Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

We introduced open adjustable silicone gastric banding (ASGB) for treatment of morbid obesity in our institution in 1991. It was done in a prospective study comparing ASGB with vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) with regard to weight loss. After 200 cases of open ASGB and 210 VBG procedures and the encouraging weight loss results, we started laparoscopic placement of the adjustable silicone band.