Unfortunately, many weight loss surgery patients who opted for the lap band will come to the offices of Michael Feiz, MD, FACS for a consultation on how to fix their issues with it. Common problems include experiencing pain, not losing a sufficient amount of weight, or being constantly nauseous; those who suffer may visit Dr. Feiz to learn about removing the band so that these can be resolved. Dr. Feiz, however, may encourage these patients to consider a lap band to gastric sleeve revision procedure if they haven't lost the weight they originally wanted to when they originally had surgery.

If the patient is healthy enough for surgery and are still obese and face obesity-related comorbidities, then Dr. Feiz can most likely perform a lap band to gastric sleeve revision. The process to convert band to sleeve requires taking out the offending lap band and then removing about 70-80% of the stomach. The stomach is then left in a much smaller, sleeve-like shape, which helps the patient feel fuller faster. It is a more complicated surgery than the original lap band procedure (because of scar tissue and other issues following surgery) and, as such, requires the skilled hand of an experienced bariatric surgeon like Dr. Feiz. He can perform the whole surgery entirely through laparoscopic methods. This minimizes surgical risk and allows Dr. Feiz to perform the surgery and only leave small incisions afterwards.

To learn more about a conversion procedure or, if considering an initial operation, the perks of lap band vs. gastric sleeve, give Dr. Feiz & Associates a call to schedule a meeting or attend a free educational seminar.