The Lap Band® System is usually placed laparoscopically while you are under general anesthesia. While you may be in the operating room for two to three hours, the surgery itself typically takes about an hour. First, the surgeon makes a few very small incisions in the abdominal wall and secures "ports" in these incisions to accommodate long, thin surgical instruments. A narrow camera is also passed through one of these ports so that the surgeon can view the operative site on a nearby video monitor. A small tunnel is made behind the top of the stomach to let the Lap Band® System device through and allow it to be wrapped around the upper part of the stomach, like a wristwatch. The Lap Band® System is then locked securely in a ring around the stomach. This creates your new, smaller stomach pouch. Also, to help hold the Lap Band® System in place, stomach tissue is folded over it and stitched together. The rest of the lower stomach will stay in its normal position. Then, the small access port, which is used for Lap Band® System adjustments, is fixed just underneath the skin. The access port is used by the surgeon to inject saline (sterile salt water) into the Lap Band® when you have an adjustment. The Lap Band® System is usually left empty for the first 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.
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