FDA Examines Lap Band Expansion

By Christopher Walker
Dec 3 2010

The Food and Drug Administration announced today that they are currently considering an expansion of the guidelines for patients that wish to undergo the lap band weight loss surgery in the US.

The lap band is the less invasive form of weight loss surgery that has been gaining favor in the US over the years. Rather than surgeons performing dangerous surgery on the stomach and intestines, a small band is placed around the top of the stomach and used to form a pouch.

The pouch is much smaller than the stomach and restricts the amount of food that can be taken in. This leads to a slow and steady weight loss that is found to be safe and effective for most that have the procedure.

However, the FDA has guidelines that say that only those that are in the morbid obese range can receive the lap band procedure. This has severely limited the number of people that are undergoing the surgery each year.

But the FDA is looking at their current regulations and announced that they may soften the guidelines to include those that are not yet obese but still wish to control their weight.

Since the procedure was approved, the lap band has overtaken the weight loss surgery world. Surgeons often prefer the lap band because of the limited risks that are present as opposed to the gastric bypass that carries significant risks of bleeding, infection and death. The FDA plans to announce their findings early next year.