Media reports tell us that there are more and more overweight and obese people every year in the US. While many people want to shed a few pounds to look good, those who suffer from obesity or severe obesity need to lose weight to avoid a number of serious health problems. Obesity can shorten a person’s lifespan by as much as 20 years, and lead to comorbidities like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and hypertriglycemia, congestive heart failure, fertility problems, arthritis, joint and back pain, and sleep apnea. Without weight loss surgery, Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S. and his team at Dr. Feiz & Associates know that patients may not be able to lose the weight they desperately need to lose. That’s why he became one of the best bariatric surgeons in the United States, with training in Lap Band, gastric sleeve, sleeve gastrectomy after Lap Band, and other weight loss procedures. Although Lap Band is a great success for many patients, there are a few rare cases when the procedure doesn’t work. This can be due to the band itself moving, chaffing, being too tight or too loose, or otherwise failing to create the proper “pouch” for food to move through. However, Dr. Feiz has also found that the “hunger hormone,” ghrelin, often prevents patients from losing weight or maintaining weight loss. With the Lap Band procedure, the stomach is cinched in with a band, which means the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin remains. This can cause patients to continue to overeat by eating too many snacks between meals, or it can lead to cravings for fatty, unhealthy foods. A band to sleeve revision removes the Lap Band and permanently reduces the size of the stomach through the gastric sleeve procedure, which also removes the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin. Dr. Feiz wants to answer your questions about the Lap Band vs. gastric sleeve procedures, so contact Dr. Feiz & Associates today for an appointment.