Banding is a technique that is used to stop the leakage of blood from the varices. Oesophageal varices refer to abnormally enlarged veins in the oesophagus, which is quite common in people suffering from liver cirrhosis. This happens when the normal blood flow to the liver is obstructed by scar tissues. As the blood is not able to follow the normal path, it diverts towards the smaller vessels, that are not designed for transporting such a huge volume of blood. As a result, these small blood vessels start to leak and may even rupture, causing severe bleeding. The procedure uses an endoscopic approach, during which the varices are pulled using suction and an elastic band is tightly wrapped around them to stop them from bleeding.
