For many people who are severely or morbidly obese bariatric surgery can be the best possible solution, and two of the most common types of this surgery is Lap Band and gastric bypass. In the USA gastric bypass is the most common procedure used, with Lap Band coming in second. In Europe and Pacific Rim countries the opposite is true, with Lap Band being the most common procedure performed and gastric bypass rating the second most common surgery. Both surgeries have distinct advantages and drawbacks, and these should be compared before you decide which method is right for you. Both methods help limit the amount of food that you can consume, and Lap Band slows your digestion while gastric bypass reduces the calories and nutrients that your body absorbs from the food. Dumping syndrome can be a problem with gastric bypass, but Lap Band does not involve this complication.
Gastric bypass surgery requires intestinal rerouting, which is very invasive and can have serious complications, with a much longer recovery time and increased pain after surgery. In addition large scars can result, and the surgery can take a couple of hours. In contrast Lap Band surgery takes around one hour and is minimally invasive. Any scars are small and barely visible, and there is only small incisions created. There is less trauma and less pain, and your recovery time is much shorter. No intestinal rerouting is required, and your hospital stay will normally be less than twenty four hours. With gastric bypass surgery you may need to spend days in the hospital before you can go home.
The dietary recommendations and restrictions are very similar after both types of bariatric surgery. The calorie intake level is set at eight hundred calories a day, and snacking is discouraged with both treatments. Foods rich in protein are recommended, and carbonated beverages should be completely eliminated and avoided. With gastric bypass surgery consuming sugars and fats can cause dumping syndrome, and with Lap Band surgery these foods should be avoided but there are no physical symptoms from consuming them.
Recovering from Lap Band surgery usually means missing a week of work, and a complete recovery period of around six weeks. If you have gastric bypass surgery then you will need to miss between two and three weeks from work, and it will take around three months for you to fully recover from your operation. Lap Band surgery also does not carry the same complication risks as gastric bypass, because Lap Band is a much simpler operation. Gastric bypass surgery can cause a bowel obstruction or other complications caused by the intestinal rerouting. Lap Band is considered a less invasive and better option by many patients, because of the many advantages and far fewer risks and drawbacks of this operation when compared to gastric bypass surgery.