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Benefits of Surgical Weight Loss | How Surgery Reduces Weight | Benefits After Bariatric Surgery
Benefits of Surgical Weight Loss
- High Blood Pressure can often be alleviated or eliminated by weight loss surgery
- High Blood Cholesterol in 80% of patients can be alleviated or eliminated and in as little as 2-3 months post-operatively.
- Heart Disease in obese individuals is certainly more likely to be experienced when compared to persons who are of average weight and adhere to a strict diet and exercise regimen. There is no hard and fast statistical data to definitively prove that weight loss surgery reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, however, common sense would dictate that if we can significantly reduce many of the co-morbidities that we experienced as someone that is obese, we can likewise that our health may be much improved if not totally restored.
- Diabetes Mellitus can usually helped and based upon numerous studies of diabetes and the control of its complications, it is likely that the problems associated with diabetes will be arrested in their progression, when blood sugar is maintained at normal values.
- Abnormal Glucose Tolerance, or “Borderline Diabetes” is even more likely reversed by gastric bypass. Since this condition becomes diabetes in many cases, the operation can frequently prevent diabetes, as well.
- Asthma sufferers may find that they have fewer and less severe attacks, or sometimes none at all. When asthma is associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease, it is particularly benefited by gastric bypass.
- Sleep Apnea Syndrome sufferers can receive dramatic effects and many within a year or so of surgery find their symptoms were completely gone, and they had even stopped snoring completely!
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease can be greatly relieved of all symptoms within as littler as a few days of surgery.
- Gallbladder Disease can be surgically handled at the time of the weight loss surgery if your doctor has cause to believe that gallstones are present.
- Stress Urinary Incontinence responds dramatically to weight loss, usually by becoming completely controlled. A person who is still troubled by incontinence can choose to have specific corrective surgery later, with much greater chance of a successful outcome, with a reduced body weight.
- Low Back Pain and Degenerative Disk Disease, and Degenerative Joint Disease can be considerably relieved with weight loss, and greater comfort may experienced even after as few as 25 lost pounds.
How Surgery Reduces Weight
Gastrointestinal surgery for obesity, also called bariatric surgery, alters the digestive process. The operations can be divided into three types: restrictive, malabsorptive, and combined restrictive/malabsorptive.
Restrictive operations
The Lapband procedure limits the food intake by creating a narrow passage from the upper part of the stomach into the larger lower part, reducing the amount of food the stomach can hold and slowing the passage of food through the stomach. The Vertical Gastric Sleeve limits the food intake by removing part of the stomach which is done with a vertical cut creating a "banana" shaped stomach. This reduces the chance of the stomach "stretching out" throughout the years to come. The digestion of food is exactly the same as before because there is no change or cuts to the intestines (where food is absorbed).
Malabsorptive operations
Some bypass surgeries do not limit food intake, but instead exclude most of the small intestine from the digestive tract so fewer calories and nutrients are absorbed. In the past, during the 70's & 80's there were different types of malabsorptive operations, some called intestinal bypasses, are no longer recommended because they resulted in severe nutritional deficiencies. The 90's brought fourth the RNY bypass which was made popular by the media and pop stars. This surgery use the stomach restriction (partial removal) and a partial bypass of the small intestine. The RNY is considered a radical surgery and has a higher rate of complications and infection then the newer procedures practiced today. With the RNY there are 2 cuts to the intestines and the stomach is stapled creating an "egg" shaped pouch able to hold 1-2 ounces of food at a time.
The newest bypass procedure that is available to the public is Mini Gastric Bypass. This surgery creates a vertical gastric sleeve and then bypasses about 6 feet of intestines. The reports of dumping are a great deal less with this surgery as opposed to the RNY. The weight loss results are equal to the RNY.
The things that put the Mini Gastric Bypass ahead of the rest are:
- There is only 1 cut to the intestines (lowers the chance of infection a great deal)
- This surgery is very easy to add or change if necessary. It is reversible and leaves the option of any future procedures possible.
- It is not as radical as the other bypass procedures.
- The healing time is about 1 week.
Benefits after Bariatric Surgery
Many of the diseases related to obesity can be treated effectively with bariatric surgery. Below is a summary of some common diseases and their success rate:
| Related Diseases |
% Cured after Surgery |
| Diabetes mellitus type 2 |
95% |
| Asthma |
90% |
| Sleep apnea |
90% |
| Hypertension |
80% |
| Stress |
75% |
| Osteoarthritis |
50% |
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