What You Need to Know About Weight Loss Surgery

The most common ways of losing weight is through exercise and a healthy diet. However, some people have a lot of weight and require more than exercise and diet to lose those extra pounds. For these individuals, surgery enables them to lose up to 50% of their excess weight in 6 months. Here are some basic facts about weight loss surgeries.

What Are the Main Types of Weight Loss Surgeries?

One of the most common types of weight loss surgical procedures is bariatric surgery.

Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery transforms the structure of your stomach. Each procedure is aimed at reducing the size of your working stomach to decrease your eating capacity. Make sure you browse through Cosmos Clinic reviews to read the patient reviews and find a clinic that will offer you the appropriate surgical procedure for your specific situation. The four main bariatric surgery options are:

• Adjustable Gastric Band: In this procedure, your surgeon will place a band around your stomach to form a small pouch. This pouch makes you feel fuller faster. The band is flexible and can be adjusted to be looser or tighter by removing or adding saline via a small opening under your skin.

• Gastric Bypass: During this procedure, your surgeon will divide your stomach into two- a large portion and small portion. The small portion is stapled to form a small pouch. Next, your surgeon will disconnect the pouch from the front part of the small intestine (duodenum), and connect it to the rear part (jejunum). This is what is referred to as the bypass. After a gastric bypass you get satiated faster and you also absorb fewer calories.

• Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG): During this procedure, your surgeon will remove a significant portion of your stomach and shape the remainder into a sleeve or tube shape. This small portion will be connected to your small intestine. As a result, your stomach will have a smaller capacity for food and you will also not feel hungry often because a huge portion of the tissue used to make ghrelin, the hunger hormone, will be removed. A gastric sleeve surgery is permanent and cannot be reversed.

• Biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch: This procedure is like VSG the only difference is that it attaches the stomach pouch further down your small intestine. This procedure bypasses up to 75% of the small intestine. Although it is very effective, it can leave you with a shortage of nutrients.

Benefits and Risks of Bariatric Surgery

According to studies by the “American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery“, over 90% of bariatric patients lose 50% of their excess body weight. Some of the other benefits of this weight loss surgery are:

• Improved health for patients with obesity related illnesses such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol.

• Ability to engage in more physical activity because of the significant weight loss

• Hormonal changes that reduce your hunger sensations

The risks attached to bariatric surgery include:

• Bleeding

• Infection

• Blood clots

• Inability to absorb sufficient nutrients

• Leaking from the incision sites

The main considerations you need to make before signing up for a bariatric surgery include:

• The cost for the procedure: bariatric treatments can be expensive. You need to determine whether your insurance can cater for this operation

• Lifestyle Changes: After a bariatric treatment your intake of food will change so you need to be willing to live with this adjustment

• Long term commitment: After a bariatric surgery, your surgeon will be monitoring you regularly to ensure you are healthy. It is also important that you commit to a healthy diet and regular exercise for long term effects of the treatment.