Gastric bypass surgery is the most often carried out operation for weight loss in the USA with more or less 140,000 operations being done in 2005 Dating back more than 50 years, a lot of surgeons have grown up with gastric bypass surgery and possess a very effective understanding of both its risks and benefits.

In many cases gastric bypass is the last option when other forms of weight loss and dieting have proved unsuccessful and where you are very much overweight. This commonly means that you have a body mass index (BMI) over 40, or over 35 with an accompanying condition that raises the risk of premature death or disability. These conditions might include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea and heart disease among others. More simply, this translates into being about 100 pounds above your ideal weight.

The rationale behind gastric bypass surgery is simply to cut down the effective size of the stomach and bypass the greater portion of the stomach, and part of the intestine, curtailing your ability to eat too much food and also reducing the body’s absorption of the food that is consumed.

In spite of the fact that open gastric bypass surgery is still frequently done an increasing number of surgeons are starting to adopt the laparoscopic approach and, although this requires a great deal of training and expertise on the surgeon’s part, there are several advantages to this approach. Here are just a few:

1. As just about 5 tiny incisions are made the healing time following surgery is greatly reduced, as is the chance of infection and of suffering a hernia.

2. There is substantially less post-operative pain and the little pain that is present needs only mild painkillers such as tylenol and codeine.

3. Laparoscopic surgery enables greater precision since surgery is performed under magnification and the surgeon can see details that are not visible during open surgery.

4. As laprascopic surgery is quicker than traditional open surgery the patient spends less time in surgery and needs less anesthesia, leading to fewer anesthesia-related complications.

5. As patients are on their feet rapidly there is less risk of blood clots, bed sores, pneumonia and other complications normally associated with immobility.

6. Laparoscopic surgery enables you to return to work in a reasonably short timeframe, often as little as one week although it is suggested that patients do not return to work for some two weeks for safety.

Gastric bypass surgery results is a significant improvement in a patient’s quality of life and also has the additional benefit of improving, or in some cases of curing, diabetes, sleep apnea, venous status disease, headache, hypertension and other disorders.

That the surgery can now be carried out so much more easily and can leave patients relatively pain free and have them up and about very quickly means that more people are likely to make use of gastric bypass surgery and enjoy a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Laparoscopic obesity surgery is one of those surgical procedures that has been gaining popularity compared to other operative procedures like open surgery. Why? Because in this surgery, a small fiberoptic tube is connected to a video screen, and is inserted through the small abdominal incisions, which allows the surgeon to see inside the body and view the area of operation without having to make large incisions.

This is considered safe since it leads to less trauma and a reduced risk of infection. The surgeon creates a small pouch (stomach pouch) near the upper part of the stomach in a Laparoscopic obesity surgery procedure. This pouch limits the amount of food that person eats.

The very good thing about obesity surgery, compared to open surgery, is that it does not put the immune system of the patient at risk. Open surgeries can compromise the immune system and even promote the growth of any existing tumors. The amount of time the operation takes for open surgeries can increase the risk of developing blood clots or wound infections. Patients may suffer severe apnea or heart disease.

The primary purpose of the operation is to reduce short-term morbidity as other weight loss surgeries. In Laparoscopic obesity surgery, the patient’s average stay in the hospital is 2-3 days in contrast to 4-6 days with the traditional open surgery. Patients recover faster when surgical procedure is done laparoscopically. Patients can return to work in 2 weeks.

Hernia, the complication brought by open surgery, is significantly reduced in obesity surgery. The surgery embodies quarter inch to half inch small incisions instead of 8 to 10 inch incision done in the open approach.

The treatment for surgery may reduce post operative pain and medication levels, promote faster return of bowel function, and improved cosmetic results. Other advantage is that it does not involve any cutting or stapling of the stomach.

Obesity surgery is considered as an effective surgical procedure since it not only leads to satisfactory weight reduction but also associated with a low rate of complications compared to other operative procedures. Yet, there are complications related to Laparoscopic obesity surgery that the patients should be aware of.

Obesity is a serious problem, whatever age you are, and whatever stage you are in your life. For this reason it is important that obesity is not ignored but addressed as soon as possible so that people can enjoy their life for the full with as few physical ailments as possible.