Researching Bariatric Surgery

Obesity is the second leading cause of death in this country. The government now says that 34 percent of Americans are clinically obese — at least a third of their weight is fat. Being overweight is a national problem and also a national obsession. Every day thousands of people go on diets. Very few of them lose weight permanently. Bariatric surgery has become a last-resort answer.

Types of Surgery
About 5 main types of bariatric surgery are common.

Is it appropriate for you?
Learn about who qualifies.

Benefits
There is a lot more to gain than weight loss.

Risks
There are risks involved.

Bariatric surgery is a term from the Greek words for “weight” and “treatment.” These are major operations that simultaneously sealed off most of the stomach to decrease the amount of food one can eat, and rearranges the small intestine to reduce the calories the bodies can absorb. The operations, which can be done in several different ways, are known collectively as bariatric surgery.

When you are researching bariatric surgery there are many things to consider. Some of those considerations include:

• Bariatric surgery is not a quick fix or any easy way out. It is a drastic step, and it includes all the pain and risk of any major abdominal operation.
• The surgery forces people to change their eating habits radically, makes them violently ill if they overeat and puts them at lifelong risk for major nutritional deficiencies.
• Many lose more than 100 - 200 pounds. Some reach a normal weight, while others remain heavy, though less overweight than before.
• Some surgeons accept patients in their 60's, and some even operate on teenagers.
• Bariatric surgery is a remedy of last resort, offered only when all else has failed.
• People who meet the definition of morbidly obese, which generally means overweight by 100 pounds or more are considered for the surgery, although you may meet the criteria if you are 80 pounds overweight and have Diabetes, sleep apnea or another life-threatening disease.
• Bariatric operations cost about $20,000 or more, and although many patients have had to fight for coverage, more insurers are beginning to pay, recognizing that the surgery can have powerful medical benefits that save them money in the long run.
• In a 1991 report, the National Institutes of Health concluded that surgery was a reasonable solution for some people and said, “a major drawback to the nonsurgical approach is failure to maintain reduced body weight in most patients.” With drugs or diet, most patients can realistically hope to lose no more than 10 percent of their body weight — a mere 30 pounds in someone who weighs 300, for instance — and even that may not last.
• Alternatively, one study shows that 10 years after the most commonly performed bariatric operation, the gastric bypass, patients on average have maintained a loss of 60 percent of their excess weight.
• Successful results depend mainly on motivation and behavior.
• Because gastric bypass operations cause food to skip the duodenum, where most iron and calcium are absorbed, there are risks for nutritional deficiencies.
• Do not always believe everything you hear about bariatric surgery. Talk with people who have undergone the surgery. You can find hundreds and hundreds of those people right here at ObesityHelp.com. You can find your surgeon, research his credentials and read about what his patients have to say about him, all at ObesityHelp.com.