Banding is a medical procedure which uses elastic bands for constriction. Banding may be used to tie off blood vessels in order to stop bleeding, as in the treatment of bleeding esophageal varices. The band restricts blood flow to the ligated tissue, so that it eventually dies and sloughs away from the supporting tissue. This same principle underlies banding as treatment for hemorrhoids.
Banding may also be used to restrict the function of an organ without killing it. In gastric banding to treat obesity, the size of the stomach is reduced so that digestion is slowed and the patient feels full more quickly.