The REALIZE Band was designed and developed with your safety and comfort in mind. The band is a strong, flexible silicone structure made entirely of biocompatible materials. With the REALIZE Band, weight loss occurs at a natural and healthy rate— ranging from 1- 2 pounds per week.
The REALIZE Personalized Banding Solution makes you feel full sooner which results in less food consumed at one time and makes it easier for you to participate in healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
The adjustable REALIZE Band divides the stomach into two parts: a small upper pouch and a lower stomach. The upper pouch can only hold about 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of food. For this reason, you will feel full sooner and longer than usual.
To maximize the benefits of the REALIZE Band, you should eat several small nutritionally balanced meals each day. Remember it will still be important to eat foods that are low in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sugar. Also:
- Remember to chew slowly and take smaller bites and
- Include protein in your meals which will help you feel full longer
- Avoid high-calorie drinks
- Drink more water
Your healthcare team will give you advice regarding the large variety of foods that is appropriate to maintain healthy and balanced nutrition.
Ensuring your success with the REALIZE Band requires hard work, dedication to your new lifestyle, and support from your loved ones. To help you along the way, the REALIZE Personalized Banding Solution includes an online tool that will help you and your doctor set goals and continuously watch your progress together - for up to 3 years.
You might be asking yourself, what sizes does the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band come in? Simply stated, one size fits all. That’s right, because it’s an adjustable band, it can be tailored to your individual needs.
The purpose of an adjustment is to ensure that you feel satisfied when you eat and that you are losing weight gradually, about 1-2 pounds per week.
The adjustments are done by your doctor or another healthcare professional by adding sterile saline to the band through the port.
Adjustments can also involve removing saline from the band through the port. When filling the band, saline travels from the port through the tube and into the band, making the band fit more snugly around your stomach.
Here is some additional information you should know about adjustments:
- Because your doctor wants to make sure that your stomach completely heals from the surgery, your first band adjustment won’t usually occur until 4-6 weeks after your surgery.
- Adjustments do not require more surgery. In fact, an adjustment can be made in a doctor’s office or a clinic, and usually only takes 5-10 minutes.
- An adjustment when fluid is added is referred to as a “fill”. Fills tighten the band around the stomach so you’ll feel full sooner and longer than you did before the fill, because the food will empty from your upper stomach more slowly.
If you’re to the point where you want to learn more about the surgery, congratulations! Being a well-informed patient is one of the best ways you can help yourself achieve your weight loss goals. To understand how the REALIZE Personalized Banding Solution works, we need to review some simple anatomy. Below is more information about the digestive system and adjustable gastric banding surgery. We’ve also provided an animation that should help to make it all clear.
To gain access to the abdominal cavity, small incisions are created on the abdomen. Trocars, which serve as passageways for the surgical instruments, are placed into the incisions. The surgical instruments are placed through the trocars into the abdominal cavity. The surgeon examines the abdominal cavity using a laparoscope or a video camera.
In preparation for the band, a tunnel is created behind the stomach. The REALIZE Band is introduced to the abdomen through a trocar. The REALIZE Band is positioned around the upper portion of the stomach then secured using the locking mechanism.
A tube attached to the REALIZE Band will be connected to the injection port. The port is used to adjust the band tightness after surgery. An incision is made on the upper abdomen to insert the REALIZE Injection Port beneath the skin. The tube is secured using the locking connector on the port. The injection port and tube are placed beneath the skin.
The REALIZE Band does not alter your digestive function. Food consumed passes through the digestive tract in the normal route. Approximately four to six weeks after surgery, you will visit your clinician and begin a series of periodic procedures to adjust your band. These adjustments may be necessary as long as you have your gastric band.
Your surgeon may tighten the REALIZE Band by injecting saline into the injection port. As the saline is introduced to the REALIZE Injection Port, it travels through the tube to the band. The addition of saline to the band creates a smaller opening between the stomach and the upper stomach pouch. This smaller opening pouch restricts the amount of food you can eat before feeling full.
The food you eat goes from your mouth, down the esophagus, and into your stomach. Once food collects in the stomach, strong digestive juices break it down so that the small intestine can absorb its nutrients. While food is in the first part of the small intestine, it is mixed with bile from the gallbladder and other juices from the pancreas. Food moves along the small intestines, where nutrients in the food are absorbed and turned into energy to fuel the body. After nutrients are absorbed, the remaining food that is not needed to fuel the body moves into the large intestine (also called the colon). From here, the excess food is eliminated from the body as waste.
Since the stomach is divided into smaller parts, most patients feel full faster, thereby decreasing their need for large amounts of food to satisfy their hunger. No part of your stomach is stapled or removed during surgery. Likewise, the intestines are not rerouted and can continue to absorb nutrients from food.
The REALIZE Band is made of strong, flexible silicone and has a soft balloon that fits around the stomach. The balloon can hold up to 9 cc (1.8 teaspoons) of sterile saline which is medical grade saltwater. The amount of saline in the balloon controls the tightness around the stomach.
The balloon’s tightness affects how much food you are able to eat during a meal and the length of time it takes for food to leave your stomach pouch to travel through your digestive system. How does this help you achieve your weight loss goals and improve your quality of life? You’ll feel fuller sooner and stay fuller longer with the REALIZE Band.
The band’s tubing is connected to the REALIZE Port. The port is made from an implant-grade medical plastic and silicone. It is usually fastened (or sutured) on the left or right side, about 2 inches below the rib cage. The exact location will depend upon your body shape and your surgeon’s decision. The REALIZE Port is attached during the gastric band procedure.