Bariatric Surgical Procedures
Safe & Effective Weight Loss Surgeries in Wilmington
Depending on your specific weight condition and body type, there are a
few different bariatric surgery options available to you. Below you will
find an overview of the different weight loss procedures offered at Saint
Francis Healthcare. Each of these procedures comes with risks and benefits,
and not everyone will be a candidate for every type of surgery. It is
important that you discuss these procedures with your doctor in order
to make an informed decision that will be the most beneficial to you and
your long-term health.
Adjustable Gastric Band
This procedure works by essentially making your stomach “smaller.”
In an adjustable gastric band operation, the surgeon wraps a band around
the stomach that creates a pouch in the upper part of the stomach. When
this pouch fills, you will start to feel full, and this fullness feeling
should last much longer than you’re normally used to. Banding of
the stomach does not affect digestion or absorption. Food should still
pass through your system as usual, except you will not feel hungry as
often. Doctors can adjust the band as necessary over time.
Gastric banding is a highly effective weight loss surgery as it instills
new dietary habits in the patient. In a standard case, gastric banding
or band? Patients have lost as much as 41% of their excess weight in as
little as 3 years.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
In as little as 5 years, gastric sleeve surgery (or sleeve gastrectomy)
has become one of the most popular weight loss surgeries. Gastric sleeve
surgery used to be the first part of a gastric bypass surgery. Gastric
bypass surgery is a very involved bariatric surgery that can take up to
6 hours to complete. This was a high-risk operation for many obese patients,
so in order to make it safer, the procedure was split into two operations
spread one year apart.
In the first procedure, which is now a singular operation known as sleeve
gastrectomy, a thin “sleeve” of stomach is created using a
stapling device. The rest of the stomach is then removed, leaving the
new, thinner alternative to function in its place. This sleeve makes it
harder for you to eat quickly and creates a feeling of “fullness”
faster. After it was discovered that patients could lose more than adequate
weight with this procedure alone, many surgeons stopped recommending gastric
bypasses and instead offered the sleeve gastrectomy as an effective weight
loss solution. This operation has been shown to help patients lose an
average of 66% of their excess weight.
Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass
There are two components to gastric bypass surgery: shrinking the stomach
size and rerouting food so that it reaches the small intestine faster.
First, a small pouch is created in the stomach that can only hold a small
amount of food before you feel full. This pouch is then strategically
placed so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and delivers food
to the small intestine faster. By bypassing the stomach and parts of the
small intestine, your body absorbs less fat and fewer calories. Be aware,
however, that this also means your body will absorb fewer nutrients as well.
Gastric bypass surgery is extremely effective but requires the patient
to commit to some drastic lifestyle changes. It is only recommended for
patients who are suffering from serious side effects of obesity.
Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD/DS)
This is another form of gastric bypass. The first part of the procedure
is a sleeve gastrectomy, where a small tube-like pouch is created in the
stomach by removing the rest of the organ. Then the bypass procedure is
performed, wherein the stomach reroutes food from the stomach down towards
the end of the small intestine. The amount of small intestine bypassed
in this procedure is significantly more than that in the Roux-En-Y gastric
bypass. Skipping so much of the stomach changes the way food is digested
by enzymes in the stomach, cutting back on your total calorie count.
This procedure can reduce the absorption rate of fat by 70% or more. While
it is effective, it also cuts down on the nutrients your body can absorb.
You will need to speak with your doctor about how to maintain good nutrition
after the operation.
After Your Surgery
Bariatric surgery is a great way to get a head start on your new, healthier
lifestyle, but remember that weight loss surgery alone is not enough to
remedy the side effects of obesity. Your body undergoes numerous changes
after bariatric surgery and you will need to maintain a healthy lifestyle
in order to accommodate those changes. Before undergoing any procedure
be sure to talk with your doctor about what will be expected of you after
weight loss surgery.