Can You Have Lap Band Surgery After Gallbladder Removal?

Lap band surgery, or adjustable gastric banding, is a surgical procedure in which an adjustable band is placed around the stomach to limit the amount of food a person can eat, helping him lose weight.

Gallbladder Removal

• According to UFirstHealth.com, about 500,000 patients have their gallbladders removed every year in the U.S. Most often, the gallbladder must be removed due to gallstones. Sometimes the gallbladder does not function properly for other reasons and needs to be removed.

Lap Band Surgery and Gallstones

• After lap band surgery, the rapid weight loss can trigger the development of gallstones because it upsets the balance of bile salts to cholesterol. According to Dr. Charles Callery, about 11 percent of lap band surgery patients develop gallstones and must have their gallbladders removed.

Removing the Gallbladder During Lap Band Surgery

• To prevent the need for future gallbladder surgery, some surgeons simply remove the gallbladder during the lap band operation. People can live long and healthful lives without a gallbladder, and removal of the gallbladder does not affect the placement or function of the lap band.

Lap Band Surgery After Gallbladder Removal

• Obese people are more likely to develop gallstones than people of normal weight, so many lap band patients have their gallbladders removed before they have lap band surgery. Having no gallbladder does not prevent a person from having lap band surgery, and it usually causes no complications with the surgery.

Open Versus Laparoscopic Surgery

• According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, the only potential complication that prior gallbladder surgery might cause during lap band surgery is that the patient may have developed scar tissue from the gallbladder removal. Then it might become difficult for the surgeon to perform lap band surgery laparoscopically, and he may have to do an open procedure.