Weight Loss Surgery

When You Should Undergo a Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery involves cutting into your body and either rearranging organs or sucking out fat so that your body will become slimmer. Since weight loss surgery is a major step, there are a lot of things to be considered. First you must visit a bariatric surgeon. If your Body Mass Index is over the 40 mark or from 35 to 39, your body will be prone to all kind of problems including blood pressure and diabetes. Your surgeon could give you the go sign to opt for weight loss surgery otherwise known as gastric binding. To go in for surgery, there is a screening process to understand how psychologically prepared you are for weight loss surgery and the diet regime that follows.

Restrictive Procedure in Weight Loss Surgery

What the surgeon does in the restrictive procedure is he lessens stomach space by creating a small stomach sac and stapling off the rest of the stomach. The walnut-sized stomach sac is connected to the small intestine by a bypass called stoma. By reducing the size of the stomach, the amount of food and consequentially the amount of calorie intake is restricted. During recovery slow intake of small quantities of food is required. Regular attendance to support group meetings, severe diet regulation and prescribed exercise are a must if this weight loss surgery technique is to succeed.

Malabsorptive Procedures in Weight Loss Surgery

By cutting short the length of the small intestine the bariatric surgeon removes the calorie-absorbing capacity of the small intestine. Usually weight loss surgery is a combination of restrictive and malabsorptive procedures. This way the food intake is controlled and the calorie absorption rate cut down. Weight loss surgery thus alters the anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract and the very process of digestion. For those who cannot battle obesity in any other way, weight loss surgery seems to be the best bet. However, only a regular exercise and diet plan can ensure that the effect of the weight loss surgery is maintained.

Benefits of Weight Loss Surgery

Unlike diet regimens and weight loss supplements, the effects of weight loss surgery are more immediately visible. You can lose 50 to 60% of excess weight in a much shorter time span. Various conditions that obese patients are confronted with are also put in check. Examples are type 2 diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophagal reflux disease. The long-term effects of weight loss surgery motivate patients to continue their lives in a healthy, more regulated fashion. If they do not follow the prescribed diet and exercise there is a possibility of the obesity returning.

Risks of Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery has many risks attached to it including death, blood clot in legs, leaking of staple lines, pneumonia due to sudden weight loss and narrowing of the opening between the stomach and small intestine. Other side effects are the pumping syndrome that causes vomiting on slight excess eating, vitamin and mineral deficiency, dehydration, gallstones, bleeding stomach ulcers and intolerance to food. Before embarking on a weight loss surgery, do your research on the risks involved and talk to patients who have undergone this surgery. Only with your informed consent can the bariatric surgeon go ahead with the weight loss surgery.