 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Bariatric SERVICES
What Is Weight Loss / Bariatric Surgery?
We Can Help.
Weight Loss / Bariatric Surgery is not a cosmetic procedure like liposuction or a tummy tuck. Weight Loss / Bariatric Surgery is for individuals who are 100 pounds or more overweight and helps patients lose weight by limiting the amount of food intake (restriction) and/or causing some of the food to be poorly digested and incompletely absorbed (malabsorption).
Today there are several surgical options for weight loss. You and your surgeon must evaluate the procedures and decide which one is right for you. Results achieved by patients must be independently evaluated and managed. Actual weight loss will vary.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
The Sleeve Gastrectomy is one of the newer weight loss surgery procedures.
The surgeon divides the stomach vertically with a line of staples and removes
a large portion of it. The remaining stomach is a long tube shaped like a very
slender banana. It can hold between 1 – 5 ounces. The surgery helps you lose
weight by restricting the amount of food that can be eaten at one time.
The part of the stomach that is removed secretes a hormone called Ghrelin
which is responsible for appetite and hunger. Because of the decreased amount
of Ghrelin, sleeve gastrectomy patients experience a loss or reduction in appetite.
This surgery is usually performed laparoscopically.
Gastric Bypass
Gastric Bypass surgeries are combination procedures that use both restriction and malabsorption to achieve weight loss. This is the most common type of weight loss surgery performed. The most common type of gastric bypass is called the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
In Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, staples are used to permanently close off part of the stomach. This leaves only a small stomach pouch for the food you eat. Additionally, a Y-shaped piece derived from an upper portion of the small intestine is attached to this small stomach pouch. As a result, food from your stomach pouch bypasses the initial sections of the intestine, which normally would absorb calories and nutrients after eating.
Gastric bypass can be performed using a traditional open technique or through laparoscopic surgery, depending on your circumstances and the decision of your surgeon. The traditional open technique involves an incision in the abdomen that allows the surgeon to view and access your stomach and intestine.
Laparoscopic surgery uses smaller incisions and a small video camera that projects views of your stomach and intestine onto a monitor in the operating room. Both methods are routinely performed. Talk to your doctor about these two approaches and which would be appropriate for you.
Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding
Also called the Lap-Band, this technique is minimally invasive and involves placing a band around the upper portion of the stomach. The band creates a small stomach pouch that serves to restrict food intake and make one feel full faster. The small stomach pouch slowly releases food to the lower portion of the stomach through the opening created by the band.
One of the major advantages of the Lap-Band is that the diameter of the band outlet is adjustable to meet your individual needs, which can change as you lose weight. The operation can usually be performed using laparoscopy (using small incisions and long instruments rather than a single large incision). The procedure requires no cutting or stapling of the stomach or small bowel
The inner surface of the band can be inflated with liquid (saline solution) or deflated to modify the size of the pouch. The band is connected by tubing to a reservoir, which is placed well under the skin during surgery. After the operation, the surgeon can control the amount of saline in the band by entering the reservoir with a fine needle through the skin. These adjustments begin about six weeks after the band is placed, and 4-6 adjustments are typically needed until appropriate adjustment is reached during the first year.
The Lap-Band procedures are normally performed as day surgery, although a patient may be admitted for an overnight stay in the hospital depending on the post-operative situation and the patient's co-morbid conditions.
Duodenal Switch Surgery
The Duodenal Switch is a radical, yet effective weight-loss surgery. Duodenal Switch with biliopancreatic diversion is an operation that relies primarily on a mechanism called malabsorption to help people achieve and maintain weight loss.
To achieve this, a partial resection of the stomach and a bypass of 50-70% of the small intestine are the important elements of this surgery.
The absorption of food is decreased in two ways, both absorptive surface area of the intestine and transit time for the food are reduced decreasing the opportunity for absorption.
In addition, the digestive enzymes from the pancreas and duodenum are diverted away from the food channel for most of its length preventing complete digestion and absorption of calorie dense foods such as fat and starches.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
