Patients diagnosed with severe obesity generally understand that, if they are to live a long and healthy life, they must lose weight. Unfortunately for many of these patients, losing weight feels like a losing battle with their bodies. Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S. founded Dr. Feiz & Associates to help these patients, who turn to weight loss surgery to help them lose the weight and keep it off. By discussing the benefits between bariatric procedures like Lap Band vs. sleeve gastrectomy, Dr. Feiz helps his patients make educated decisions for their future.

Although it is an uncommon procedure, Dr. Feiz particularly focuses on patients who need Lap Band revision surgery. There are many reasons that a patient could need this surgical procedure, including slipping, tightening, loosening, or erosion of the band. In some cases, Dr. Feiz has found that Lap Band patients still suffer intense hunger pangs and cravings because Lap Bands do not stop the production of ghrelin. In a person with an average body mass, the stomach produces ghrelin to tell the brain that the body needs food. About 20 minutes after a meal, ghrelin production stops, so the brain knows the body is full. For some severely obese patients, however, the stomach produces too much ghrelin, or won’t stop producing the “hunger hormone” after the stomach is full. If these patients undergo the Lap Band procedure, their body will still produce ghrelin, so they will still suffer cravings for fattening food, as well as extreme hunger pangs, even though they cannot physically fit more food into their stomachs. Dr. Feiz can perform the Lap Band revision procedure to remove the band, then remove 75-85% of the stomach through the gastric sleeve procedure, which also removes the portion of the stomach that produces ghrelin!

Contact us today if you need a band to sleeve procedure, or if you have any questions about the safety and success of weight loss surgeries. Dr. Feiz and his team are glad to answer these questions in an initial free consultation.