Obese individuals have often tried many things in order to effectively lose weight only to have the weight stay, or come back once it is lost. Obesity is a chronic disease since weight is put on over a long period of time and is often hard to get back off. There are many options in today’s medical field for those who are overweight including bariatric surgery. There are many different procedures and anyone considering having one of them done should discuss the advantages and disadvantages to each. Here’s a start on some of that information.
Gastric Bypass
Gastric Bypass is one of the most popular bariatric surgery options. Advantages include rapid weight loss to the effect of 70% of a person’s body weight within the first year. This surgery has been performed for over 40 years so it is well perfected and it can even give the patient improvement in diabetes and other areas. In this procedure, the stomach is never removed so recovery is easier and the technical failures are also low. Gastric bypass is the bariatric surgery that has the lowest rate of weight loss failure and it even decreases the hunger a patient feels in about 5 months.
There are, however, also disadvantages to this procedure. Recovery can be complicated since, though the stomach is not removed, it is cut along with the intestines. There are risks of leaks and other complications. This bariatric surgery also has the highest potential bleeding rate and the longest operation time. Patients will have to be in the hospital for two days and the monitoring period after that time is around a full year. Gastric bypass takes the longest amount of time to resume a normal diet, as the patient will have to take supplements and be on protein shakes for months. The surgery is also not easily reversible.
Lap Band Surgery
Lap band surgery is one of the safest bariatric surgery options since there is no cutting involved at all. The operation times are short and the risk of bleeding is low. This surgery is the only bariatric surgery that is adjustable later on and it is also easily reversible. It can be an outpatient procedure and there is not as much need for follow-up visits. The patient can also resume somewhat normal eating much sooner.
On the other hand, patients lose weight at a slower pace and can expect 70% weight loss over 3-5 years, at best. Weight loss is not as predictable and the highest failure rate lands under this surgery. The other health improvements are also slower and not as reliable and it is simply easier for a patient to cheat with this surgery.
There are many other bariatric surgery options to consider, but the advantages and disadvantages of these two are a good way to start the research on the procedures.
