subject: Two Kinds of Gastric Weight Loss Surgery Helped Thousands Finally Lose Weight [print this page] Two Kinds of Gastric Weight Loss Surgery Helped Thousands Finally Lose Weight
Weight loss surgery has become a popular way of fighting obesity. And, because the obesity epidemic continues to spread, weight loss surgery will only increase in importance.
Obesity in the United States has become an increasingly significant condition since the 1980s. The medical community considers obesity to be a chronic disease. Though prevalent in many countries, the wester nations are especially hard hit. More than two-thirds of the people in the United States are overweight and half of those are obese (with a body mass index greater than 30).
The major problem with obesity is the associated diseases that result from obesity. Major diseases related to obesity include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, stroke, heart attack, cancer, acid reflux, and fatty liver disease. Some estimate that up to a third of a million deaths in the United States are a direct result of obesity.
Weight loss surgery is an effective means of fighting obesity. Most surgeries are perform on patients with a BMI of 35 or more. In addition, good candidates are those who have repeatedly tried and failed to use diet and exercise to control their weight. After surgery patients do lose weight, and often there is fairly rapid weight loss after surgery.
There are two basic kinds of weight loss surgery. Restrictive procedures attempt to reduce or restrict the amount of food you can eat. Procedures such as adjustable gastric band and sleeve gastrectomy restrict the amount of food you can eat at one sitting. Malabsorptive procedures attempt to reduct the absorption of nutrients. Various bypass operations reduce stomach area or the length of intestine through which food passes in order to limit absorption.
Gastric bypass surgery is both restrictive and malabsorptive. In this surgery the stomach is stapled to reduce the size, thus limiting the amount of food it can contain at one time. And, the small intestine is attached to the active stomach pouch, bypassing the duodenum, resulting is less nutrient absorption.
Laparoscopic surgery techniques, or minimally invasive surgery has made weight loss surgery even more popular. Laparoscopic techniques involve smaller, keyhole, incisions and the use of miniature cameras that are placed within the surgical area and guide the surgeon. This allows the procedure to be performed without larger incisions. Recovery time is reduced and often patients can leave the hospital the day after surgery.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, indicates that the cost for a gastric bypass operation is around $20,000 to $25,000. Though bills from $30,000 to $35,000 are not uncommon.
An option for lowering the cost is medical tourism. Over 50 countries offer medical procedures to visitors from other countries. Most foreign countries, like Mexico, greatly restrict malpractice law suits. While this can be a negative, it also has a positive advantage in that US physicians can practice in Mexico without the large overhead of malpractice insurance. This results in greatly reduces costs for many elective surgeries like weight loss surgery.
After weight loss surgery you will lose weight and have an opportunity to eat more healthy foods and become more physically active. People who transition to healthy lifestyles after weight loss surgery have the best long term results.
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