MONASH U. (AUS) — Gastric banding is safe and effective for managing obesity long-term, according to a study of patients 10 to 15 years after their surgeries. The study, the longest and most comprehensive yet reported, appears in the Annals of Surgery, and finds a significant number of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (lap banding) patients maintained an average weight loss of 26 kilograms for more than a decade after their procedure. Researchers analyzed the results in 3,227 patients who had gastric banding surgery in Australia between 1994, when the procedure was first introduced, ... Read More