What are the different types of surgical weight loss procedures?
I'll talk about the five most common. Now, again, keep in mind I am not a doctor. I will only give you the laymen's version, as I understand them. There a re a trillion websites out there that will give a more "medically sound" version of these surgeries. The five I will talk about are as follows:
1. The Roux-en Y gastric bypass
This is the procedure that I had, so I know quite a bit more about it so I will talk a little more in length about this procedure.
The Roux-en Y gastric bypass is a restrictive operation where a small pouch is made at the upper portion of the stomach, which can hold only 1-2 tablespoons in volume. This procedure helps you lose weight three ways:
A) You will eat less. You just won't be able to eat a lot. If you eat too much, it will come back up. The food has no choice. If you can't eat a lot, you will lose weight. Period.
B) Your appetite will actually begin to change. After the procedure, most patients find that their body will not easily tolerate foods that are high in refined sugars and fats. This is called "Dumping Syndrome." Dumping Syndrome is a common side effect after gastric bypass and occurs when the contents of the stomach empties rapidly into the small intestine, especially if you eat concentrated sweets or carbohydrates. The feeling you will experience may be a combination of profuse sweating, nausea, dizziness and weakness. "Dumping" is actually a desired side effect of the surgery to discourage you from eating sweets.
C) You actually absorb fewer calories. Keep in mind that your body's plumbing is re-worked. After a Roux-en Y, food bypasses part of your small intestine and digestion occurs in the lower part of the small intestine. These two factors reduce the amount of calories your body absorbs from the food you eat.
2. The biliopancreatic diversion.
The procedure is a combination restrictive-malabsorptive procedure as well, except that the main mechanism of weight loss and maintenance is malabsoprtion, with restriction playing a much lesser role.
3. The vertical banded gastroplasty
The vertical banded gastroplasty creates a small stomach within the regular stomach. The operation causes weight loss by forcing you to eat small meals.
Relief from hunger is accomplished with tiny amounts of food - and overeating results in vomiting.
A vertically oriented staple line is placed high on the right side of the stomach. The outlet is carefully measured and its size precisely controlled. A mesh band is placed around the outlet of the pouch to keep the pouch outlet from stretching.
Aside
from the creation of the small pouch there is no significant change in the gastrointestinal tract.
4. The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LapBand)
The LAP-BAND is designed to induce weight loss by restricting food consumption, and is a variation of the Vertical Banded Gastroplasty.
I am a big fan of this procedure. I think one day this will be standard in surgical weight loss procedures.
The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, or the LapBand, is a restrictive operation where a silicone band is wrapped around the upper part of the stomach to create a small stomach pouch. This means that you will feel full with only a small amount of food and your intake is restricted. Food passes through the outlet from the upper stomach pouch to the lower part more slowly, resulting in you feeling full longer. This narrowing can be adjusted as needed in a simple outpatient procedure. This is a key point to understand. The fact that it can be adjusted means you will regain less weight, if any for the rest of your life. Whenever you start to regain weight, your doctor can simply decrease the size of your makeshift pouch causing you to eat less food.
5. The Mini-Gastric Bypass (MGB)
Dr. Robert Rutledge--director of The Centers for Excellence in Laparoscopic Obesity Surgery, and a frequent guest on Lighten Up America is a talented surgeon who pioneered mini-gastric bypass surgery. He describes MGB as a minimally invasive procedure that partitions the stomach into a long, narrow tube and a separate larger piece.
The smaller stomach is attached about 6 feet down in the small intestine. The larger stomach is sealed and left unattached. The smaller stomach decreases the amount the patient can eat and the bypass of a portion of the small intestine decreases the absorption of fat and calories. In the more than 2,500 patients who have already undergone the procedure, this combination of smaller volume and decreased absorption has resulted in an average weight loss of 140 pounds in one year in a 300-pound patient. Go to Dr. Rutledge's website at http://www.clos.net for more info on the MGB.
About the Author
Dan Schulz writes about Gastric Bypass Surgery. His site features Surgical Weight Loss information from an average person's point
of view. -- No medical mumbo-jumbo, just plain talk about obesity surgery from an actual patient. To find out more about Gastric Bypass Surgery, and to listen to a free radio show about the suregry hosted by an actual patrient, go to http://www.lightenupradio.com
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