1 1 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
After receiving FDA approval in
2001, laparoscopic adjustable
gastric banding spent several
years as the darling of
bariatric surgery. But today
surgeons are taking out or
adjusting more gastric bands
than they're putting in. The
band's steady decline could be
due to complications, to
patients seeking more dramat-
ic results or to the rise of other
surgical weight-loss proce-
dures, such as the laparoscop-
ic sleeve gastrectomy. The
sleeve accounted for more
than half of all surgical
weight-loss procedures per-
formed in the United States in 2015, according to the American Society for
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, up from just 17.8% in 2011. Comparatively,
gastric banding accounted for just 5.7% of bariatric procedures in 2015,
down from 35.4% in 2011.
Other bariatric procedures have recently made headlines for the wrong
reasons. In August, the FDA issued a safety alert to healthcare providers
regarding liquid-filled intragastric balloons — the second this year — in the
aftermath of 5 patient deaths that occurred soon after the patients were
implanted with the devices. In all 5 instances, death occurred within a
month of balloon placement and, in 3 cases, within 3 days of placement.
THE SKINNY ON BARIATRICS
Will Bands Expand And Balloons Take Off?
• BAND PRACTICE Although its popularity has waned while
other procedures have grown, laparoscopic adjustable gastric
banding "has a place in bariatric surgery," says one surgeon.
