Surgery for Obesity
Surgery is not the answer for obesity unless all other (less invasive) options for weight reduction have failed. But for those who have tried everything and still have a body mass index of 40 or above (about 100 pounds overweight) and health risk factors such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes, the best option for weight reduction is often gastric bypass surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon reshapes the stomach into a small pouch and connects it to the middle of the small intestine. The remainder of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine are "bypassed," which both limits food intake and reduces calorie absorption from food.
Unfortunately, gastric bypass has serious risks such as intestinal blockage, leakage and bleeding and severe nutritional deficiency.
A more recent surgery approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults is the lap band surgery. In this procedure, a band (inflatable silicon ring) is placed around the upper portion of the stomach, creating a smaller stomach. This helps the person to limit food portions because he feels full with a smaller amount of food.
The lap band procedure is also "adjustable," because the silicon ring is attached to a port placed under the skin at the time of surgery. Injection of saline (salt water) into the port will inflate the ring, causing the stomach to become smaller. Removing saline through the port will deflate the ring, causing the stomach to become larger.
The lap band procedure has had good results in adults, with most people losing about 50 percent of their weight within a year following surgery. Ann additional benefit is that this procedure has fewer complications associated with it than with gastric bypass surgery.
The FDA has recently approved three medical sites in the U. S. to perform lap band surgery on obese adolescents in order to evaluate how successful it might be in this population. Adolescents involved in the study have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight under medical supervision and have serious obesity-related health problems.
To date, the adolescents have done remarkably well, with weight loss similar to adults who have had the procedure, and fewer and less serious complications than those experienced with gastric bypass surgery.
Unfortunately, gastric bypass has serious risks such as intestinal blockage, leakage and bleeding and severe nutritional deficiency.
A more recent surgery approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults is the lap band surgery. In this procedure, a band (inflatable silicon ring) is placed around the upper portion of the stomach, creating a smaller stomach. This helps the person to limit food portions because he feels full with a smaller amount of food.
The lap band procedure is also "adjustable," because the silicon ring is attached to a port placed under the skin at the time of surgery. Injection of saline (salt water) into the port will inflate the ring, causing the stomach to become smaller. Removing saline through the port will deflate the ring, causing the stomach to become larger.
The lap band procedure has had good results in adults, with most people losing about 50 percent of their weight within a year following surgery. Ann additional benefit is that this procedure has fewer complications associated with it than with gastric bypass surgery.
The FDA has recently approved three medical sites in the U. S. to perform lap band surgery on obese adolescents in order to evaluate how successful it might be in this population. Adolescents involved in the study have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight under medical supervision and have serious obesity-related health problems.
To date, the adolescents have done remarkably well, with weight loss similar to adults who have had the procedure, and fewer and less serious complications than those experienced with gastric bypass surgery.
Labels: gastric_bypass_surgery, lap_band_surgery, weight_loss_surgery
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