If you have:
- Body Mass Index of 40 or above
- Obese body with low BMI
- Obesity related problem like Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea etc.
- Tried every recommended method of weight loss, but not succeeded
Then your medical consultant will most likely recommend you to go for a Bariatric surgery or simply called weight loss surgery. Here, we will tell you about various contemporary weight loss surgeries, their benefits and drawbacks.
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How Bariatric Surgery works?
It is best to know how these surgeries affect the body which eventually helps in weight loss. So here is the secret, there are three ways which require little modification in an important organ of your digestive tract, i.e. stomach to make you eat less and lose excess weight. These fundamental procedures are:
Restrictive procedure
By restricting the holding capacity of the amount of food in the stomach, the body can be forced to eat less. The size of the stomach has been reduced by the surgeries like Lap band surgery or Adjustable gastric banding and gastric sleeve. After this surgery, you will feel full even after eating a little amount of food.
Malabsorptive procedure
By rearranging or removing a part of the digestive tract can limit the absorption capacity of your body means less intake of calories, but it also means less amount of absorbed nutrients which can raise complications. Because of high complication rates, this procedure is no longer in practice.
Combine procedure
By combining the benefits of the above two procedures, the holding capacity of the body is reduced without affecting the absorption capacity. Gastric bypass and Duodenal switch are examples of combination procedure. Gastric bypass is more Malabsorptive than restrictive, but works mainly through restriction.
Signaling procedure
This is the latest method which includes sending signal to the brain by vagus nerve that stomach it full. Signaling is performed by an electrical device like a pacemaker and it can be controlled through a remote control from outside the body. Read full post ofBariatric Surgery
Here we will discuss every type of surgery, their advantages and disadvantages and the risks associated with them.
Adjustable Gastric Banding
The procedure followed
Restrictive procedure has been followed in this surgery
Changes made to the digestive system
An inflatable band is used to squeeze the stomach unevenly in two portions which includes a small upper region called pouch and a larger lower region. Both sections remain connected through a small channel which slows down the emptying the content of the pouch. It makes the patient eat only half or one cup of soft and well chewed food before feeling too full.
Benefits
This is a simple and safest surgery among other contemporary counterparts like gastric bypass. You only get a scar and recover very fast and the best part of surgery is that it is reversible. The band is adjustable so that when you want your band to be tightened, it can be done easily by injecting more saline solution into the band and by removing the liquid the band can be loosened.
Drawbacks
Although weight loss is much faster than the other surgeries, but if the patient doesn’t make the changes to his/her lifestyle then he/she can regain the weight in coming years.
Risks
The most common complication of this surgery is vomiting if the patient eats more or quickly. The band can leak, loose or slip out of place. There are chances of infection like other surgeries. Life threatening complications are very rare, but it may occur in some cases.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
The procedure followed
Another restrictive procedure based surgery
Changes made to the digestive system
During this surgery 75 percent of the stomach has been removed and the purse shaped structure of the stomach is modified into a narrow tube or sleeve like. It is connected to the small intestine.
Benefits
A sleeve gastrectomy is a lower risk and a much simpler operation for highly obese patients. They can have second Bariatric surgery if required after losing sufficient weight in a year or so when their health condition has been improved enough for undergoing second surgery. Since, Intestines are intact therefore there is no effect on the absorption rate of the body which means no nutrient deficiency or complication regarding that.
Drawbacks
It is a latest technique, hence it still needs assessment of benefits and risks. It is not reversible like gastric banding surgery.
Risks
Common risk include blood clotting, infection and leakage of sleeve.
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Gastric Bypass Surgery (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass)
The procedure followed
Combine procedure is followed by this method which includes approaches of restrictive and Malabsorptive procedure.
Changes made to the digestive system
The stomach is partitioned into two sections and both sections are sealed in between. The upper section of the stomach is then directly connected to lower region of the small intestine. This rearrangement of the digestive tract skips three regions of the digestive system and hence less absorption of calories take place which helps in losing weight much faster.
Benefits
A swift and dramatic weight loss takes place after the surgery and 50% of the expected weight loss can be achieved in the first six months and continue up to 2 years. Improvement has been noted in the obesity related health problems like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, arthritis and heartburn with the rapid weight loss. It gives a long term result and it was found that the patient has maintained the reduced weight for a decade or longer.
Drawbacks
Since three main parts of the digestive system have been put on the switch off mode, therefore the absorption of nutrients goes down and you have to take supplements regularly. You can also have ‘Dumping Syndrome’ which involves the dumping of food which is not digested properly from stomach to small intestine very quickly. This can cause some complications like nausea, bloating, sweating, pain, diarrhea and weakness. 85 percent of the gastric bypass patients experience dumping syndrome after surgery and it can be triggered by taking high carbs food or sugar. Although, it is considered irreversible, but in some rare cases it has been reversed with difficulties.
Risks
It is more risky since it is a complicated procedure. The most common complications associated with this surgery are abdominal hernia which requires further minor surgeries to rectify it, infection and blood clotting. Gallstones may develop due to the rapid weight loss.
Maestro Rechargeable System
The procedure followed
Signaling procedure has been followed in this type of surgery
Changes made to the digestive system
No physical changes have been made to the digestive system, but an electrical device has been implanted in the abdomen which will give a signal to your brain through vagus nerve which tell the brain about stomach full status. The device is programmed in advance in order to deliver a pulse of 5 minutes on and 5 minutes off during your waking hours. It remains inactive in your sleeping hours.
Benefits
It is the least invasive technology in the field of weight loss surgery. It is performed under general anesthesia and takes up to one and half hour duration. It can be adjusted and controlled from outside the body through a remote control.
Drawbacks
The device needs to be charged once or twice a week because if the battery goes off your doctor has to reprogram it. The complication has been noted in this surgery is heartburn, nausea, vomiting, belching and chest pain.
Risks
Infection chances and pain at the site of implantation
If you are still confused about which surgery you should go for then take the advice of some medical expert which has enough experience in the field of weight loss.