Weight loss surgery has become a topic of great interest these days as more and more people look for a successful treatment for obesity. Weight loss surgery is becoming popular but there are still questions to be answered about the long-term effects on nutrition and body systems. Nutritional deficiencies that occur over the course of many years will need to be studied, and can depend on your diet after bariatric surgery.
There are two types of Weight loss surgery - the lap band and the gastric bypass. The lap band is the simpler of the two procedures and involves the surgical introduction of a physical band, a little bit like a tiny rubber ring that would be used around a childs waist for swimming. Under general anaesthetic, the band is placed at the bottom of the pipe that enters the stomach (the oesophagus). Once in place, the band can be inflated with saline solution which causes it to tighten and, therefore restrict the flow of food that is allowed into the stomach.
The patient must still follow a diet but the band enforces a restricted flow of food for the body to absorb. If the patient over eats then they may be sick or experience feelings of indigestion. The hope is that they will quickly fall in line with the limiting factors of the band in order to avoid these undesirable feelings. The fact that they have also spent about 7000 having the band fitted and spent 2-3 nights in hospital may add to the patient's determination and have some placebo effect.
Experts contend that obese people should exhaust all options to lose weight before resorting to weight loss surgery, which they view as the last option. They encourage individuals to join support groups, try psychotherapy and exercise regularly. They believe that non-surgical treatments are much more effective that weight loss surgery
It is crucial that weight loss surgery be used as a weight loss tool. Those who undergo this surgery will need to adopt extreme lifestyle changes to be successful in their weight loss endeavors. A patient with a high degree of motivation to solve his or her weight issues will be much more likely to meet the challenges of post operative dietary requirements and behavioral therapy