Lap band is being preferred in United States because the lap band procedure is not difficult. The procedure of inserting lap band around the stomach does not take long to complete. The procedure of inserting lap band takes just 8 to 10 minutes to complete and the patient just have to stay for 2 or 3 days in the hospital. After 2 or 3 days the patient can go his or her place. Now the question arises what is lap band and how and why it is inserted around the stomach?

Lap band is an inflatable silicone prosthetic device which is inserted around the stomach so that stomach can be divided into portions which are the upper potion and lower portion of the stomach to reduce the holding capacity of the stomach. When the holding capacity of the stomach is reduced, patient will be able to hold lesser amount of food than the amount earlier he or she used to take. When the person consumes lesser amount of food he or she will start using his stored fat and this way the patient reduces his or weight.

Lap Band can be inserted around the stomach by many ways. But the surgeons prefer to insert through laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery does not involve any cutting or stapling of stomach. This reduces the pain involved after any kind of surgery as well as it reduces the duration which usually the surgeries involving cutting and stapling of stomach take. In laparoscopic surgery is done with the help of an instrument called laparoscope, which has a light source at its tip. This is inserted into the abdomen and illuminates the cavity. It also has a small lens at its tip, which carries the images to a video monitor by a fiber optic lens system. On that monitor whole staff can view the images of stomach in the real time and with that only complete laparoscopic surgery is performed. In spite of making big cuts 2 or 3 small incisions are made to insert lap band around the stomach.

As there is no cutting and stapling of stomach involved in inserting lap band through laparoscopic surgery there is no blood loss and patient does not feel weakness. Lap band surgery involves very less post-operative complications because of laparoscopic procedure.