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Gastric Band Adjustments
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by David Keogh, March 1st, 2013
One of the most often questioned topics from our new gastric band patients is gastric band adjustments. Many patients are unsure of the exact function of adjustments and are understandably initially cautious of having them done.
Firstly, gastric band adjustments are different for every single patient. Some patients may need very few adjustments, others may need multiple adjustments. A gastric band adjustment will either involve fluid being injected into the band via the port which is placed in front of the breast bone in order to tighten the band or fluid being removed from the band in order to loosen it via the same port. In simple terms, the tighter the band is, the less a patient can eat. A very common misconception is that an extremely tight band will mean more success. This is completely untrue. We intend to tighten the band to a point where the patient feels satisfied having only eaten a small meal, where they can comfortably eat food according to the given guidelines and where their weight is steadily decreasing. The actual adjustment is very straight forward. As already discussed, it involves injecting or removing fluid through the port. This process takes a matter of minutes to complete. The patient can either be standing or lying down during this time. The patient will feel a small scratch to the skin as the needle goes into the port, but after this point there is relatively no discomfort. Overall, it is no more than the same feeling when getting a blood test!
So there you have it, the basics of a gastric band adjustment! They’re nothing to be in fear or anxious over.
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