Gastric bypass is being favored by very many people around the world. Weight-loss surgery changes the anatomy of your digestive system to limit the amount of food you eat and digest. The surgery aids in weight loss and lowers your risk of medical problems associated with obesity.

Gastric bypass is preferred by surgeons because it is safer and has fewer complications than other available weight-loss surgeries. It can provide long-term, consistent weight loss if accompanied with ongoing behavioral changes.

Gastric bypass surgery isn’t for everyone with obesity, however it’s a major procedure that poses significant risks and side effects and requires permanent changes in your lifestyle. Before deciding to go forward with the surgery, it’s important to understand what’s involved and what lifestyle you must take.

You won’t be allowed to eat for one to three days after the surgery so that your stomach can heal. The progression begins with liquids only, proceeds to pureed and soft foods, and finally to regular foods. With your stomach pouch reduced to the size of a walnut, you’ll need to eat very small meals during the day. Then you’ll follow a specific progression of your diet for about 12 weeks. The amount you can eat gradually increases with time, but you won’t be able to return to your old eating habits.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Within the first two years of surgery, you can expect to lose 50 percent to 60 percent of your excess weight. If you closely follow dietary and exercise recommendations, you can keep most of that weight off long term.  Other potential complications of gastric bypass surgery include: Vitamin and mineral deficiency (iron deficiency anemia, vitamin B-12 deficiency and vitamin D deficiency) Dehydration Gallstones Bleeding stomach ulcer Intolerance to certain foods Kidney stones Low blood sugar related to excessive insulin production.

Lap-Band surgery is a reversible outpatient procedure that has helped many obese patients shed their excess weight after years of struggling to slim down. But is Lap-Band surgery right for you? To make a decision, you need to understand what Lap-Band surgery is, and what it can and cannot do for you. You also need to be able to accept the costs and limitations of the surgery.

What is Lap-Band surgery?

Lap-Band surgery is a minimally invasive method of weight-loss surgery. The procedure, which is performed through four or five small incisions in the patient’s abdomen, involves wrapping a silicone band around the upper part of a patient’s stomach to create a small pouch. The band narrows the passage to the rest of the digestive system, causing patients to feel fuller much faster when they are eating.

The tightness of the band can be adjusted during a simple outpatient procedure, or can be removed entirely if the patient desires.

Lap-Band’s typical results

As long as patients stick with the lifestyle guidelines prescribed by their doctor and dietitian, they can expect to lose 1-3 pounds a week during the year after Lap-Band surgery. During this year, patients typically shed half of their excess weight.

Compared to other forms of weight loss surgery such as gastric bypass, Lap-Band surgery leads to gradual weight loss. However, Lap-Band surgery patients are less likely to regain their excess weight compared to patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery, and there is less of a risk of nutritional deficiencies.

Lap-Band surgery will also ease the medical problems associated with obesity. Patients suffering from diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, joint problems, and other obesity-related difficulties typically see these problems fade as they lose weight.

What Lap-Band surgery cannot achieve

Seeing results after Lap-Band surgery is wholly dependent on how well a patient follows their surgeon and dietitian’s advice regarding exercise and diet. Lap-Band surgery cannot make you lose weight if you are not motivated to eat slowly, choose healthy foods, exercise, and avoid excess use of alcohol.

Lap-Band surgery helps patients lose weight by limiting their food intake, reducing their appetite, and slowing their digestion. It is not a miracle cure.

Who is a candidate for Lap-Band surgery?

Typical Lap-Band surgery candidates include adults who are at least 100 pounds overweight and have struggled with their weight for at least five years. To be a candidate, you must also have tried numerous non-surgical methods of weight loss and meet standards for physical and psychological health. In addition, you must be highly motivated and willing to commit to a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.

Before surgery, patients can expect comprehensive physical and psychological evaluations, including an examination of the emotional factors that may contribute to your obesity.

Some medical conditions, including alcoholism, may disqualify a patient from Lap-Band surgery. In addition, if a disease is the root of your obesity, you are not a candidate for Lap-Band.

Cost considerations

Lap-Band is an expensive procedure that costs anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000. The cost is generally covered by insurance carriers, however, so check with your plan administrator.

However, some patients incur extra costs by undergoing body lift surgery a year or two after Lap-Band surgery.

Cosmetic Body Lift Surgery

Some Lap-Band surgery patients find that even a year or two after their surgery, they are left with flaps of excess skin that hang off their newly slimmed frame. Plastic surgeons can make your skin conform to your new body using a procedure called a total body lift.

Body lift surgery is considered cosmetic, so the costs are not covered by insurance. The costs of this procedure vary from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on the surgeon and geographic area. However, many patients express that the surgery is priceless because it lets them enjoy and show off their new bodies.

Conclusion

Though Lap-Band has marked advantages over other, more invasive types of weight loss surgery, it is not without its risks and limitations. Lap-Band surgery is not a quick fix or a miracle cure, and it takes long-term dedication for the surgery to help you shed your excess pounds. With proper motivation, though, Lap-Band surgery can help you achieve a new standard of health and slimness.

For more information

UCSD Medical Center in La Jolla, California offers Lap-Band surgery to adults seeking a solution to chronic obesity. UCSD’s Center for the Treatment of Obesity features Dr. Santiago Horgan, an expert surgeon who was one of the first trained in the use of the Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding System. To find out if you qualify for Lap-Band surgery, visit http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/lapband/

Exercise and eating right are the best ways to lose weight. But many people have tried those methods for years and still can’t lose excess weight — weight that can cause serious health problems. For people in this frustrating situation, weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) may be an option. The articles in this website will help you better understand the procedures, determine if you’re a good candidate, gain insight on costs, and learn from patients who’ve had weight loss surgery.

Background

For individuals who have been unable to achieve significant weight loss through diet modifications and exercise programs alone, bariatric surgery may help to attain a more healthy body weight. There are a number of surgical options available to treat obesity, each with their advantages and pitfalls. In general, bariatric surgery is successful in producing (often substantial) weight loss, though one must consider operative risk (including mortality) and side effects before making the decision to pursue this treatment option. Usually, these procedures can be carried out safely.

Gastric bypass surgery

Weight-loss (bariatric) surgery changes the anatomy of your digestive system to limit the amount of food you can eat and digest. The surgery aids in weight loss and lowers your risk of medical problems associated with obesity.

Gastric bypass is the favored bariatric surgery in the United States. Surgeons prefer this surgery because it’s safer and has fewer complications than other available weight-loss surgeries. It can provide long-term, consistent weight loss if accompanied with ongoing behavior changes.

Gastric bypass isn’t for everyone with obesity, however. It’s a major procedure that poses significant risks and side effects and requires permanent changes in your lifestyle. Before deciding to go forward with the surgery, it’s important to understand what’s involved and what lifestyle changes you must make. In large part, the success of the surgery is up to you.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR BARIATRIC SURGERY

Individuals considering bariatric surgery must discuss risks and possible benefits with their doctor. Bariatric surgery has associated risks and long-term consequences and should be considered only one part of an approach to treating obesity. Most bariatric surgeons think that the operations work best when they help promote lifelong behavioral and dietary changes. Long-term follow-up with doctors experienced in the care of patients having these procedures, as well as lifelong vitamin supplementation, is essential to avoid life-threatening complications.

How Does Bariatric Surgery Affect The Digestive Process?

Before Surgery

Food is chewed in the mouth, then swallowed, passing through the esophagus to the stomach, (roughly the size of a melon) where stomach acids dissolve it into smaller particles. The liquid (chyme) then passes into the small intestine where enzymes and bile continue the digestive process. The first section is the duodenum, the shortest section.

After Surgery

During both main types of obesity surgery, the size of the stomach is reduced by up to 90 percent, to the size of an egg or even the size of a thumb. Typically, its capacity is 3-4 tablespoons of food. This stomach reduction drastically reduces the quantity of food which can be consumed in one sitting and speeds up satiety. During bypass surgery, the digestive tract below the stomach is also altered.

Losing weight is something that many people have to face at some point in their lives. For many people it is a lifelong struggle that results in them facing the medical problems associated with obesity.

When a person becomes morbidly obese they are actually facing a much shorter life span. The human body is not equipped to carry too much extra weight. With any additional mass, many of the bodys internal organs must work harder.

One solution that many people are now turning to is gastric bypass surgery. This is a medical procedure designed to help people who are obese lose weight so that they can go on to live longer and healthier lives. Gastric bypass is not designed for a person who has just twenty or thirty pounds to lose.

A doctor may suggest gastric bypass if a person has been struggling with an obesity problem for a number of years. There are many conditions which are a direct result of being obese including diabetes and coronary artery disease. For these people they simply need to loose weight in order to prolong their lives.

Before a person can have a gastric bypass procedure they need to undergo a battery of tests. These tests will help determine whether or not their body can survive the surgery. They will also speak with a psychologist who will decide whether they are mentally and emotionally stable enough to face the consequences.

Once the surgery has been performed the real work begins. Gastric bypass involves cutting off access to the stomach. The persons digestive system is revamped so that they now only have a small pouch that is used to store food. This means that they are very restricted in what they are permitted to eat. Because their food intake is so drastically reduced during the gastric bypass operation they can no longer absorb as many calories as they once did.

Many people who undergo a gastric bypass have to completely learn to change their eating habits. This can prove to be a challenge but if they continue to eat the same as before the operation they will suffer very serious complications.

Exercise is important as well after a gastric bypass. If a person is very obese they will have to begin slowly perhaps by walking for just a few moments each day until they begin to lose the weight. Once more weight is lost they can quickly increase their exercise time each day and include activities such as riding a bike and even lifting weights.

It can be very easy to fall back into old patterns once the weight has been lost but it is important to view gastric bypass as a second chance at life. If you are fortunate enough to have the surgery and lose the weight, take great care of yourself so you never have to face those same health problems again.