BARIATRIC SURGERY

Obesity is a major problem that is almost reaching epidemic proportions in today’s urban population. In the USA more than three out of every ten people are obese. The implications of this growing number are dire, as the condition greatly increases the chances of diabetes, heart disease and many other life-threatening illnesses in a person.

The best way to fight obesity is to exercise caution with diet and to indulge in physical activity. Most people do not have time to think about diet or exercise and the process of gaining weight happens so gradually and steadily, that often by the time they are faced with the fact that they are overweight, losing that much weight becomes an uphill task. There are also a number of people who, despite trying to make dietary, lifestyle and exercise changes, find it hard to lose the weight. It is these people who will benefit from bariatric surgery. According to medical guidelines, bariatric surgery is done to people who have a BMI of greater than or equal to 40. It can also be done on individuals who have a BMI of 35 and who also have life-threatening complications like diabetes, cardiovascular problems, etc.

What is Bariatric surgery?

Bariatric surgery is also known as weight loss and metabolic surgery. It is performed on patients who suffer from being very overweight and who also suffer from very poor health. Bariatric surgery includes an array of different procedures to help a patient lose weight and consequently avoid the accompanying risk factors to health. It works very well in ensuring weight loss, but for long-term benefit, the patient should modify lifestyle by having a healthy diet and doing regular exercise. Only then will the patient be able to enjoy long-term health.

How is it done?

Bariatric surgery reduces the size of the stomach by removing a portion of the stomach. Bariatric surgery also includes the procedure of re-secting and rerouting the small intestine to a small stomach pouch. Most bariatric surgeries are done laparoscopically. The advantage of laparoscopic surgery is that the recovery period is shorter.

Types of Bariatric surgeries

There are different types of bariatric surgeries. The most common one of the bariatric surgeries are the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This type of bariatric surgery makes the size of the stomach smaller and the food is allowed to bypass a part of the small intestine. Usually the stomach has the capacity to hold 3 pints of food, but after this bariatric surgery, it will only be able to hold an ounce of food.

Then there is the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. In this type bof bariatric surgery, about 80% of the stomach is removed and the majority of the intestine is bypassed and the end portion is connected to the duodenum near the stomach. This surgery is very effective in making the patient lose weight effectively.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is another favored method of losing weight. In LAGB, the surgeon places an inflatable band around the upper part of abdomen. Inflating the band decreases the size of the stomach thereby limiting the quantity of food ingested. This band can be manipulated as needed, when necessary.

What does it cost?

Bariatric surgery costs between $6,000 and $8,000 depending on the difficulty of the bariatric surgery. Weight loss has been connected to not only a healthier life, but also helps the patient to have improved self-esteem due to the fact that they do lose weight, and this change in appearance adds immensely to their emotional as well as social state of being.

What are the benefits?

There are plenty of medical benefits of bariatric surgery. Patients with type II diabetes have shown improvement in symptoms with more than 70% of the patients stopping their diabetes medication. Over 60% of hypertension patient stop their medications and more than 80% find improvement in hypertension symptoms. Sleep apnea symptoms disappear in 90% of the cases after bariatric surgery. The long-term risk of death comes down considerably in obese patients who have undergone bariatric surgery.