Weight Loss Surgery

What is Weight-Loss Surgery?

Weight-loss surgery alters the body's digestive process by limiting the amount of food the stomach can hold and/or by limiting the absorption of nutrients. The most common procedures are restrictive, malabsorptive or a combination of both procedures. Restrictive procedures reduce the amount of food the stomach can hold, but don't interfere with the body's normal digestion of food and nutrients. Malabsorptive procedures bypass most of the small intestine so that fewer calories and nutrients are absorbed. Combined procedures restrict food intake as well as the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs.

Who Is a Candidate for weight loss Surgery?

Doctor is patient's best resource for finding out more about whether weight-loss surgery is right for patient. Usually, the history of a patient's health and objective measures of weight are used to determine whether surgery is an option. In general, candidates for weight-loss surgery meet all of the following criteria:

* A body mass index (BMI) of more than 40, or roughly 100 pounds (lb) or more, is considered seriously overweight for men; a BMI of more than 35, or 80 lb or more is considered seriously overweight for women, plus a history of associated medical disorders, such as diabetes, cardiopulmonary disease and obesity-induced musculoskeletal problems
* Aged at least 18 years, though some younger people may also be candidates
* A history of unsuccessful attempts at no surgical weight-loss treatments

A person who undergoes weight-loss surgery needs to make a lifelong commitment to a new lifestyle, including a new nutrition and exercise regimen, otherwise weight-loss surgery will probably not be effective. What is involved in Preparing for the weight loss Surgery?

First, a rigorous medical and psychological screening process, performed by a team of doctors, will determine if patient are a candidate. This process helps to identify the aspects of patient's health that will improve following surgery, as well as the aspects that may increase the risks associated with surgery. Patient will also want to come to a complete understanding of the significant, lifelong, lifestyle changes patient must commit to, including diet, exercise, limiting alcoholic intake and smoking cessation, if necessary.

The procedures of weight loss Surgery:

There are two main types of weight loss surgery also known as obesity surgery. These are gastric banding and gastric bypass.

Gastric Band Surgery:

Gastric banding, sometimes known as 'lap banding' is a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure to help overweight people achieve substantial and long-term weight loss. The operation limits how much food patient can eat. An inflatable band is placed around the stomach to divide it into two parts. This creates a smaller pouch at the top, which takes less food to make patient feel full. The food then passes slowly through the opening left by the band into the lower part of patients stomach and continues on as normal. The gastric band can be inflated with saline solution to reduce the size of the opening into the lower part of the stomach. This will restrict the amount of food patient can eat further, and make patient feel fuller for longer. The band is inserted laparoscopically, through four or five small incisions. This is sometimes referred to as keyhole surgery. Adjustments to the gastric band are made by injecting fluid through a very small tube, which has a special button-like reservoir just under patients skin. It can be inflated and deflated in this way, until the right level of restriction is established. It usually takes two adjustments to find the right level of restriction, but additional adjustments may be required. These will be carried out at hospital, and the first one is usually six weeks after surgery.

Gastric Bypass Surgery:

A gastric bypass is also a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure. It helps very overweight patients to achieve substantial and permanent weight loss. It does this by restricting the amount patient can eat, and by reducing the amount of calories absorbed from the food that patient do eat. The operation creates a small stomach pouch in the same way as the gastric band. But instead of the food passing into the stomach through the band, it bypasses the stomach and much of the intestine through a small intestine that has been rerouted and grafted onto the small stomach pouch. The procedure can be carried out laparoscopically, by keyhole surgery, through five or six small incisions. It can also be carried out as an open operation with one vertical incision in the abdomen.