Gastric bypass surgery is the most common method used to lose weight brought by morbid obesity. Experts would estimate an average of 145,000 surgeries being performed annually. With this kind of procedure, a small pouch is made in the stomach by stapling it. The middle portion of the small intestine is connected to the rest of the stomach. Food will bypass the small pouch and the upper part of the intestine. The size of the stomach is reduced, thus also reducing the food that it could take.
Although it is the most popular procedure, there are other bariatric surgeries or weight loss surgeries.
- Lap-Band adjustable gastric binding is another type of weight loss surgery. In this procedure, an inflatable band is tightened like a belt and will divide the stomach in to two pouches. However, weight loss results are slower than gastric bypass surgery. Also the pounds shed could be less than the amount of lost weight with gastric bypass.
- A part of the stomach is also stapled with vertical banded gastroplasty. The stomach is divided into two parts, but there is not intestinal bypass. This would just make the patient eat less since the stomach has limited space for the food. Losing weight using this procedure is not as tremendous as gastric bypass results, nor could it sustain weight loss for longer period of time.
- The biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch removes 80 percent of the stomach. In this procedure, much of the small intestine is bypassed. Losing weight could be sustained over a long period of time. However, there are also increased risks with this kind of medical procedure. Patients tend to develop malnutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
These are just the basic medical procedures and weight-loss surgeries that can be performed to obese individuals and patients. Nonetheless, a person who would like to undergo bariatric surgery would have to undergo different medical and psychological examinations. Those who are qualified for gastric bypass should have at least tried an organized weight-loss program for the last six months monitored by a doctor, but acquired no significant results with their body weight.
Overall, if you are obese, there are steps that you could start doing before considering gastric bypass surgery. Before you start any diet or exercise program, it is recommended to consult a doctor first to guide you on how you could shed the pounds and keep them off. You could start by changing the variety of food you eat, the nutritional content and the amounts and frequency of meals. In short, you would have to improve your eating habits.
Start incorporating activity to your daily activities. Fat in the body is actually energy not used of consumed by the body. So you would have to start losing those excess weight by having an exercise plan. You could start by giving at least 30 minutes a day for daily activity. It does not have to be done continuously, you could break it into different stages suited for your time.
To get better results, it is also important to get all the necessary support tat you could get. There are still tendencies that a person who have undergone gastric bypass surgery to regain their weight. They could still turn to overeating which could result to serious problems like expansion of the pouch or even rupture of the stomach. Counselling and support groups play a major role in helping obese patients deal with weight loss, confidence or self-esteem and other major changes.
Gastric bypass surgery is not the only option. There are other options that can be followed to get the desired health condition. Whatever treatment or surgery that we follow, in the end, what would matter is our will and determination to undergo the change.
