Weight loss surgery, or bariatric surgery, is a surgical procedure which alters your digestive system in some way to effectively reduce the amount of food you can eat, thus causing dramatic weight loss. This type of surgery may be necessary if you are considered obese and have not been able to lose weight using traditional methods of combining diet and exercise, though it comes with some risks. However, according to Clarian Health, approximately 65 percent of bariatric surgery patients not only lose weight, but are able to keep it off for over five years.
Types
There are two basic types of weight loss surgery. Restrictive surgery reduces the size of your stomach, restricting the amount of food you can eat. This may also be known as banding. Gastric bypass is a malabsorptive surgery because it prevents the digestive system from absorbing calories from the food you eat. This is accomplished by creating a bypass for food to travel directly from the stomach to the lower sections of the small intestine. However, what most laymen consider gastric bypass surgery today employs a combination of restrictive and malabsorptive surgical techniques, believed to provide the best results.
Candidacy
Clarian Health states that certain conditions are able to be resolved or at least improved by weight loss surgery. Eighty-six percent of patients experience improvement in diabetes, 70 percent in high cholesterol, 78 percent in high blood pressure and 84 percent in sleep apnea. However, having one of these conditions and being overweight are not sufficient to qualify for candidacy. Generally, doctors will require you to attempt to lose weight through diet and exercise unsuccessfully, find that your daily activities are affected by your weight, and ensure you are mentally prepared for the changes you must make in order to experience successful weight loss after surgery.
Preparation
Regardless of where your weight loss surgery will take place, most doctors require you to undergo testing and mental wellness checks prior to the procedure. These ensure that you are as prepared as possible for the rigors of changing your mental attitude and habits concerning food, as well as that your body is prepared and able to handle the surgery.
Complications and Risks
As with any surgery, weight loss surgery can result in death, or several types of complications can occur during or after the procedure. These can include blood clots, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, gallstones, dehydration, stomach ulcers, hernias and low blood sugar. Dumping syndrome is also of concern, as this condition causes food to move too quickly through the digestive system, causing diarrhea, dizziness, nausea and vomiting in the patient.
Results
After having a weight loss surgical procedure, patients are unable to eat for 24 to 48 hours to give their digestive system a chance to rest and heal. Following that, a prescribed diet will be followed for 12 weeks, building gradually from a liquid diet to soft then regular food, at restricted amounts. Rapid weight loss is expected in the first three to six months, and 50 to 60 percent of your excess weight will be lost in the first two years.
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