Getting LAP-BAND^® Adjustments

Video Transcript 

Understanding the Green Zone

Video Transcript 

Listening to your body — and your LAP-BAND^® — to stay in the Zone for healthy weight loss.

An adjustment is an in-office procedure where your surgeon alters the amount of fluid in your band, making it tighter or looser. This allows you to customize the LAP-BAND^® System to meet your own needs. Just as you listen to your body, it’s important for you to listen to your LAP-BAND^® and work with your doctor to find the right fit, or degree of tightness, that allows you to feel full and comfortable. This will ensure you lose weight at a healthy, gradual pace. We call this getting into the Green Zone.

Staying in the Green Zone

The LAP-BAND^® System journey is different for each person and the exact amount of fluid required to make the new stomach opening the right size varies from person to person. An ideal "fill" level should be just tight enough to let you gradually lose weight. That means you should still be able to eat enough to get the nutrients that you need, while still reducing the overall amount you can actually eat. Roll over the headings in the Green Zone image below to learn about the characteristics of being in the Green Zone should feel like.

Get in the Green Zone

If you experience these…

[Yellow Zone] If you experience these characteristics you may be in the Yellow Zone and may need an adjustment.

[Green Zone] If you experience these characteristics you may be in the Green Zone.

[Red Zone] If you experience these characteristics you may be in the Red Zone and may need an adjustment.

Before adjustments

At first, your surgeon usually leaves your LAP-BAND^® System empty or only partially inflated. This gives your body time to get accustomed to your LAP-BAND^® System during the first few weeks. It also allows healing to take place. During this time, be especially careful to avoid regurgitation, as it puts unwanted pressure on this area.

Your first adjustment

This will usually take place about four to six weeks after surgery. The exact time will vary from patient to patient. The adjustment is a simple process:

1. Your surgeon will locate the access port underneath the skin of your abdomen — either by feeling for it on the surface of your skin, or using an X-ray.
2. A fine needle is inserted into the access port. You may feel a pricking sensation similar to when you give blood.
3. Sterile saline fluid is added to the band in your LAP-BAND^® System.

Future adjustments

As you gradually lose weight, it’s not unusual for you to need more than one adjustment. During the first year, most patients get between five and eight adjustments (adding or removing fluid). The most common reasons for adjustments are discomfort or vomiting after eating, eating too much without feeling full, or not losing weight. Once you reach your goal weight, your adjustments may become less frequent.

Only a trained and authorized clinician can adjust your LAP-BAND^® System. Never let an untrained clinician or a non-medical person do it. And never try to make adjustments yourself.