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Dr. Johnell shares the age at which patients can opt to have adjustable band bariatric surgery. Dr. Johnell is an advanced laparoscopic bariatric surgeon.
Dr. Johnell:
Adjustable gastric banding surgery or LAP-BAND® surgery is available to a wide age group.
We actually see patients age 17 and by the time they go through the preoperative process they have turned to age 18, and at age 18 we would offer a patient who needs it a banding procedure.
The reason that we don’t do patients under age 18 is that the procedure is not FDA-approved for adolescent yet.
There are some programs in this country that are offering adolescents adjustable gastric banding procedures but these are usually done under an institutional review board so it is experimental.
It is not covered by insurance, so it is a cash option for them.
Hopefully, this surgery will become more available to adolescents as insurance companies realize that adolescents can benefit greatly from the procedure and once the procedure is FDA-approved as well.
Initially we did have a upper age limit for the LAP-BAND®ing procedure. However, because we have recognized the high degree of safety in the procedure we have taken that upper age limit completely away.
So everybody is treated as an individual at the initial consultation and we have operated on patients in their 70s.
But those patients need to be good candidates for the operation and not have real serious medical problems that may exclude them from having a safe operation.
About Dr. Michael W. Johnell, M.D., F.A.C.S.:
Dr. Johnell is an advanced laparoscopic bariatric surgeon, specializing in the Adjustable Gastric Band procedure. Bariatric surgery constitutes 98 percent of his practice. He has 22 years of general surgery experience, 17 years of advanced laparoscopic surgery experience, and 7 years of laparoscopic bariatric surgery experience.
Keywords:
Condition: Obesity Morbid Obesity, Weight Loss, Morbidly Obese
Related Terms: Adjustable Gastric Band, Bariatric Surgery, Weight Loss Surgery, REALIZE® Band, LAP-BAND®, Sleep Apnea, Bariatric Revision Surgery, Nutrition, BMI, Body Mass Index
Location: Greenley, CO, Colorado, Cloverly, Alden, Johnstown, Hardman, Windsor, Auburn, La Salle, Gill Elm, 80631
Expert: Dr. Michael W. Johnell, Dr. Johnell, Michael Johnell, M.D., Bariatric Surgeon Michael W. Johnell, Doctor Johnell
Expertise: Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery, Adjustable Gastric Band Procedure, Bariatric Surgery, Weight Loss Surgery, Weight Reduction Surgery, Bariatric Revision Surgery