Laparoscopic surgery (also referred to as keyhole, bandaid or minimally invasive surgery) was first pioneered around 100 years ago with the first laparoscopic operation reputedly being performed on a human being in 1910.
Technical limitations meant that early laparoscopic procedures were largely confined to diagnostics and it was not until the mid 1980s and the arrival of suitable computer chips and camera technology that laparoscopic surgery really got going.
Today many procedures are performed and one very common and increasingly popular operation is that of laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery.
Weight loss surgery has been around for more than 50 years now and the alarming increase in morbid obesity in the Western world (and the United States and United Kingdom in particular) means that gastric bypass surgery is being performed more and more every day.
Open surgical procedures such as the classical Roux-en-Y are still routinely performed but, increasingly, patients are turning towards alternative forms of surgery and, in particular, to laparoscopic gastric banding. Indeed, in some parts of the world, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding has now become so popular that it counts for the vast majority of weight loss surgeries.
Unlike traditional surgery, laparoscopic gastric banding means a short period of hospitalization, followed by a reasonably fast recover and fewer post-operative complications.
The ability to adjust the band post-operatively also means that bariatric surgeons now have much greater control over patient management in the critical weeks following surgery.
As technology continues to advance so too will weight loss surgery but procedures like laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding are clearly here to stay and will only continue to increase in popularity.