San Antonio Vertical Banded Gastroplasty

Often confused with gastric bypass surgery where the small intestine and stomach are surgically altered, the vertical banded gastroplasty is a gastric partitioning procedure similar to lap band surgery.

Vertical banded gastroplasty restricts a patient’s food intake by creating a small stomach pouch at the top of their original stomach. In this procedure, the upper stomach near the esophagus is stapled vertically for about 2 ½ inches to creating the pouch. The outlet from the pouch is then restricted by a band or ring that slows the emptying of food and thus creates a feeling of fullness.

The vertical banded gastroplasty medical weight loss procedure does not bypass sections of the intestine or impair the patient’s ability to digest food. Initially the pouch is fairly small and only allows a minimal amount of food to be eaten, however over time the pouch expands to permit more food intake. The patient experiences a feeling of fullness after a limited amount of food.

The popularity of this operation has decreased in recent years as it does not produce as high a percentage of total excess body weight loss as other procedures, in addition to other problems.