Adjustable Gastric Band - Surgical Indications

Surgical Indications

In general, gastric banding is indicated for people for whom all of the following apply:

• Body Mass Index above 40, or those who are 100 pounds (7 stone/45 kilograms) or more over their estimated ideal weight, according to the National Institutes of Health, or those between 30 to 40 with co-morbidities that may improve with weight loss (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and obstructive sleep apnea.)
• Age between 18 and 55 years (although there are doctors who will work outside these ages, some as young as 12).
• Failure of medically supervised dietary therapy (for about 6 months).
• History of obesity (up to 5 years).
• Comprehension of the risks and benefits of the procedure and willingness to comply with the substantial lifelong dietary restrictions required for long term success.

Gastric banding is usually not recommended for people with any of the following:

• If the surgery or treatment represents an unreasonable risk to the patient
• Untreated endocrine diseases such as hypothyroidism
• Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract such as ulcers, esophagitis or Crohn’s disease.
• Severe cardiopulmonary diseases or other conditions which may make them poor surgical candidates in general.
• An allergic reaction to materials contained in the band or who have exhibited a pain intolerance to implanted devices
• Dependency on alcohol or drugs
• People with severe learning or cognitive disabilities or emotionally unstable people