"LAP-BAND" the most used and abused word in bariatrics

[Bom Chan 0]

Hello everybody,

I am Bom Chan, head of obesity solutions of the BIB & LAP-BAND CENTER (www.totalobesitysolutions.com) here in the Philippines. I made a similar post under "General Discussion" of lapbandtalk last February 28, 2011. You may wish to read about that topic (What everyone needs to know about the term"LAP-BAND") but I will be repeating a few of the things I have previously written.

Let's start from the beginning, the term "bariatrics" is derived from the Greek work "baros" which means "pressure". Bariatric surgery means "weight loss surgery" because obesity or excess weight puts a lot of pressure on an individual; pressure on his back, his knees, his health, and his self-esteem. There are different forms of bariatric surgeries but the gold-standard of bariatric surgery is the LAP-BAND surgery. On the other hand, the BIB System(BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon System) is a non-surgical (endoscopic gastroplasty or placing of an intragastric balloon in the stomach through the mouth) bariatric procedure.

LAP-BAND surgeries in the Philippines are presently being performed by 2 (TWO) bariatric surgeons in 3 (THREE) centers of excellence in Metro Manila, namely Dr. Edward Oliveros of 1.) St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City and 2.) St. Luke's Global City and Dr. Ferdinand Samonte of 3.) Delos Santos (DLS-STI) Medical Center in Quezon City. LAP-BAND surgeries are NOT performed in aesthetic centers in the Philippines as one may think from doing internet searches. LAP-BAND surgeries are also NOT being performed in Metro Luzon by other surgeons in other medical centers not listed above.

The term "LAP-BAND" and "LAGB" are proprietary and these are registered trademarks/intellectual properties of Allergan Incorporated of Santa Monica, California, USA. "LAGB" means "LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding" as opposed to other brands of adjustable gastric banding. "LAGB" does not mean "laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding."

I wish to stress the importance of terminolgies here because it is just too convenient to say "LAGB" is a better option than other invasive forms of bariatric surgeies, use the data of the LAP-BAND to support the claims of safety and effectiveness, and then use another brand of gastric banding because the surgeon "thought" that the term "LAGB" is used to describe a surgical procedure. FYI, the generic term for the surgical procedure is "Gastric Banding" not "LAGB".

When a patient decides to have a Lap-Band surgery, he should ask the surgeon the following things:

1.) Is the surgeon using a LAP-BAND manufactured by Allergan, Incorporated?

2.) Can the patient have a look at the box prior to surgery? The LAP-BAND comes in a box sealed in plastic and comes with the following markings on the box:

a.) ALLERGAN

b.) LAP-BAND AP System

Large

REF.: B-20265

or

LAP-BAND AP System

Small

REF.: B-20260

c.) SN (or the Serial Number)

3.) Can the patient keep the opened box AFTER the surgery. (This is pushing it a little bit, but who knows?)

When a person says that all bands are the same, that sounds to me very much like all watches tell the same time.

The LAP-BAND is the ONLY gastric banding that possesses all of the following:

a.) USFDA approved since 2001

b.) More than 600,000 procedures performed worldwide

c.) Supported by more than 1,600 scientific papers

Thanks for reading.

Warm regards,

Bom Chan