The Adjustable Gastric Lap-Band is a hollow band made of sylastic. The band is placed around the upper third portion of the stomach to create a small stomach pouch that initially holds 2 ounces of food, and eventually holds up to 4 to 6 ounces. Creating this restricted stomach space in the upper portion of the stomach causes a longer lasting feeling of fullness because the nerves that signal the brain when you’re full are located in the upper area of the stomach. The band further works by slowly allowing the food you eat to be released into the lower portion of the stomach for digestion. While Millennium does not perform the surgery to place the lap band around the stomach we are a leader in aftercare education, adjusting and filling the lap band once it is in place.

Lap Band Fills & Adjustment

What is a fill?

The Lap Band is an adjustable device. It can be "filled" to achieve the level of restriction each patient requires to lose weight in a healthy manner.

Do I need a fill?

A properly adjusted band should restrict your eating to about a third of your pre-surgical intake. If you can eat more than a third, you may need an adjustment. Remember, you must be eating only solid foods since the band is designed to restrict only solids. If you are eating mostly soft or liquid foods, we cannot evaluate the need for a fill since these foods will easily pass through the band even when properly restricted. After about a year, some patients find while they are eating only a third of their volume, selecting their food wisely and eating only solid foods, but still not loosing weight. This may also mean they require a small adjustment to "fine tune" their band to resume weight loss.

How much is right for me?

If everybody wore the same shoe size, then just one adjustment might also be right for everyone. The precise fill can only be determined for each individual at that moment in time. This means, if your fill volume (1 to 3 mls) results in the perfect restriction, this may not be the case several weeks or months later. A number of things determine the right fill such as your weight, (the more you weigh, the more intra-abdominal fat one has). As you lose weight and your stomach thins, you may need a tighter adjustment. The adaptation of your esophagus and stomach also play a role in restriction.

What to expect

We can perform fills under X-ray at Millennium. This will permit us to visualize the size of the fill, assess the proper band position and the level of tightness produced when we inflate the band. We do this by accessing the port under the skin with a special needle. This is a quick and relatively painless procedure. Once the port is accessed, we ask the patient to swallow water or sometimes liquid barium that shows up under X-ray. The whole procedure takes less than 30 minutes.

We will expect you to be on liquids for a couple of days in order for you and your body to get used to your new fill. Some people will try eating solid food while driving or flying back home, they will have food get stuck, then it becomes a medical emergency to remove liquid from the band. So after a fill, you must follow doctor's orders!

After you have your lap band surgery you can count on Millennium to help you maintain your fills and adjustments.