Why is the silastic ring band used?
We, at The Center for Surgical Treatment of Obesity at St. Mary Medical Center, and others who have performed thousands of gastric bypass operations without the band have documented that the opening from the stomach pouch does stretch in some patients over time and allows the patient to eat more, thus regaining some of the weight that has been lost. The band controls the emptying of the pouch and helps to maintain weight loss. This band has been used in thousands of patients who had the silastic ring gastroplasty. Some surgeons use different material instead of silastic ring. It is an external reinforcement to the stoma.
