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Advertising Guidelines Set for Lap-Band Maker

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The creator of the Lap-Band, Allergan Incorporation, is currently in the middle of some serious controversy which accuses the company along with surgical centers of advertising in a false manner that has actually mislead a lot of people, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The truth is, before a person undergoes the Lap-Band procedure, he/she should be provided with detailed and useful information about the procedure. The doctor should not only cover the benefits about the procedure but should also talk about risks, post-surgery problems that may arise, and other negative features of the surgery as well. Patients should always have an understanding of what they are getting themselves into prior to actually having the surgery performed.

The Lap-Band procedure is typically performed on extremely overweight and obese patients who are in need of losing a serious amount of weight to achieve an ultimately healthier lifestyle. The lap-band is a ring that is put over an area of the stomach to prevent the individual from eating too much. When an individual has this procedure performed, he/she will not be able to eat the way that they used to but because they will eat much smaller portions then before, the individual will be able to lose a significant amount of weight. While the surgery is performed for a good reason, there are always risks and patients should always be educated about these risks before they make their decision.

The benefits along with the risks and how the procedure is performed should be information that is provided to the patient as soon as they gain interest in this procedure. They should not be provided with misleading information that sugarcoats the procedure and says nothing about the negative side effects and risks that could possibly occur.

The reason for the controversy is, several different surgical centers in the California area long with 1-800-GET-THIN, which is a marketing firm, has actually misled their patients by talking only about the procedure in a positive light and not talking about the risks and side effects that come along with this procedure. There are some marketers who are using very misleading slogans as means of getting people to give this procedure and try and it is simply unfair to the patient. One slogan even claimed that diets do not work but the Lap-Band procedure does. This is sad because dieting is still important, even after the individual gets the Lap-Band procedure done.

Any doctor who supports the Lap-Band surgery should be honest about the procedure when advertising. The doctor should talk about the benefits but also about the risks as well along with using real statistical information and data to back up statements that have been made about the procedure. Each patient deserve to know the whole truth, not just the partial truth.

Advertising Guidelines Set for Lap-Band Maker by
Authored by: Harrison Barnes