Bariatric Surgery De-mystified: What Are The Options?

Oct. 4, 2010 - PRLog -- After some research on sites such as that of Streamline Surgical (http://www.streamline-surgical.com), in this article I have covered some of the main types of procedure available to those who have tried everything else and believe that weight loss surgery is the only way in which they can lose weight and move on with their lives. Dieting, exercise, dieting, exercise. For some people these just don’t help in the battle against obesity. There is no one size fits all solution and the type of treatment or procedure required differs depending on each individual’s need. I’ve tried to de-mystify the terminology to give a good insight into the differences between the different weight loss procedures.

Let’s start with an overview of three different types of common procedures, gastric band surgery, gastric bypass surgery and gastric balloon insertion. The first of these, the gastric band, is often regarded as the safest and least invasive operation designed to produce long term weight loss. While its results can be as good as, or better even, than other types of weight loss surgery, patients really need to work with the band to achieve the best results.

Another common procedure is gastric bypass surgery, which helps you to lose weight as it changes the way that your body, and more specifically your stomach, deals with the food you eat. In this case, after surgery you are unable to eat as much as you could before, and your body will no longer physically be able to absorb all the calories from the food you eat.

Finally, gastric balloon insertion is a temporary procedure which results in satiety receptors producing a sense of fullness, which represses the desire to eat large portions of food. While this is a very quick procedure, the balloon must be removed after six months. The gastric balloon is often suggested to patients as an aid to losing weight in the run up to other more invasive or permanent surgeries.

People often ask ‘which is better, band or bypass?’ and the answer is always the same – each procedure has both its benefits and its drawbacks, and often one will be much more appropriate for an individual than the other. You should always speak to your surgeon about which weight loss procedure is suitable for you. Weight loss surgery isn’t suitable for everyone, but in some cases it can transform the lives of patients, not just helping them to lose weight, but also boosting self-esteem and confidence.