One year after weight loss surgery with laparoscopic gastric
banding, extremely obese adults demonstrate not only better
physical health but also improved psychological health, a new
study shows. The results will be presented Monday at The
Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. "Surgical
treatment, such as laparoscopic gastric banding, is increasingly
recognized as the most effective means of achieving weight loss
and improving blood sugar control in morbidly obese patients
with Type 2 diabetes," said study co-author Andrew Johnson, MD,
of Southmead Hospital in Bristol, U.K. "However, until now, the
long-term psychological status of morbidly obese individuals
undergoing gastric banding has been unclear despite its
increasing use," said Johnson, a consultant physician
specializing in diabetes and endocrinology. Laparoscopic gastric
banding, also called the "Lap-Band" procedure, is a minimally
invasive weight loss surgery. It involves repeated adjustment of
a band to gradually make the stomach sm