There are a number of ways you can lose weight, including diet, exercise, medication and surgery. Bariatric surgery is a broad term used to describe a number of procedures that help people lose weight. It works by reducing the amount of food you can eat or reducing the nutrients you can absorb.
According to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, patients who were severely obese lose at least half of their excess weight through bariatric surgery.
Metabolic surgery is surgery done to treat metabolic disorders associated with obesity. These conditions include Type 2 Diabetes, High blood pressure, high cholesterol and related conditions. Sometimes, these conditions may not be related to obesity.
Bariatric surgery helps an obese person lose weight by reducing the capacity of their digestion and appetite. A person with a body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese. Other factors like muscle mass and waist circumference also factor into a diagnosis of obesity.
People consider bariatric surgery when the BMI is 40 or above. It might also be recommended for people with a BMI between 30 and 40 if they also have diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, or sleep apnea.
Obesity can cause a host of health issues including
Obesity is a major health problem worldwide and bariatric surgery provides the most significant and sustained weight loss solution for obese patients. Nevertheless, patients should consider bariatric surgery only after exhausting other options for weight loss like dieting, exercise and drug treatments.
Bariatric surgery may be “restrictive,” which reduces the amount of food intake, or “restrictive/malabsorptive,” which restricts intake and interferes with the digestion as well. Currently, there are four standard types of bariatric surgery procedures as follows:
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding
Gastric sleeve or sleeve gastrectomy
Gastric bypass or Roux-en-Y surgery
Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch
This surgery is not reversible.
Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital