Can Lap Band Be Done Several Years After a Gastric Bypass to Start Losing Weight Again?

Regain after a 10 year R-Y can be due yo pouch enlargement however I recommend a GI scan to determine if the restrictive function has being compromise or the anastomosis is not in the right place to do its malabsorption job. Definitely testing is needed before a revision is considered.

Lap Band surgery is possible in patients who have not had success with Gastric Bypass.  This is called a revision procedure.  The goal is to induce a sense of satiety with smaller portions and thus control portion size.  The procedure can be more complicated to perform, especially if the original gastric bypass was done as an “open” procedure with a long incision.  The results reported in the literature by experienced Lap Band surgeons show that revision surgery is successful in a high proportion of patients.  Patients should realize that any malabsorption problems that have developed as a result of the original gastric bypass are not altered by the Lap Band procedure.  Revision surgery should be performed by experienced Lap Band surgeons.

 

Yes, Lap-Band over a gastric bypass is a great option.  It is a very safe and effective procedure for patients that have regained weight after gastric bypass surgery.  This should be only performed by surgeons experienced with this procedure.

The best way to prevent weight gain after gastric bypass is to maintain a healthy lifestyle which includes regular excercise and adequate caloric intake. Most patients do gain some weight several years after a bypass procedure and this varies from 10 to 15 pounds.

In selected cases, a lap band may be placed around the gastric pouch via a laparocopic approach with somewhat adequate results. Gaining 50 lbs alone is not an indication for this, there are other criteria involved such as your co-morbidities, current BMI, size of the pouch, etc. This can be a more difficult operation than the original gastric bypass so carefully analyze your options with your surgeon.

Without knowing your case, any doctor can't answer this question with certainty. In a gastric bypass staples are used to separate your stomach. Rarely, but sometimes, a mechanical error can occur and the line of staples could open up. To check for that your doctor would do an upper GI swallow study or an endoscopy (this is study with light sedation where the doctor puts a camera in your abdomen to check out what's going on).  The small opening at the top of your stomach can open slightly and stretch so it can and will stretch. However, not that much. In fact, if the surgery was done properly you are working with a stomach that is smaller than before so it's really hard to gain back all the weight. My guess is you are lighter than you were before, but you are frustrated that you had a gain back in weight and 50 pounds is definitely significant. I don't know what your start point was so you most likely have lost weight, but you aren't where you want to be ideally. Investigating surgical options is definitely worth considering at this point because 50 extra pounds is a lot to carry around each and every day. That said, were you eating properly? Did you exercise? Have you taken a stress management class? Perhaps there's something medical like thyroid problems. You NEVER want to jump to a second surgery until you understand why the effects of the first surgery didn't last. That said, if you do a thorough follow-up. Get some second opinions, find out there's nothing medically or mechanically wrong there is no reason a LabBand couldn't help you.