Lap Banding

[airaholic]

Does anyone have any idea how CASA (or other powers that be) view a pilot contemplating getting a Lap Band?

[DX Wombat]

Please enlighten me - what is a lap band? Are you referring to gastric banding for weight loss?

[Bob the Doc]

Laparoscopic gastric banding is usually done to aid weight loss. It uses a synthetic band to reduce the gastric (stomach) volume which means you feel full earlier and eat less. It is remarkably effective in well motivated individuals and has 'cured' type 2 diabetes in many patients as the diabetes is essentially caused by obesity. In many centres in the UK you have to demonstrate that you have lost weight by dieting before you will be considered for banding

I can't see that the CAA will have any major objection to the surgery, except saying that you have to be fully recovered from surgery before flying. It is worth remembering that any laparoscopic surgery involves inflating the abdomen with CO2. Most of this is let out at the end but some remains. Obviously at altitude, this gas will expand but as it is reabsorbed quite quickly, it will take longer to recover from the surgery than for the gas to be absorbed

Post-op there is unlikely to be any major complications that would preclude flying unless you were diabetic beforehand as glucose control will be affected by the change in diet and you may find hypoglycaemic events are more common

Hope that helps

Bob

[DX Wombat]

Thanks Bob, my confusion arose from the fact that it was referred to as a Lap Band, not (the correct) Gasric band. I have to admit I was unaware that they were now being done via a laparoscope but then there isn't really much call for it in neonates. ;)

[Bob the Doc]

They'll try anything through a scope these days!

Liver resection yesterday, Hemicolectomy today

Where I work, the upper GI guys don't band anything other than stomachs and so the lap tells us how big a book we are going to need for the case!

[Bob the Doc]

Diabetes management is essentially a balance of energy in (mostly carbs, some fat and protein) and the stuff you do to bring it down (exercise and drugs for example). If you reduce the energy going in by halving your stomach's capacity and keep the same doses of drugs and the same amount of energy expenditure through exercise then your blood sugar goes down and you become hypoglycaemic. This is just as bad as your sugars going high (hyperglycaemia)

Obviously, this is a massive oversimplification but you get the gist

Managing the change is not always easy. You get it sorted in the end but expect a bit of faff while it all gets sorted. The CAA may want you not to be solo pilot while it is