What is the VBG surgery?

VBG is Vertical Banded Gastroplasty. I am not great at explaining it, but basically a small pouch is made in the top part of the stomach by using a gortex (or similar material) band which makes a small opening into the larger part of the stomach. A vertical staple line is also made to close off the pouch. The intestines are not affected and food absorption is not affected. It is a restrictive surgery meaning it only restricts the amount of food you can eat. The food empties slowly through the opening into the large part of the stomach so you can feel full longer. I had open VBG surgery on Aug 9th and I have not found anything so far that has made me sick. I've lost about 26 pounds and so far have had no complications. I hope this helps.

I think of the VBG as an extension of the esophogus. Imagine your esophogus, a long narrow tube emptying into you stomach. The VBG staples off the top portion of you stomach so it looks similar to your esophogus in width, the length I guess depends on your surgeon. At the end of this "extension" there is a band placed, I've heard of bands being made of metal or mesh. The band allows the food to slowly pass into the rest of your stomach. Due to this "back up" in the new pouch you feel fuller, longer. That's pretty much it. Hope that helps.

This seems to be similar to the lapband. What exactly is the difference?