What is Bariatrics Surgery?

An Overview

Gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries — known collectively as bariatrics surgery — involve making changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight. Bariatrics surgery is done when diet and exercise haven’t worked or when you have serious health problems because of your weight.

Some procedures limit how much you can eat. Other procedures work by reducing the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Some procedures do both. While bariatrics surgery can offer many benefits, all forms of weight-loss surgery are major procedures that can pose serious risks and side effects. Also, you must make permanent healthy changes to your diet and get regular exercise to help ensure the long-term success of bariatrics surgery.

Why I have to get surgery?

Bariatric medical procedure is done to assist you with losing abundance weight and decrease your danger of possibly frightening weight-related medical issues, including: Sleep apnea High blood pressure Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) Diabetes Heart disease and stroke

Who it’s for?

In general, bariatrics surgery could be an option for you if:
• Your body mass index (BMI) is 40 or higher (extreme obesity).
• Your BMI is 35 to 39.9 (obesity), and you have a serious weight-related health problem, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or severe sleep apnea. In some cases, you may qualify for certain types of weight-loss surgery if your BMI is 30 to 34 and you have serious weight-related health problems.

Bariatric medical procedure isn’t for everybody who is seriously overweight. You may need to meet certain clinical rules to fit the bill for weight reduction medical procedure. You likely will have a broad screening procedure to check whether you qualify. You should likewise be happy to roll out changeless improvements to lead a more beneficial way of life. What’s more, remember that bariatric medical procedure is costly. Check with your medical coverage plan or your local Medicare or Medicaid office to see whether your arrangement covers such medical procedure.

Types of bariatrics surgery

Each type of bariatrics surgery has pros and cons. Be sure to talk to your doctor about them. Here’s a look at common types of bariatrics surgery:

Roux-en-Y (roo-en-wy) gastric bypass:

This procedure is the most common method of gastric bypass. This surgery is typically not reversible. It works by decreasing the amount of food you can eat at one sitting and reducing absorption of nutrients. The surgeon cuts across the top of your stomach, sealing it off from the rest of your stomach. The resulting pouch is about the size of a walnut and can hold only about an ounce of food.

Normally, your stomach can hold about 3 pints of food. Then, the surgeon cuts the small intestine and sews part of it directly onto the pouch. Food then goes into this small pouch of stomach and then directly into the small intestine sewn to it. Food bypasses most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine, and instead enters directly into the middle part of your small intestine.

Sleeve gastrectomy: 

With sleeve gastrectomy, about 80% of the stomach is removed, leaving a long, tube-like pouch. This smaller stomach can’t hold as much food. It also produces less of the appetite-regulating hormone ghrelin, which may lessen your desire to eat. Advantages to this procedure include significant weight loss and no rerouting of the intestines. Sleeve gastrectomy also requires a shorter hospital stay than most other procedures.

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch:

This is a two-part surgery in which the first step involves performing a procedure similar to a sleeve gastrectomy. The second surgery involves connecting the end portion of the intestine to the duodenum near the stomach (duodenal switch and biliopancreatic diversion), bypassing the majority of the intestine.

This surgery both limits how much you can eat and reduces the absorption of nutrients. While it is extremely effective, it has greater risk, including malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies. Which type of weight-loss surgery is best for you depends on your specific situation. Your surgeon will take many factors into account, including body mass index, eating habits, other health issues, previous surgeries and the risks involved with each procedure.

After bariatrics surgery After weight-loss surgery, you generally won’t be allowed to eat for one to two days so that your stomach and digestive system can heal. Then, you’ll follow a specific diet for a few weeks. The diet begins with liquids only, then progresses to pureed, very soft foods, and eventually to regular foods.

You may have many restrictions or limits on how much and what you can eat and drink. You’ll also have frequent medical checkups to monitor your health in the first several months after weight-loss surgery. You may need laboratory testing, blood work and various exams.

Results:

Gastric bypass and other bariatrics surgeries can provide long-term weight loss. The amount of weight you lose depends on your type of surgery and your change in lifestyle habits. It may be possible to lose half, or even more, of your excess weight within two years.

In addition to weight loss, gastric bypass surgery may improve or resolve conditions often related to being overweight, including:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Type 2 diabetes
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Osteoarthritis (joint pain)

Gastric bypass surgery can also improve your ability to perform routine daily activities, which could help improve your quality of life.