Weight Loss Surgery-Is it Right for
You?
By Eriani Doyel
In the last decade weight loss surgery has
become a very hot topic for everyone from
celebrities to the person next door. As obesity
becomes a quickly progressing serious problem
in the United States, people are trying to
deal with their weight problems in increasingly
more drastic ways. Dieting has been popular
for decades, with low-carb, low-fat, high-protein,
and other fad diets each taking place of the
other in popularity-but weight loss surgery
has always been a "last resort" method reserved
for the morbidly obese.
But today, with people looking for
quick-fixes to every type of problem,
this type of weight loss surgery may appeal
to some initially. However, any time surgery
is involved, especially a surgery of this
magnitude, very careful thought and consideration
should be done before even talking to
the doctor-and more careful thought and
consideration after talking to the doctor.
Weight loss surgery can be very risky,
and even after it is completed successfully
it represents a life-long commitment to
weight control.
There are basically two kinds of weight
loss surgeries available: restrictive
and bypass. Each of these types of surgeries
has a few different variations but they
work based on the same principles. Here
are the basics:
Restrictive: This type of weight loss
surgery involves restricting the amount
of food that your body digests and also
slowing down the digestive process, to
limit the amount of nutrients (and calories)
your body absorbs.
The two types are: Vertical Banded Gastroplasty
(VBG,) and Laparoscopic Gastric Banding
or Lap Band Surgery. Here is a brief description
of each type of restrictive weight loss
surgery:
VBG: A vertical line of staples is placed
in the stomach in this weight loss surgery,
dividing the stomach into two parts. The
upper, smaller part is where the food
goes first limiting the amount the person
can eat. A band restricts the amount of
food that goes down to the lower part,
slowing digestion.
Lap Band: For this type of weight loss
surgery, a band inflated with saline solution
is placed around the stomach limiting
the amount of food the patient can eat.
Although the band is adjustable over time,
it is meant to be permanent.
Bypass: This type of surgery is accomplished
by bypassing some part of the digestive
system to limit the amount of nutrients
and calories absorbed. In Roux en Y Gastric
Bypass Surgery, the most popular bypass
weight loss surgery in the U.S., a pouch
is formed in the top of the stomach with
staples, bypassing the lower part of the
stomach and the upper small intestine
and connecting it to the lower small intestine.
The other type of bypass weight loss
surgery is more commonly practiced in
Europe and it is called Biliopancreatic
Diversion (BPD), in which a large part
of the stomach is removed and all but
a small part of the small intestine is
removed. Bile and pancreatic juices are
diverted to the intestine to digest the
food just prior to its entering the colon,
which does not digest.
Risks with any of these surgeries include
nausea, infection, blood clots, and blockage
in the lungs, diarrhea and even death
among others. Counseling and other therapy
is recommended for all patients before
and after the surgery. It is not a decision
to be made lightly.
Eriani Doye writes articles about Health
and Fitness. For more information about
weight loss surgery visit davissurgery.com
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