BMI, FDA approval, fda guidelines, food and drug administration FDA opens lap band surgery to greater number of Americans

FDA opens lap band surgery to greater number of Americans Eligibility requirements for lap band surgical procedure have been modified by the FDA. Lap band studies confident the Food and Drug Administration to suggest that patients with a lower BMI than was recommended before should be considered eligible if they have health problems related to obesity. About 26 million additional lap band surgical procedure candidates were created when the Food and Drug Administration changed its guidelines for the procedure. Source for this article - New FDA lap band surgery guidelines loosen eligibility criteria by Newsytype.com.

Lower BMI threshold for lap band surgery

The new Food and Drug Administration lap band surgery guidelines reduce the minimum BMI to be eligible for the procedure from at least 40 BMI to 30 BMI. If somebody has an obesity-related condition like high blood pressure or diabetes or of they have had trouble with weight loss drugs and diets, then they may be approved for the lap band surgery as long as the Body Mass Index is over 30, or they have 36 percent body fat. A BMI of 30 would be given to somebody who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 203 pounds. The upper portion of the stomach will get a ring with saline solution in it with the lap band, or the Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding System. The amount of food eaten by an individual during a meal is all that changes with the lap band.

Surgery for weight reduction

Lap band surgery is sometimes confused with gastric bypass, a different weight loss surgery. In order to cut back how much food is being taken in, a Gastric bypass surgical procedure will make the stomach smaller along with applying for a piece of intestine. More weight is lost with the gastric bypass surgical procedure. It is riskier to do though. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes go down a lot with a gastric bypass surgical procedure. It only takes a few days to do. In the lap band surgery, many months may be needed before the symptoms go away. This is because the weight has to be lost first. There is another way in which the 2 surgeries differ as gastric bypass surgical procedures are not reversible. The lap band is reversible though. In the U.S., there were several surgeries performed in 2010 for weight loss. About 220,000 were recorded. About 60 percent were gastric bypass operations.

Lap band surgery effects

The brand new FDA ruling regarding lap band surgery is based on a trial conducted by Allergan, a lap band manufacturer, of 149 patients who had a Body Mass Index greater than 30 for an average of 17 years. The success of the trial was dependent on the numbers. After lap band surgery, 40 percent of patients had to lose at least 30 percent of excess weight. About 84 percent hit that target within a year and 65 percent were no longer considered obese and kept the weight off the second year. A patient with lap band surgical procedure will be monitored for five years. The weight can be watched by Allergan carefully.

Information from

CBS News

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/18/earlyshow/main20033327.shtml

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/health/la-na-lap-band-20110217,0,6472853.story

Web MD

webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20110217/fda-oks-lap-band-surgery-for-more-patients