Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery is a modern method of treating overweight, which is used in patients who have not received results using traditional methods for losing weight (diet, lifestyle changes, exercise therapy, medications).
Methods for slimming and fighting obesity
Most people who try to lose weight only through diets and exercise are not able to maintain the result and, ultimately, the weight returns. To fight overweight, you need the help of a doctor. The doctor will examine your BMI and determine the treatment method that is right for you:
- Diet and exercise. Patients with a small excess of weight need to change their lifestyle: reduce their diet, adhering to individual recommendations, increase physical activity;
- Medications. Obese patients may be prescribed medications. It is necessary to check with the doctor what drugs can be used and what result will be achieved;
- Methods of surgical treatment. Bariatric surgery is a method of treating people with a BMI of more than 40, or patients with a BMI of 35 or more, who have obesity-related diseases.
Bariatric surgeries have been performed for over 60 years with proven results. Today, surgical treatment is the most effective in the fight against obesity. The use of surgical treatments has already helped thousands of obese people discover life in a healthy weight. It allows not only to reduce weight but also to keep the result for a long time, most often for life. In addition, in many patients, surgery can help in the long-term remission of obesity-related diseases, including type II diabetes.
Bariatric surgeries in the treatment of related diseases
Obesity can cause many health problems, it negatively affects almost every organ in your body. Also, it increases the chances of you developing such serious diseases as:
- Type 2 diabetes;
- High blood pressure;
- High cholesterol;
- High triglycerides (a type of blood fat);
- Heart attack and strokes;
- Arthritis or joint disease;
- Obstructive sleep apnea;
- Oncology.
In addition, patients with obesity have to spend 50% more on medical services than patients without obesity, and 80% more on prescribed medications.
Types of bariatric surgeries
There are several types of surgeries recommended for use. They are different in technical features and mechanism of action. Based on data on the relationship between the effectiveness and safety of various types of bariatric interventions, the following operations are most often performed: gastric bypass surgery and longitudinal gastrectomy:
Gastric bypass surgery
Gastric bypass surgery is one of the most commonly performed bariatric surgeries worldwide. By shunting the stomach, the surgeon creates a small ventricle from the big stomach and a workaround for food immediately to the small intestine. A smaller volume of the stomach helps you feel full faster, the amount of food that you can eat at a time decreases, and, consequently, the number of calories absorbed during its digestion decreases. Then the small stomach is surgically connected to the middle part of the small intestine, food passes bypassing most of the stomach and enters immediately into the second half of the small intestine, thereby limiting the number of absorbed calories and a message is sent to the brain that allows a person to feel full.
Longitudinal gastrectomy
The mechanism of action of the longitudinal (sleeve) resection is to change the shape and size of the stomach, which leads to a decrease in the amount of food that you can eat at a time. Surgeons create a small “sleeve” or tube from the stomach, after which the remainder of the large stomach is removed. When you eat, food passes through the esophagus and enters the tube-shaped stomach (holds about 85 grams of food), and then into the duodenum. Such changes help your body better distribute the amount of food eaten and the amount of stored fat. In fact, such changes really help restart the body’s ability to regulate the accumulation of fat and body weight.
Where do I start?
Make an appointment with your doctor.
Every day, when you delay the start of obesity treatment, you put your health at risk. So do not wait – discuss with your doctor the next steps on the path to success as soon as possible.