Bariatric Surgery: Another Way To Lose Weight And Improve Your Health
There are many methods now available to reduce weight, including various diets, exercise programs, health and wellness consultations to get rid of unhealthy eating habits and develop new ones. One should definitely consider them all before thinking about weight loss surgery.
Weigh loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, is an option for people who need rapid weight loss. This is usually a last resort for obese patients who have attempted weight reduction for several years through diets and exercise programs with slow or minimal results, and a solution for those with serious health risks and disabilities due to obesity.
Among various types of weigh loss surgery procedures the following are the most common: gastric bypass surgery, that involves minimum risk, laparoscopic gastric bypass, the most well know of bariatric surgeries, and sleeve gastrectomy, a newer and less known procedure. The understanding of weight loss surgery procedures is crucial to making a well informed decision about your health.
Laparoscopic Band Surgery
Adjustable laparoscopic band surgery is a low-risk outpatient operation that takes about a half hour to complete. Patients are usually medically cleared to return to work within about 2 weeks.
Laparoscopic band surgery procedure is commonly called a lap band and will reduce patient weight by about half in the first year. A band resembling a belt is wrapped around a portion of the stomach to create a pouch. The band limits the amount of food passing into the pouch, making the patient feel full. It can be adjusted at a later time in the doctor’s office if needed.
Lap band surgery has been in use about 9 years and has about a 50% cure rate of Type II Diabetes and high blood pressure.
Gastric Bypass Surgery
The most popular and well-known of all bariatric surgeries is laparoscopic gastric bypass.
First performed in 1968, the procedure has changed slightly over the years and is also known as a Roux-en-Y bypass procedure. The surgery takes about an hour-and-a-half to perform and the patient will be hospitalized for the following 2 to 3 days. Patients may be out of work for 2 to 4 weeks after this procedure.
Laparoscopic gastric bypass involves creating new small stomach resembling a pouch. The new stomach is connected to the intestines in a bypass of a portion of the digestive system. The old stomach and its digestive juices connect with it downstream. As a result, patients feel full sooner, eat less and absorb fewer calories.
About 60% to 70% weight loss is expected in the first 9 months. In addition to losing weight, the procedure has an 85% chance of curing Type II Diabetes and a 60% cure rate on high blood pressure.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is newer than most other types of weight loss surgeries and, as a result, is not as well-known. Not all insurance companies will cover the procedure, which is less drastic than gastric bypass. The operation itself takes about an hour and requires a few days in the hospital afterwards. Return to work time is about a month.
During the surgical procedure, about 80 percent of the stomach is removed, creating a new, smaller, stiffer stomach from the remaining organ. It does not have the elasticity of the former stomach and does not expand in the same manner.
After sleeve gastrectomy, patients who struggled with weight loss before the procedure should expect about a 40% to 65% percent weight loss over the first year.
Bariatric surgeries are an few alternative option to consider for a person who has tried fighting with obesity for quite a long time and explored all other possible ways to lose weight including various diets, work outs in the gym, changing eating habits, weight loss coaching programs and what not. Consult your doctor for more detailed information regarding sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic band and gastric bypass surgeries and ~
BE HEALTHY!
The information for this article was kindly provided by bariatric surgeons in San Antonio, Texas. Visit http://www.bmioftexas.com/ for more detailed information on different kinds of weight loss surgeries, including gastric bypass surgery in Texas.
















