This is a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing PLAGB versus SLAGB. All adult (age older than 18 years) morbidly obese patients meeting NIH criteria for bariatric surgery (BMI > 35 + co-morbid disease or BMI > 40) who are undergoing bariatric surgery at the Duke Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery Center and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will be recruited. All enrolled patients will be randomly assigned to either the SLAGB (control) group or the PLAGB (study) group. Variables to be studied include patient age, gender, ethnicity, co-morbid disease conditions, height, weight, BMI, intra-operative data such as operative time and blood loss, and post-operative outcomes including length of hospital stay, complication rates, weight loss, and co-morbid disease resolution. In addition, each patient will complete standardized surveys rating their satisfaction from surgery, their quality of life (OWL-QOL-17), and their sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) at three distinct time intervals: pre-operatively and at weeks 24 & 48.