FAQs: What is a lap band fill center?
Posted by Adam Yarbrough on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 03:56 PM
When you first start investigating the LAP-BAND System or the REALIZE Band Solution for weight loss, you'll hear a lot of terms that might not make much sense at first. One of those terms is lap band fill center.
A laparoscopic band fill center is a place people with adjustable gastric bands can go to get band adjustments (commonly called fills) made.
Generally, an adjustment is called a fill because a healthcare provider will inject saline into the band through a port, filling the band tighter to help restrict the flow of food. More detail can be found about this on our post about lap band fills.
Normally, your surgeon's practice will perform adjustments to your band, and a busy surgeon will likely have nurse practitioners or physicians' assistants who can use their expertise to educate patients and free up the schedule for more surgeries.
It may be difficult to switch surgeons or practices, though, if you do not have a good relationship. To help those people, some general practices have set themselves up as independent lap band fill centers, and some surgeons may see other surgeons' patients in some cases.
There are some important questions to ask before selecting your surgeon regarding after-care:
- What does care look like after surgery here?
- How quickly can you get on the schedule for an adjustment?
- What sort of backup does the healthcare provider have to perform fills if they become unavailable?
- What happens if I have a problem outside of office hours?
- Does this practice have fluoroscopy to check my band for problems?
If after those questions are answered, you don't feel confident your surgeon's practice is committed to follow-up care, you should either find a surgeon who is or begin early to identify a practice that can give you the best care in the long term.
At Weight Loss Surgical Center, we have gastric band clinics that operate as lap band fill centers in Kansas City, Independence, Springfield and St. Peters, Mo.; Overland Park, Wichita and Topeka, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; and West Des Moines and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
To learn if adjustable gastric banding is right for you, download our free lap band information kit today.