Gastric Bypass Surgery
One of the major health problems of the twenty-first century is
obesity and, in particular, morbid obesity.
In simple terms 'we are what we eat' and nowadays we are eating more and more of
the wrong types of food. Gaining weight is nothing new of course and most of us
will have been on a diet and exercise program at one time or another but, for
the growing number of people who are now classed as obese, weight loss surgery
is really the only long-term solution.
When you look at just how obesity has increased in the past 10 years the
figures are staggering and obesity in America has reached epidemic proportions
with more than 30% of the population of the United States now classed as obese.
The United Kingdom is not far behind at about 22% but both the US and the UK are
well ahead of most European countries which come in at between 9% and 13% and
Japan with a figure of around 3.5%.
Perhaps of more concern however is the rise in the number of morbidly obese
people and of the increase in
childhood obesity and
teenage obesity. Although perhaps not considered by many to be a serious
problem today, the effects of childhood obesity present special problems when it
comes to parenting and will fuel the growth in number of weight loss surgeries
in the years ahead.
Although gastric bypass surgery (or
bariatric surgery) has been around for half a century it remained, until
quite recently, a fairly seldom seen surgical procedure. Today however the
gastric bypass, in one form or another, is fast becoming one of the most
frequently performed surgeries across much of the Western world, with the United
States leading the field.
Obesity surgery has developed significantly in recent years and there are now
a number of different procedures performed including traditional gastric bypass
surgery (such as
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and
mini gastric bypass surgery), restrictive procedures (such as the
gastric sleeve or lap banding) and
malabsorptive procedures which bypass part of the intestine (such as the
biliopancreatic diversion).
There are also variations on these procedures including such things as the
vertical sleeve gastrectomy with duodenal switch and of course many
procedures are now being carried out using laparoscopic 'key-hole' techniques or
even robotic surgical techniques. In particular increasing use is being made
gastric banding and we will look closely at just what
laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding involves, as well as the cost of lap
band surgery.
Whatever form of weightloss surgery is undertaken, the basic principle is to
reduce the size of the stomach significantly (often producing a stomach pouch
which is just one-tenth of the size of the original stomach) to physically
restrict the patient's food intake and thus dramatically reduce the availability
of calories. This, in turn, forces the body to call upon its reserves of fat and
leads to rapid weight loss.
Although gastric bypass surgery, even with modern minimally invasive
techniques, is still considered as major surgery with a wealth of associated
complications and risks, its growing popularity is in no small way due to its
success in terms of weight loss and the publicity surrounding a growing list of
celebrities who have chosen this route.
The list of personalities is both long and growing and includes such names as
Diego Maradona, Sharon Osbourne, Anne Rice, Al Rocker, Randy Jackson, Roseanne
Barr and Renee Williams.
Throughout the pages of this website we will examine the problem of obesity,
and morbid obesity in particular, through a series of
articles on obesity looking at such things as
how to calculate BMI (body mass index) in an effort to help answer the
question which more and more people are asking - "Am I Obese?". We will also
look at many of the medical problems caused by obesity including heart disease,
diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and osteoarthritis.
We will also look in detail at all aspects of obesity surgery covering such
things as the risks of gastric bypass surgery,
its long term side effects, the chances of gaining weight after gastric bypass
surgery, the need for a strict post gastric by pass surgery diet and finding
suitable gastric by pass recipes.
Gastric bypass surgery is not something to be taken lightly as, in addition
to its obvious benefits, it carries a number of risks which, no matter how
small, still need to be fully understood and considered. There is, for example,
the risk of death from surgery as well as that of pneumonia, the narrowing of
the opening between the stomach and the small intestine, leakage where stapling
is used, slippage of a lap band, dumping syndrome and many others.
In addition, there are considerable dietary implications to surgery and the
need to plan your food intake and to follow a strict gastro bypass diet in order
to keep you healthy by ensuring that you get sufficient nutrients and to prevent
such things as a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. You will need therefore to
re-learn everything you knew about food and cooking and will need to become very
familiar with a range of necessary
supplements to take along with your meals.
There is also the psychological effects of surgery to be taken into account
which result from the dramatic lifestyle changes which follow surgery. You will
of course need to be assessed by your doctor and surgeon for your suitability to
undergo gastric bypass surgery, or indeed any form of weight loss procedure, and
will need to be prepared for the difficulties that you will face and the support
that you will need from not only the health professionals, but also your family
and friends.
Finally, there is of course the
cost of gastric bypass surgery to be considered and the question of whether
or not you can get
insurance cover for gastric bypass surgery. This is a problem for many
patients as treatment is not cheap and even the
cost of lap band surgery can be high even though the procedure is relatively
simple.
Weight-loss procedure starts before surgery - Joliet Herald News
10 Mar 2010 at 4:06am
Weight-loss procedure starts before surgery
Joliet Herald News
Caponi, 25, of Crest Hill, is having laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery next week, but preparations for the procedure begin two weeks in advance with a ...
Study to Examine Gastric Bypass for Treatment of Diabetes in Non-Obese - Weig...
9 Mar 2010 at 12:12am
Weight Loss Surgery Channel
Study to Examine Gastric Bypass for Treatment of Diabetes in Non-Obese
Weight Loss Surgery Channel
But, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City are embarking on a new study to determine whether gastric bypass surgery can be an ...
Prescott man returns to active lifestyle after weight-loss surgery - Prescott...
7 Mar 2010 at 5:38pm
Prescott man returns to active lifestyle after weight-loss surgery
Prescott Daily Courier
Martinez, a Prescott native, chose gastric bypass surgery at Flagstaff Medical Center's Bariatric Surgical Program. The American Society for Metabolic and ...
FMC recognized by industry group for bariatric surgeryArizona Daily Sun
all 3 news articles »
Texas Public School Teachers to be denied access to Lap Band surgery - BigNew...
9 Mar 2010 at 10:24am
Texas Public School Teachers to be denied access to Lap Band surgery
BigNews.biz (press release)
... that the program at Wadley must include more invasive options than gastric banding currently offered by their program, to include gastric bypass. ...
Manhattan doc claims gastric bypass surgery can reverse diabetes - New York D...
24 Feb 2010 at 1:18pm
New York Daily News
Manhattan doc claims gastric bypass surgery can reverse diabetes
New York Daily News
Seriously obese diabetics have experienced turnarounds after gastric bypass surgery, but Rubino believes it could work on patients with less to lose. ...
Toward a National Diabetes Reversal Strategy - Part 1WebMD (blog)
Weight-Loss Surgery a "Cure...
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