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Did you know that unlike gastric bypass surgery, the adjustable gastric band or lap band surgery procedure is reversible? The lap-BAND System received approval from the food and Drug Administration for use in the United States back in June 2001. Another type of gastric band, the Swedish adjustable gastric band, differs from the lap-BAND because it's not designed for use with keyhole laparoscopic surgery.

In general, gastric banding, including the Lap Band procedure and weight loss system is indicated for people for whom: Body Mass Index is above 40, or for those who are 100 pounds (45 kg) or more over their estimated ideal weight according to the 1983 Metropolitan life insurance Tables or for those between 30 to 40 with co-morbidities, which may improve with weight loss (high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, and arthritis). Mentally disabled or emotionally unstable people won't be considered for lap band surgery. The lap band surgery is usually not performed if one has an untreated glandular disease like hypothyroidism, where other solutions may still be sought.

In order to be considered for surgery one must have the comprehension of the risks and benefits of the gastric band procedure and willingness to comply with the substantial lifelong dietary restrictions required for long term success. Failure of dietary or weight-loss drug therapy for more than one year can also make one eligible for the adjustable gastric band procedure.

Gastric dumping syndrome problems that occur in other types of surgeries do not occur in lap band surgeries because no intestines are removed or re-routed. Unlike those who have procedures such as Roux -en -y gastric bypass surgery, duodenal switch or biliopancreatic diversion, it's unusual for gastric band patients to experience nutritional deficiencies or malabsorption of any micronutrients. Another plus is the surgeon uses a specialized needle to avoid damage to the port membrane.

lap band or gastric band placement, unlike the traditional malabsorptive weight loss surgeries does not cut or remove any part of the digestive system. The placement of the adjustable gastric band creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach, which holds approximately 50 ml. This pouch 'fills' with food quickly and the passage of food from the top to the bottom of the stomach is slowed down. calcium supplements and Vitamin B12 injections are not usually required following gastric banding as they are with Roux-en--y gastric bypass surgery and other surgeries.

The amount of weight that is lost following the months after surgery will depend on the individual and their personal circumstances, motivation, and mobility. Some patients may find that before their first 'fill' appointment they are still able to eat fairly large portions. Post surgery the patient should consider eating less, eating slowly and chewing food thoroughly.

Following surgery, adjustments, which are also called 'fills', may be performed using a fluoroscope so the radiologist may evaluate the placement of the band, the port and the tubing, which runs between the port and the band. Initial weight loss in gastric banding is slower than with Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery but statistics indicate that over a five year period the weight loss outcome is usually similar.

Complications of gastric band surgery include ulceration and irritated stomach tissue. Some of the mechanical malfunctions that can occur post-surgery are port leakage, cracking of the kink-resistant tubing or disruption of the tubing connection from the port to the band, port site pain and port displacement.

Some of the adjustable gastric band surgery complications involving the band itself and port can include band slippage, pouch dilation, esophageal dilatation or dysmotility and erosion of the band into the gastric lumen. Erosion can occur where the band may wear a small area on the outside of the stomach which can lead to migration of the band to the inside of the stomach.

Many factors can affect the total cost of surgery, including the gastric surgeon you choose, where you choose to have the surgery performed, and what fees are included or not included in the price and if you're traveling out of the country. Some post-surgical weight loss surgery teams offer support groups, but some of them mix gastric bypass surgery patients with gastric banding patients, so it's important to try to find a support group for gastric banding only. The adjustable gastric band surgery is fully reversible, has a short hospital stay and there is usually a quick recovery, but be fully aware of the complications that can occur.

For more information on lap band weight loss surgery and lap band surgery complications visit http://www.Lap-Band-Surgery-Info.com a nurse's website offering tips and information on lap band surgery, adjustable gastric band surgery, medical travel for low cost lap band surgery and cost of lap band surgery

If your Xbox 360 has stopped working and you are getting the 3 red light error dont panic, there is hope. With some basic tools and a decent repair manual you can fix it yourself.

You will need a set of torx screwdrivers, If you do not have a set you can pick up a cheap set at your local hardware store.

The 3 red light error means there is a general hardware failure. First thing you can try is to dis-connect everything and let your console sit for 20 minutes unplugged from the power. Re-connect everything and try it again, If you are still getting the error remove the hard drive and re-install it. Sometimes they get loose and you get a bad connection.

If that did not fix it you will need to open it up at this point. The most common failures are no video or disks will not read. Both can be repaired fairly easy.

If you have no video you can try a different video cable, borrow a friends if you do not have another one. If you still have no video but audio is working you will need to check the soldering connections on the main board for the video connector. Consult the manual before attempting this or any other internal repairs.

If your Xbox is not reading the disks or getting disk errors make sure your disks are clean. After that you may have to replace the dvd drive or if you have the skills you can remove the dvd drive and replace just the pick up assembly. This is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole drive. Again consult the repair manual before attempting this.

Your other option is to send your console off to microsoft and Wait. Nothing worse than having halo 3 and not being able to play it. I prefer to do my own mods and repairs. The console unit is very similar to your home computer, it is actually a small computer. With a little patience anyone can learn how to do there own repairs.

Once you learn about the inner workings of you game console and repair it you will become real popular with your friends when the game breaks down. This has turned into a part time business for me. Word seems to get around fast. If you want you can make some decent money doing repairs. People would much rather have someone local do their repairs.

So you've finally had enough of battling with that dodgy old dial-up connection and are now contemplating going broadband. Or your current broadband connection is not meeting your needs and/or is too expensive and it's time for a change.

The choice you need to make is between Iburst, HSDPA (Vodacom and MTN) or ADSL from Telkom, which can be quite a daunting decision for the technically non-inclined. HSDPA and Iburst are "long range" wireless options not to be confused with "short range" wifi, while ADSL needs a fixed telephone line. So here are a few pointers to help make that decision a little easier.

Connection speed
First you need to decide what Internet speed you need. Obviously the faster the better. Below are the theoretically "maximum" speeds on offer:

Iburst: Up to 1Mbps
HSDPA: Up to 1.8 Mbps. Drops to GPRS rates in non coverage areas.
ADSL: Up to 384 kbps, 512kbps, 1 Mbps and 4 Mbps (1024 kbps = 1Mbps)

In South Africa, however, the reality is that these maximum speeds are rarely achieved (if ever) because actual average speed achieved is dependent on factors such as time of day, location, supplier capacity, remote site being accessed and technical problems. For example, right now my current speed is averaging around 175 kbps on a 512 kbps ADSL link. Obviously the higher the maximum speed capability of your link, the higher the average speed you will get while surfing.

Price per bandwidth
Next you need to decide between the different packages on offer. All companies charge differently although, after installation, price essentially boils down to cost per Mbyte. With Telkom this price is also dependent on the speed of the ADSL link chosen, as well as the cost of your ISP (Internet service Provider). What you need to decide is how many Gigabytes (1024 Mbytes) you need per month and at what speed, and select a package that is appropriate for your needs.

As a comparison, I have listed below the comparative monthly costs for roughly the same packages (+- 3 Gigabytes of data) at speeds of 1 Mbps (or higher) as of 12th June 2007:

Iburst: R0.17/Mbyte/month (3500 Mbytes pro Classic package, no modem)

HSDPA: +- R0.20/Mbyte/month (2048 Mbytes in bundle rate from MTN/Vodacom)

ADSL: R0.21/Mbyte/month (3 Gigabytes Cap with 1Mbps line using Axxess as ISP at R125/month)

(Prices do not include once off costs such as routers/modems etc)

Although the Iburst option works out the cheapest at 1 Mbps (or greater), if you are happy with a 384 kbps line speed, then the ADSL cost reduces to +- R0.12/Mbyte i.e. you are sacrificing speed for price. On the other hand, if you need the faster speeds and are confident that the wireless coverage will be reliable in your area, then one of the wireless options may be the way to go.

Reliability
Unfortunately the reliability of each of the above connections is hard to predict and I have seen and heard of cases where all connection types have been unreliable and slow. This usually boils down to one of the following reasons:

Time of day: At certain times of the day, there will be more users online sharing the same resources, so overall speeds obtained will be lower than at other times.

Your location: Especially true for the wireless options as in certain locations, speed will be much better than in others. This is because the wireless signal coverage is affected by objects such as distance from the transmitter as well as buildings, weather, mountains etc between the transmitter and your router. For example, I have used HSDPA cards at the CTICC centre in Cape Town and got average speeds of only 270 kbps. While the coverage for all is increasing, ADSL is the most likely only choice for many areas because of Telkom's huge infrastructure. Iburst and HSDPA are mainly focused in major cities. It is however important to check the reliability of wireless coverage at your site before going ahead with using a wireless connection.

Technical problems: All the suppliers will experience technical problems from time to time and that invariably effects connection speed - unfortunately in South Africa this is far too common a problem at the moment.

Internet Needs
If you are planning to use the Internet while on the move using a laptop, for example, then Iburst and HSDPA are the only options available ADSL needs a fixed phone line.

However, if you will be accessing the Internet from one location then you have the option of using any of the three. Personally I prefer using a fixed ADSL line because, in my opinion (and Telkom technical problems and personal dislikes aside), a physical wired solution should always be more reliable than the wireless options. If you need wireless with ADSL, you always have the option of using wifi, which will give you short range wireless connectivity (+- 35 meters from the router with longer ranges possible using the right setup).

Also, the type of applications you will be running will influence your selection. If all you need is "reasonable" Internet speed for email and browsing, then 384 kbps from Telkom may be all you need. On the other hand, if you are downloading large files or need a fast connection between two offices, then you will need a faster connection.

My Preferences
Home/Business fixed location: ADSL from Telkom (Non Telkom Router) Roaming user with laptop: HSDPA from MTN

This article is adapted from one that first appeared on the ITRoadblog published by Precision Networks