Read on for detailed prices.

What is Lap Band Surgery?

Also called Laparoscopic Band Surgery, Adjustable Band Surgery, or Gastric Band Surgery, it is a procedure involving the placement of a band around the upper part of the stomach, which brings the following results:

• A small pouch is created above the band.
• The small pouch resulting from the lap band ensures that food travels very slowly to the rest of the stomach.
• It generates a “full” sensation in the person, thereby lessening food intake.
• The delay of the food’s downward travel to the rest of the stomach also helps increase the time for digestion.

Weight Loss Surgery in Las Vegas Made Easier: Here’s How

How is Lap Band Surgery Performed?

• Laparoscopic gastric banding is a minimally-invasive procedure. Gastric banding in Las Vegas performed by expert surgeons in our network.
• It involves making an average of 5 small incisions around the abdomen.
• During the surgery, the bariatric surgeon uses a laparoscopic device to view the structures inside the patient’s abdomen, images of which can be viewed in a monitor.
• Instruments are inserted in to the incisions and the surgeon uses the video camera to place the band around the upper portion of the stomach in order to create the pouch.
• As it is minimally-invasive, it can be done as an outpatient procedure, or with one night of hospital stay.

• The patient will have an access port placed somewhere in the abdomen (under the skin) where fills will be made through time.
• Fills are done by lap band clinics to tighten the band by injecting saline solution into the band through the access port.
• Tightening the band means increasing the pressure around the stomach’s upper portion, thereby continually decreasing the passage size.
• The tightening process or filling sessions are regularly performed until optimum results are achieved.

Qualification for Lap Band Surgery

• In December of 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the widening of the BMI range for patients who qualify for lap band surgery. Lap band surgery is now available to people with 30–40 BMI (instead of the previous 35–40BMI)
• One must have undergone medically-supervised diet therapy programs for at least 6 months and failed to lose weight
• People who need to lose weight in order to fight current obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, fatty-liver disease, apnea, etc.

In contrast, the following do not qualify for this weight-loss surgery:

• People with hypothyroidism or other endocrine-related diseases
• Gastrointestinal tract disorders like ulcer and esophagitis
• People with heart and/or lung diseases
• Those who are drug or alcohol dependent
• People not certified by psychologist/psychiatrist as mentally stable

Lap Band: Pre-Surgery

Here are some tips for lap band seekers to follow before surgery in order to maximize results:

• Coordinate with clinic or hospital for the proper pre-surgery dietary plan and follow it.
• Stay away from foods that are high in cholesterol and fats, start eating healthy as soon as possible.
• Start an exercise regimen to prepare your body for surgery.
• Avoid soda drinks and stay away from alcoholic beverages and cigarette smoke.
• Collect a support system that may be composed of close family and friends who will be around for you during this journey.
• Make a list of the foods that you can eat after the surgery as advised by your doctor; this will ensure that you will have everything available around you then.
• List the things you need to pack and make sure everything is ready for the Las Vegas lap band trip: clothes, toiletries, medication as prescribed, reading materials, cellular phone and charger, documents, etc.

Post-Surgery Care

• Get plenty of rest; however, do not confine yourself to laying down the whole day and walk around as you can do comfortably, and according to your doctor’s advice.
• Ensure all medications are available for the next week or two.
• Follow all post-operative diet and activity instructions by the doctor and hospital.
• Watch out for warning signals as advised by your doctor, some of these may be pain, high fever, bleeding, etc.
• Coordinate with doctor for next schedule of visit (check-up and lap band fills).
• Eat healthy foods and do not forget to always hydrate by drinking plenty of water throughout the day, ideally 6–8 glasses per day.
• If unsure of what to make of an unusual feeling or discomfort, call the doctor immediately and ask.

How Much do You Pay for Surgery?

• If paying by Cash, Cashier’s Check, Visa, Master Card or Discover: $15,500
• Financing Surgery: $17,000

(Submit the online quote-request form to know the latest prices)

What’s Included in the Package Price?

• Flight booking and travel assistance
• Consultancy by bariatric surgeon Dr. Thomas Umbach
• Surgeon team, surgery consumables, and anesthesia
• Pre-op and post surgery appointments included with psychological evaluation and nutritional evaluation

Please note that the following are not included in the package price:

• Other required pre-surgery laboratory work, EKG, and surgical clearance
• Post-surgery prescribed medicines
• Protein shakes and vitamins
• Airfare
• Hotel and transportation

Why Go to Las Vegas for Lap Band Surgery?

• You get quality care at affordable prices right within the United States.
• You do not have to make elaborate arrangements on documents for traveling to Las Vegas.
• Nevada offers a fun trip to anyone who visits it, and arrangements can be made for tourist attractions around the city for patients who want a longer stay before their weight loss surgery in Las Vegas.

About the Hospital

Your gastric banding will be performed in a Bariatric Center of Excellence. This hospital has been serving the region for more than 50 years. Here is a brief introduction into the hospital and its feature:

• Winner of the 2010 Thomson Reuters Healthcare Advantage Award
• 24-hour Emergency Department
• Dedicated, well-equipped bariatric surgery operating suite
• Amenities such as valet parking, room service and access to wireless Internet
• Accredited by:
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  • Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
  • Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
  • American Society for Bariatric Surgery

America’s Top Surgeon for Your Lap Band Surgery

Dr. Thomas Umbach (ranked among one of America’s top surgeons in the field of bariatrics by the Consumers’ Research Council of America) will perform your lap band surgery in Vegas, Nevada. Below is an outline of his profile:

• Over 13 years of experience in performing weight loss surgeries
• Performed over 1,800 WLS procedures
• Speaks English and Spanish fluently
• Certified by the American Board of Surgery
• Fellowship-trained in minimally invasive surgery from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
• Member of the Society of the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons

Risks of Lap Band Surgery

Some complications that may arise after lap band surgery are:

• Ulcers
• Gastritis
• Internal bleeding
• Infection
• Band slippage – the band does not hold its position and the lower part of the stomach can slip upwards – in extreme cases, this may need to be corrected through another operation
• Erosion – band slowly goes through the stomach wall and may cause leak of the contents of the stomach and/or bleeding
• Pain in the site of the access port
• Nausea and vomiting
• Chest pains
• Allergic reaction to the band material

Pregnancy and Lap Bands

If a woman who has a lap band around her stomach gets pregnant, adjustments can also be made to loosen the band to accommodate the increase in the amount of food intake both the mother and the baby require.  In the process saline solution is taken out of the band (instead of normal adjustments where it is injected into it), increasing the diameter of the stomach part again.
Advantages of Lap Band Surgery

• Minimally invasive and requires a very short recovery time
• Shorter hospital stay and less hospital and medical fees
• No additional surgeries are necessary for adjustment, the access port is used for adjustments when saline solution is injected
• No structures or part of any structure inside the abdomen are removed

Life after Lap Band Surgery

• Most patients lose 1-2 pounds weekly during the first year after surgery
• In some cases, patients can lose up to 3 pounds per week
• Support your newly-enhanced digestive system with a healthy diet and lifestyle
• Losing weight can cause excess skin to sag within the abdominal area, arms, sides and back; exercising regularly will help prevent or decrease sagging of the skin
• Stay away from unhealthy things that can cause irritation to your digestive tract: acidic foods, carbonated and alcoholic drinks, cigarette smoke, extra spicy food
• As the band decreases the amount of food consumed by a person, he may fail to get all the nutrients needed during the day
• Talk to your doctor about possible health supplements that he can recommend for you in order to support your daily nutritional needs

Right Clinic and Surgeon for Lap Band

• Browse through their website and look for significant information such as educational background, trainings, qualifications and other credentials.
• Search online for forum discussions among previous and current patients that may mention the clinic or surgeon’s name in order to get feedback.
• Call the surgeon for a discussion of the procedure.
• If working with a medical tourism agency, ask them to arrange for a conference call so you may discuss the process with the surgeon.
• Choose to work with a surgeon who advises you on things that will be best for your over-all health, and not the things that will convince you to have surgery with him; sometimes surgeons have to refuse performing other procedures on patients who might be at risk.
• Our network surgeons performing lap band in Las Vegas, strive to be there for a patient before, during, and after the actual procedure and will have open communication lines with you in case of emergencies.

Lap band surgery could be your ticket to the healthier life that you could think of only in dreams. The cost and other information about a gastric banding trip to Las Vegas can be requested by filling-out the estimate-request form on the right.

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates affordable Weight Loss Surgery or Bariatric Surgery in Las Vegas & many other world class destinations abroad. Fill out the free estimate request form for a free quote & more information.