Despite a surge of interest in healthy living, worldwide obesity rates continue to rise at an alarming rate. In an effort to curb the tide of illnesses associated with being overweight, patients are turning to more invasive and risky treatments, including weight loss surgery.
While the effects of different weight loss surgeries are the same, they reach this end by different means. Some techniques help patients achieve their weight loss goals by restricting the amount of food they can eat, while others disrupt the digestive process so that food is not entirely absorbed. Here is a look at three of the most common types of weight loss surgery—gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric bypass.
Gastric Band Surgery
Gastric band surgery is referred to as a restrictive procedure, since it limits the amount of food a patient can physically consume at one time. To perform the surgery, doctors begin by attaching a silicon band beneath the upper third of the stomach. This band is attached to a rubber tube that travels to a port just below the surface of the skin. Once the patient recovers, a specialist can inject or withdraw saline from the tube, which will tighten or loosen the band respectively.
On average, gastric band patients lose about 40 to 50% of their excess weight. While the procedure is no doubt effective, it is still not a complete cure for obesity. Diet and exercise should still play an important role after surgery.
Side effects associated with gastric band surgery are generally rare and mild. Most commonly, they include nausea and slight bleeding near the surgical site.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
A sleeve gastrectomy, also known as gastric sleeve surgery, reduces the overall size of the stomach. Surgeons typically remove about 75% of the stomach, leaving only a small, vertical band that runs the length of the stomach.
Sleeve gastrectomy patients lose more than 50% of their excess bodyweight on average. However, this surgery is much more invasive than gastric band surgery, which means that people who are severely overweight may not be good candidates, due to a high risk of complications.
After surgery, patients must pay careful attention to the foods they eat. Their intake will be severely restricted, which means that they run the risk of malnutrition. Patients should expect to work closely with a nutritionist in order to prevent this.
Gastric Bypass
Gastric bypass surgery, like a sleeve gastrectomy, removes a large portion of the stomach. However, instead of leaving a thin strip that runs the length of the stomach, gastric bypass divides the organ in two. The top section is attached directly to the small intestine, while the lower half is discarded. This approach means that food is unable to be properly digested and absorbed entirely, which leads to weight loss.
Patients who undergo gastric bypass tend to lose anywhere from 50% to 65% of their excess weight. However, there is a chance that some people may regain their lost weight over time, since there is a risk of the reconstructed stomach stretching. Because the surgery disrupts the normal digestive process, patients are also at risk of “dumping syndrome”—a condition characterized by nausea, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea.
Gastric bypass surgery is typically reserved for patients who are at least 100 pounds overweight. However, patients still must be in relatively good physical and mental health to qualify for the procedure. Conditions such as binge eating disorder, a history of blood clots, or substance abuse may keep patients from undergoing gastric bypass.
