “full” and satisfied with smaller amounts of food which helps produce weight loss.

The silicone band is adjusted by adding or subtracting saline from the band. The adjustments are done by needle through a port which is below the skin. The ability to adjust the band allows for flexibility in managing the weight loss process. The cost of a LAGB procedure at a Journey Lite facility includes the first year’s worth of adjustments.

Many people choose the LAGB procedure because it has a low incidence of mortality risk when compared to other weight loss surgery including the gastric bypass procedure.[13], [14]  In addition, because the LAGB does not bypass the small intestine, the nutritional deficiencies that can arise from the gastric bypass are obviated.[15]

The LAGB is done on an outpatient basis at the Journey Lite facilities. Patients who do not meet strict clinical criteria may be operated on in a hospital which can provide overnight services. For patients who qualify for an outpatient LAGB procedure, the surgery typically takes about an hour and recovery time is two to four hours. Patients usually will go home the same day as the surgery and can be back to work in a few days.

12. Surgical Clinics of North America, August 2005;85(4):783, 794, 795.
13. Ibid:800, 802.
14. Maggart, MA. Meta-analysis: surgical treatment of obesity. Annals of Internal Medicine, Apr. 2005;142(7):547-59.
15. Belachew, M., Belva, P., Desaive, C., Long-Term Results of Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding for the Treatment of Obesity, Obesity Surgery, 2002;12:564-568.