Bariatric Surgery

What is bariatric surgery?

Bariatric surgery is a general term for a variety of surgical weight-loss procedures. Bariatric surgery can help adults and some adolescents who are very obese (morbidly obese) achieve significant weight loss. Bariatric surgery is a major procedure that has serious risks but the benefits can be significant. Benefits include long-term weight loss and resolution of many serious diseases associated with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Long-term weight loss can also lower your risk of heart disease.

Bariatric surgery can be a life-saving treatment option for people whose obesity seriously threatens their health and have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight using diet, exercise, behavioral and nutritional counseling, and medication.

Bariatric surgery is only one part of a complete obesity treatment plan that includes a lifelong commitment to healthy dietary and exercise habits, vitamin supplementation, and regular follow-up care. Less invasive treatment options that have less risk of complications are available to you to help you lose weight. You should consider getting a second opinion about your treatment options before having bariatric surgery.

Types of bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgeries incorporate one or two general techniques that work in different ways to reduce your calorie intake. These include:

• Restrictive procedures can help you lose weight by reducing the size of the stomach. This limits the amount of food you can eat. Restrictive procedures include adjustable gastric banding (Lap-Band), vertical sleeve gastrectomy (stomach stapling), and vertical banded gastroplasty (stomach stapling and banding).
• Malabsorptive/restrictive procedures (gastric bypass) can help you lose weight by altering the normal process of digestion. In gastric bypass surgery, the stomach is stapled down to a small pouch (typically the size of a small test tube) and then reattached directly to the middle of the small intestine. This allows food to bypass most or all of the first section of the small intestine (the duodenum), which reduces the amount of calories and nutrients that are absorbed into the body. Procedures include the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and the biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch (BPD-DS). This technique combines the restrictive and malabsorptive procedures to increase weight loss success.

Why is bariatric surgery performed?

Bariatric surgery is a major surgical procedure to treat obesity and reduce the risk of life-threatening complications of obesity. These include diabetes, heart disease, and severe sleep apnea. Bariatric surgery is not a treatment option for people who are mildly overweight. It may be an option for adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more. This means being approximately 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women. Certain people who are less obese with a BMI of about 35 to 39.9 and have serious weight-related health problems may also be candidates for bariatric surgery.

Bariatric surgery may be an option if other treatment options that involve less risk and fewer complications have been ineffective in helping you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. These include diet, exercise, behavioral and nutritional counseling, and medication. Talk with your doctor about all of your treatment options and consider getting a second opinion before deciding on bariatric surgery.

How is bariatric surgery performed?           

Your bariatric surgery will be performed in a hospital by a surgical team led by a bariatric surgeon. A bariatric surgeon is specialized in bariatrics. Bariatrics is the field of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.

Bariatric surgery is often performed using minimally invasive techniques. Minimally invasive bariatric surgery is performed by inserting special instruments and a laparoscope through small incisions in the abdomen. The laparoscope is a long, thin camera that transmits pictures of the inside of your body to a video screen viewed by the doctor as he or she performs the surgery.