Gastric Banding: Khaliah Ali--Fighting Weight
May 10, 2007
May 22, Khaliah Ali's book, Fighting Weight will debut about her life and struggle with weight loss. After years of worrying about her morbidity, the author underwent gastric banding. Dr. George Fielding, of the New York University School of Medicine developed the technique that is used today for band implantation.
Fighting Weight states the benefits of gastric banding to be:
Removable--the band is simply placed around the stomach and periodically tightened, and may be withdrawn if necessary.
Lower Risk--associated with gastric banding than a gastric bypass. 1 in 2,000 versus the bypass's 1 in 200.
Lower Rules--pre-op weight loss and psychological evaluation are "less stringent" because the surgery is safer.
Patient Follow-Up--you'll see the doctor more often because the band will need to be tightened periodically. (Ms. Ali states that this is performed without anesthesia as an outpatient.)
No Hunger--the band tightening keeps the hunger away. The stomach will not stretch out as it may with the gastric bypass.
Dumping--there is no blood sugar drop after eating a little sugar as appears after a gastric bypass. (no sweats or nausea)
Nutritional Deficiencies--a multivitamin is recommended after banding. A gastric bypass patient will take supplements for his lifetime.
Pregnancy--the band is loosened and considered safe.
Surgery--less than an hour, back home after one day in the hospital; 1 of 5 weight-loss operations in the USA is a banding procedure. It's been utilized in Europe since the 1990's and was approved for the USA in 2001.
Khaliah Ali's interview will be coming soon, as will her book, Fighting Weight. Read about her life and the latest medical miracle for the obese.
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