Typical Course - Lap Band

Prior to coming to the hospital, please make sure that all your prescriptions are filled so that your support person will not be running around looking for them on the day of discharge.

Take nothing by mouth starting at midnight the night before surgery. Please discuss your regular medicines with the Surgeon and the Anesthesiologist to see which, if any of these should be taken with a sip of water.

Typically we ask you to be at the hospital admitting office two hours before surgery.

Placement of the band usually requires about an hour with some time before and after for Anesthetic preparation and waking up in recovery room.

In most cases, once you can tolerate sips of water, you have good pain control with the pain medicine by mouth, you can walk with minimal assistance and you can void without difficulty, you can be discharged home. However, if you have significant other medical problems (co-morbidities) you might be kept in the hospital for observation overnight.

Upon discharge, you will continue on sips of water for 24 hours before starting on stage II diet.

Post operative follow up is usually the following week.

Band Adjustments begin around 6-8 weeks after surgery.