|
Home / Fitness / Weight Loss
Is Weight Loss Surgery Suitable For You
By:Kelvin Ho
Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery in medical terminology, refers to a group of gastrointestinal surgical procedures carried out on patients suffering from chronic morbid obesity (i.e., at least 100 lbs overweight, or a body mass index, BMI, of 40 or greater, for more than 5 years). It is used to facilitate weight loss and avoid the risk to life-threatening diseases associated with morbid obesity, such as type II diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, degenerative arthritis, etc.
Weight loss surgery is normally resorted to as a last measure when an all other conventional weight loss methods, such as diet control, exercise and weight loss medications, have failed in treating the person for morbid obesity. It may be pointed out that weight loss surgery is distinct from liposuction in that the latter is more of a cosmetic procedure rather than a medical procedure.
What does weight loss surgery involve?
According to The American Society for Bariatric Surgery, there are basically two approaches to weight loss surgery:
1. Restrictive procedures, which help reduce the capacity for food intake in a single meal but do not interfere with the normal absorption (digestion) of food.
2. Malabsorptive procedures, which help reduce absorption of calories from food by altering the process of digestion.
Restrictive procedures are mainly of two types:
1. Lap band surgery, which involves placing laproscopically a silicone gastric band around the top of the stomach in order to create a very small stomach pouch. As a result, the person starts feeling full with just a small portion of food. Food will then slowly empty from the smaller pouch into the lower part of the stomach and into the rest of the digestive tract.
2. Gastric bypass surgery, which involves stapling of the smaller, upper part of the stomach to separate it from the rest of the stomach and rerouting the small intestine to connect it to the smaller stomach pouch.
Lap band surgery is a relatively simple and less risky procedure compared to gastric bypass surgery. It requires just 1 to 3 days of hospital stay as opposed to 5 to 8 days in the latter case. Moreover, there is no malabsorption of vitamins and minerals after lap band surgery, which is not always the case with gastric bypass surgery. However, the expected weight loss over a period of 18 months is lesser (50 to 60% of the excess weight) compared to gastric bypass surgery (70 to75%). Both the procedures are reversible, but lap band surgery is much more easily reversible.
There is a third type of restrictive procedure too, called sleeve gastrectomy, that is less commonly used. In this the surgeon removes approximately 60% of the stomach laparoscopically so that the stomach takes the shape of a tube or "sleeve".
Malabsorptive procedures are rarely used these days due to the problems of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies caused by them.
Any risks?
In addition to general risks associated with any kind of major surgery, weight loss surgery can pose its own complications. Discomforting symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, weakness, hernia, gallstones and nutritional deficiencies can crop up after weight loss surgery.
Is it for you?
Though the ultimate answer to the question whether you qualify as a candidate for weight loss surgery or not rests entirely with your bariatric surgeon, here are some pointers that can help you in your decision-making process. If you have been more than 100 lbs overweight for more than 5 years, if your body has failed to respond to the conventional weight loss methods, and if you are not suffering from any major disorder that makes surgery difficult, you can seriously consider weight loss surgery as a feasible option. Consult your doctor for detailed information in order to weigh the risks against benefits of weight loss surgery.
Finally, remember that even if you keep realistic goals in mind, the real success of weight loss surgery is strongly dependent on your making long-term changes in your diet and lifestyle.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: weight loss surgery, lap band, weight loss, bariatric surgery, liposuction
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Download your FREE Exercise Secrets that can lead to a healthier you at http://www.fatburnworks.com/AbConscious.html . Discover the truth about losing weight permanently at http://www.fatburnworks.com/weightloss.
|
|
| Top Weight Loss Articles |
|
|
- 2). How To Drop Weight and Become Healthier Using These 7 Simple Everyday Life Tips? By : Monty Lee
These days more and more people are getting intellectual instead of physical jobs. Sitting in the office chairs all-day long has become a norm for many of us. Stress, busyness and rush make us forget about regular food and stuff our stomachs with cheeseburgers and sodas, which don’t do anything good for our bodies.
As a result of such crazy life rhythm, we rarely find time for exercises, gyms or balanced nutrition.
|
- 3). Is there Any Hoodia in that Hoodia Weight Loss Product? By : Richard Keir
Copyright 2006 Richard Keir
Gotten any email spam lately with a 'warning' about buying fake Hoodia products or Hoodia products with a variety of fillers?
Of course, they assure you that THEIR product is 'the original product.' It may be the original product, whatever that might mean, but the chances of it containing Hoodia are pretty close to zero.
|
- 4). The Difference Between Liquid Hoodia And Hoodia Pills By : Rand Hanes
For those interested in taking hoodia, they will be presented with a choice between pill and liquid forms. As with any natural supplements taken, there are certain distinctive differences between liquid and pill forms of consumption. Similarly to taking multivitamin supplements, hoodia in liquid form is more expensive but has been shown to assimilate into the body system faster and have a greater amount of the substance used by the body than when it is taken in pill form.
|
|
|
- 6). 8 Ways To Create Balance To Achieve Lasting Weight Loss By : Meri Raffetto
Need to lose weight? Dreading the thought of another diet program? You don’t have to follow diets to lose weight. There are many people discovering this for themselves and they are the ones who are finding long term weight loss apposed to short term fixes. The key to weight loss is finding the right balance of what you eat, what you think, and what activity you do.
|
|
|
- 8). Weight Loss Myths Exposed By : Kim Beardsmore
It probably won’t come as a surprise to hear there is a great deal of confusion around nutrition. In fact, many people reading this article will have only a scant idea about the different food types and what our body actually needs to keep healthy.
One of the simplest systems I’ve encountered is this. If the food tastes good, then it has to be ‘bad’ for you! And then there’s its counterpart, “If the food tastes ‘bad’ then it must be ‘good’ for you”.
|
- 9). Your Anchors & How They Keep You From Your Weight Loss Goals By : Kelly Burris
Anchors are the reasons that attach you to any behavior. Your anchors originated from extremely strong repetitive memory associations, which are triggered by your five senses of hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. You are constantly being anchored in different ways through out your life. For example, when you hear a certain song and it brings back a memory of a certain person, or a place in time, this is an audio anchor or an anchor triggered by your sense of hearing.
|
- 10). Overweight and Dying - Mummy Stay With Me A Little Longer By : kacycarr
Scientists have now discovered that skeletal frame humans are more vulnerable to bouts of anxiety than that of oversized happy porkers that at the time of study were found to be less prone to depression in their recent research.
Then in the same article a snippet revealed how a 16 year study stated that slim people are more confident and content, surely this is a great factor for happiness denoting a safe healthy life.
|
| New Weight Loss Articles |
|
|
- 2). Fat Consequences In Children By : Mark Kimathi
As the world battles with an epidemic that is proving difficult to manage and showing signs of becoming a costly affair, our children are getting caught in the cross fire. Adult onset diabetes, weight loss surgery and weight loss medication for children is not exactly what parent had in mind when planning for their posterity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 7). Why Herbal Weight Loss Is A Highly Effective And Natural Diet By : Clive Jenkins
Before ingesting any herbs as part of a herbal weight loss programme it is important to check they are recognized medically as been safe for human consumption. There are some substances which should not be consumed, as they contain highly toxic properties which are potentially very dangerous for our vital organs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
