Vertical Banded Gastroplasty

Vertical banded gastroplasty, or VBG, is an elective surgical procedure in which the stomach is partitioned with staples and fitted with a plastic band to limit the amount of food that the stomach can hold at one time. Gastroplasty is a term that comes from two Greek words, gaster or "stomach," and plassein, "to form or shape.""Stomach stapling," also known as VBG, is part of a relatively new surgical subspecialty called bariatric surgery. The word "bariatric" is also derived from two Greek words, barys, which means "heavy," and iatros, which means "healer." A restrictive bariatric procedure, VBG controls the amount of food that the stomach can hold—in contrast to malabsorptive surgeries, in which the food is rerouted within the digestive tract to prevent complete absorption of the nutrients in the food.

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Adjustable Gastric Banding

Adjustable gastric banding is a restrictive weight loss (bariatric) surgery that involves placing an adjustable cuff around the upper part of the stomach. This cuff creates a narrowing and pouch that prevents large amounts of food from collecting in the stomach. The cuff is connected through a thin cord to the surface the body, just under the skin, so that adjustments to the cuff can be made without additional surgeries. This procedure is almost always performed laparoscopically and generally very safe.

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Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

A vertical sleeve gastrectomy or simply sleeve gastrectomy is a purely restrictive bariatric surgery. Restrictive bariatric surgery, and specifically vertical sleeve gastrectomy, aims to reduce the overall size of the stomach. In this procedure, the stomach is functionally removed from the digestive system through a vertical line of staples and then the body of the stomach is removed. This leaves the esophagus connected to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum) through a narrow tube. With most (approximately 85 percent) of the stomach removed, large amounts of food simply cannot be eaten—there very little stomach left to collect it. Gastric sleeve surgery is a relatively new procedure for weight loss surgery and is used primarily in patients with BMI scores above 60 or for those in whom banding surgeries pose an unacceptable risk.  

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