The Realize Band

[MsJacquiiC]

The REALIZE™ Band

REALIZE Band was FDA approved in 2007.

The REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band (REALIZE Band) is one of several options in the growing field of weight loss surgery. The band is a surgically implanted weight loss device that helps a person eat less and thus lose weight. The device consists of a silicone band, tubing, and an injection port. It is indicated for use in the treatment of morbid obesity.

How Gastric Banding Works

The REALIZE band is a restrictive type of bariatric surgery that reduces food intake by narrowing the opening to the stomach using a medical device. With this procedure all body organs remain intact and unaltered, it does not involve cutting the stomach and intestines or rerouting the digestive system, as in gastric bypass procedures.

During surgery, the gastric band is placed around the upper part of the stomach and the injection port is placed under the skin on the abdominal wall. The gastric band accomplishes two purposes:

1. It creates a smaller stomach pouch that can hold only a small amount of food, reducing the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time.
   
   
2. It makes the opening between the new stomach pouch and the main portion of the stomach smaller, which slows the movement of food through the digestive system. By slowing digestion, a person feels full sooner and for a longer period of time.

The size of the stomach opening can be made smaller or larger by adjusting the band to control the rate at which food passes through the stomach. The adjustments are made by adding or removing fluid from the band through an injection port which is connected to the band with tubing during a doctor's office visit.

About the REALIZE Band

The REALIZE Band was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2007. Although it was the second gastric band to be approved for use in the US, it was actually the first gastric band to be patented worldwide. It is marketed outside the US as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB), where it has been commercially available since 1996 and used to help more than 100,000 patients control their eating and manage their weight.

The Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band was patented in 1985 by Obtech Medical of Switzerland. In 2002, Obtech Medical and the SAGB patent was purchased by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., an operating company of Johnson & Johnson. They are marketing the gastric band in the United States as the REALIZE Band.

The gastric band was originally designed to be implanted using open surgery, since laparoscopic surgery was not common at the time. As laparoscopic techniques developed, surgeons began to implant the SAGB laparoscopically, which has been done successfully since 1994. The original band has undergone a few design changes and the company is claiming that the newer features result in fewer slips and fewer erosions.

Patient Eligibility for Gastric Banding

Gastric banding is used to facilitate weight loss in severely obese adults who have been obese for at least five years and have not been able to lose weight through non-surgical weight loss methods, such as supervised diet, exercise and behavior modification programs. The patient must fully understand the lifelong changes required and be willing to make the necessary changes in their eating habits and lifestyle. Patient eligibility for gastric banding is determined by a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 40, or a BMI of at least 35 with one or more severe health conditions associated with obesity, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and severe sleep apnea.

Benefits of the REALIZE Band

The potential benefits of using the REALIZE band include weight loss and improvement in obesity-related health conditions. In the US study, at three years after having the REALIZE Band implanted, the average weight loss was 42% of a person's excess weight, 35% of the patients lost 50% or more of excess weight, and 10% of the patients lost 75% or more of excess weight.

Weight loss occurs at an average rate of 1-2 pounds per week, which is considered a healthy rate and lessens the possibility of nutritional deficiencies. Gastric banding is a tool to help with weight loss, but ultimately weight loss depends on following the dietary guidelines and exercise program as recommended by a patient's doctor.

One of the unique benefits accompanying the REALIZE Band is the patient support program, called REALIZE mySUCCESS, which promotes long-term success after surgery. The program is for REALIZE Band patients only and provides online access to healthy, band-friendly recipes, personalized weight loss tracker, integration with a patient's bariatric surgery program, and interactive tools such as a food diary, body image diary, exercise tracker and daily reminders. Support has been shown to be a crucial part of weight loss success.

Realize Band Video:

Body Mass Index BMI A statistical method of figuring out the degree of excess or insufficient weight based on one's height & weight. Though the controversial BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is.

Morbid Obesity A condition in which the Body Mass Index is 40.0–49.9, which is roughly equal to 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight; a weight level that is life-threatening. A BMI greater than 50 is termed as "super obese." CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE JOURNEY BMI CALCULATOR!

Bariatrics The branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. The term bariatrics was created around 1965, from the Greek root baro ("weight," as in barometer), suffix -iatr ("treatment," as in pediatrics), and suffix -ic ("pertaining to"). Besides the pharmacotherapy of obesity, it is concerned with obesity surgery.

Hypertension Also referred to as high blood pressure, HTH, HTN or HPN, hypertension is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated. In current usage, the word "hypertension" without a qualifier normally refers to arterial hypertension. The Mayo Clinic specifies blood pressure is "normal if it's below 120/80".

Sleep Apnea A sleep disorder (a comorbidity often seen in obese patients) characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea, lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a "Sleep Study" which is often conducted by a pulmonologist. A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is used mainly by patients for the treatment of sleep apnea at home.

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass A type of gastric bypass procedure which combines restrictive and malabsorption techniques - meaning, it reduces the amount of food a patient can comfortably eat (restriction), and also reduces the amount of calories that can be digested in the small intestine (malabsorption). This combination of bariatric methods leads to greater weight loss and the roux-en-y procedure is seen as one of the best ways to treat clinically severe obesity. See WLS Videos for animated surgery technique.

Laparoscopy Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as compared to larger incisions needed in open surgical procedures. Laparoscopic surgery belongs to the broader field of endoscopy. The key element in laparoscopic surgery is the use of a laparoscope: a telescopic rod lens system, that is usually connected to a video camera. Also attached is a fiber optic cable system connected to a 'cold' light source (halogen or xenon), to illuminate the operative field, inserted through a 5 mm or 10 mm Trocar to view the operative field. The abdomen is usually insufflated with carbon dioxide gas to create a working and viewing space. The abdomen is essentially blown up like a balloon (insufflated), elevating the abdominal wall above the internal organs like a dome. The gas used is CO2, which is common to the human body and can be absorbed by tissue and removed by the respiratory system.

Obesity Obesity results from the excessive accumulation of fat that exceeds the body's skeletal and physical standards. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal according to standard age, height, and weight tables, or by a complex formula known as the body mass index. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase in 20 percent or more above your ideal body weight is the point at which excess weight becomes a health risk. CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE JOURNEY BMI CALCULATOR!

Diabetes Mellitus A disease that occurs when the body is not able to use blood glucose (sugar). Blood sugar levels are controlled by insulin, a hormone in the body that helps move glucose from the blood to muscles and other tissues. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body does not respond to the insulin that is made. There are two main types of diabetes mellitus: Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. All forms of diabetes have been treatable since insulin became medically available in 1921, but there is no cure.

Gastric Banding Surgery The adjustable gastric banding is a restrictive surgical procedure during which a silicone band is placed around the stomach, creating a small pouch. The band includes a balloon that is filled with a nontoxic fluid, most commonly a saline solution; periodic adjustments are performed by a healthcare professional who accesses the balloon via a subcutaneous port. Gastric band placement, unlike malabsorptive weight loss surgery (e.g. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, Biliopancreatic Diversion, and Duodenal Switch), does not cut or remove any part of the digestive system. See WLS Videos for animated surgery technique.

Pouch Most bariatric surgeries restricts the amount of food a patient can eat by reducing the size of the stomach by gastric banding, stapling or removal. What results is known as the gastric pouch.