Considering Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery

By Lisa Hayes


When you come to the breaking point with your weight and believe bariatric surgery is the most efficient way to take off the weight and free yourself from health problems or high health risks, you are on the verge of changing your entire life. The way you eat and think about food prior to making this decision will change to something else entirely as you move toward bariatric weight loss surgery. Once the surgery is completed you will step into a completely new lifestyle that supports a thin body, rather than an obese body.

Lap banding procedure involves wrapping a liquid-filled belt around the stomach that can be adjusted for tightness by adding or deducting saline through a port located under the skin's surface. The belt reduces food intake by cinching the stomach to evoke the feeling of being full. Evidence that bariatric procedure has gained significant ground since its inception more than 40 years ago can be seen in the astounding number of procedures recently performed by surgeons.

Gastric bypass procedure was named the top ranked general surgical procedure in 2008 in a 2010 study by the University of California. Gastric band procedure placed third in the rankings, which were based on coding and billing data from academic centers. Gastric bypass ranked second among surgical procedures when assessed by a number of operations performed per doctor on a yearly basis; with surgeons averaging 18.2 cases a year. Gastric banding placed fifth on the list, with surgeons performing the procedure 11.9 times a year. Bariatric procedure = Cure for type 2 diabetes?

The moment you decide to go through with this procedure, start getting your mind in the right place. Start noticing all of your unhealthy eating habits. Acknowledge if you have been using food as a drug or a numbing device to get you through the emotional aspects of life. If food has become your pastime or your way of avoiding other things in life, now is time to acknowledge that. The same goes for those who stay obese on a subconscious level because it serves them in an emotional way.

You must understand that the operation is performed on your digestive system; it is not performed on your mind. Those who undergo the procedure most likely had difficulty with eating habits before the procedure. Following the procedure, dietary restrictions are imperative and difficult to follow. Many patients cheat and end up accumulating fat and developing complicated medical conditions.

These operations have side effects but the benefits are more than the risks. Generally speaking malabsorptive procedures reduce the stomach size. The many types of fat reduction changes including gastric bypass surgery, lap band surgery and gastric sleeve procedure are collectively under the term bariatric procedure.

If you are obese, you may have to lose a bit of fat prior to going in for this procedure. Your doctor will tell you how much needs to be lost and should help you work out a program for eating and exercise to make that fat reduction happen. This is a safety precaution, since there are more risks with the procedure for those who are extremely obese.

The patients who are opting for this surgery should have Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 40. The patients having diseases related to obesity and having BMI more than 35 are also considered. The most usually performed Restrictive procedures are laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and vertical banded gastroplasty. Malabsorptive procedures: The bilopancreatic diversion procedures were performed using laparoscopic techniques.




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