Laparoscopic Placement of a Inamed LapBand

Post-op Course and Instructions

The Laparoscopic placement of the Lapband™ can be performed as an outpatient procedure or as an overnight stay. Your surgeon will inform you of what hospitalization option he or she will select.

All patients will be discharged from the medical center when they are ready for discharge.

The day of the procedure, the patient will be allowed to drink small amounts of fluid. The next morning, their diet will be advanced to a clear to full liquid diet and patients will be discharged on the same diet. Patients can only be discharged if they are able to tolerate fluids. Rarely, some patients may not be able to have a sufficient intake of fluid or will simply not be able to drink. Your surgeon will then decide to run tests to determine if the placed, non-inflated band is too tight.

Post LapBand™ patients are given simple and straightforward instructions. They are as follows:

1. Diet: All patients are instructed to remain on a full liquid diet for two weeks and until seen in our office. At that time your surgeon will decide if their diet can be advanced to a soft diet. Patients should not increase their diet too quickly. By doing so they can trigger emesis and vomiting which can dislodge the band in the early post-operative period.

All patients should  initially be careful when eating dry food such as rice, chicken, etc.

2. Exercise: All patients must be as active as they can. We recommend all patients walk at least one mile during the first post-operative week to be increased to two miles after that. The more walking the better; there is no limitation. We recommend patients do not exercise strenuously for the first two weeks to avoid the access port to be shifted out of position. Afterward, all exercise is encouraged; all patients should exercise one hour per day, five times per week at minimum.

3. Vitamins and Supplements: We recommend one chewable multi-vitamin per day.

4. Normal occurrences and symptoms: Most patients will not experience any unusual symptoms in the post-operative period. Other states they feel a unusual sensation when swallowing fluid as if the fluid was hanging prior to get into their stomach. This is normal as long as it is not painful.

5. Symptoms to report immediately: All post-operative patients experiencing the following symptoms should contact their surgeons immediately.

• Fever

• Persistent pain when swallowing

• Increasing pain at the site of the access port

• Abdominal pain

6. Medications: Patients should resume their routine medications upon discharge. All medications should be crushed for the first month. Some medications cannot be crushed and liquid equivalent should be requested from your primary care physicians. Other patients such as patients with diabetes will need to have the dosage of their medications adjusted. Again, patients should check with their primary care physicians.