Different Surgical Treatments For Obesity

Obesity is an epidemic medical condition caused due to the accumulation of excessive body fat. Obesity negatively impacts the overall health condition. This chronic disease is a problem worldwide and is increasing rapidly.

Several other medical conditions get associated with obesity including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, depression, osteoarthritis and a certain type of cancers. The major causes of overweighing are genetic susceptibility, excessive food intake, and lack of physical activity. Certain other causes involve mental disorder, medications, genes, and endocrine disorders.

Surgical Treatment for Obesity Is The Only Workable Treatment Offering Long-Term Benefits

A balanced diet, regular exercise, and medication are few of the nonsurgical treatments for obesity. But, nonsurgical methods are inadequate and ineffective for severe cases. The nonsurgical methods don’t provide sustained weight loss and a durable solution. Obesity affects the entire human system increasing the risks of illness.

Currently, surgical treatment is the only workable treatment option that ensures long-term weight loss. The surgery for obesity is bariatric surgery. Bariatric Surgery gets classified under different categories as one operation will not work effectively for all patients. After diagnosing the health condition and the severity of the case, the surgeon will select the best surgical treatment for obesity. The surgical treatment gets performed in a multidisciplinary setting as there are several inherent complications of surgery.

Different Surgical Treatments For Obesity

Different Surgical Treatments For Obesity

Restrictive Surgery

Restrictive surgery for obesity shrinks the stomach size and slows down digestion. The capability of the stomach for holding food restricts and later stretches. The reduced stomach size impacts to eat less food and the reduced food intake boosts up weight loss.

Malabsorptive or restrictive surgery impacts on the amount of food intake. The surgeons remove the digestive tract of the stomach undergoing the surgery that makes it harder for the body to absorb calories that restrict fat build up in the stomach and other body parts. This surgical treatment for obesity is also called intestinal bypass and rarely opted by the surgeons for the side effects.

Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric Bypass Surgery is one of the effective surgical treatments for obesity. The surgeons create a small pouch on top of the stomach. The small intestine directly connects to the small pouch. Liquid and food consumed by the individual pass through the pouch to the intestine bypassing the stomach.

The restricted amount of calorie into the stomach limits calorie consumption reducing fat build up. The food intake amount also reduces that effectively burns down the buildup fat and prevents future fat buildup.

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding or LAGB is another surgical treatment for obesity that separates the stomach into two pouches. The surgeons use an inflatable band and divide the stomach into two sections. The upper pouch remains smaller while the lower section remains large. The two sections remain connected via a small channel.

This method slows down the process of passing food as it takes time to empty food from the upper pouch. The individuals don’t feel hungry sooner that helps in the low-calorie intake. The extra fat buildup burns down and also prevents future buildup. This surgical treatment method for obesity is safe in comparison to the gastric bypass as well as other surgical operations.

Sleeve Gastrectomy

In Sleeve Gastrectomy, the surgeons remove around 75% of the stomach. Only a narrow tube or sleeve of the stomach remains connected to the intestines. Sleeve Gastrectomy is probably the only option for extreme cases. This surgical treatment for obesity is very simple and less risky method to lose weight. The intestines don’t get affected in this surgery.

The treatment method doesn’t affect the food absorption power of the body, and the person doesn’t run out of nutrients. The patients can have a second surgery after improved health condition and considerable weight loss.

Vagal Blockade or vBloc

Vagal Blockade is a pacemaker-like device implanted under the rib cage and operated by remote control. This device sends electrical impulses to the vagus nerve which sends a signal to the brain indicating that the stomach is full.

The device uses a battery, and the adjustments are easy to adjust outside the body. It takes an hour to implant the device. This surgical procedure is a least invasive treatment technique for weight loss. Till date, the rates of serious complications of this procedure for obesity are low.

Biliopancreatic Diversion

Biliopancreatic Diversion method is similar to gastric bypass. In this surgical treatment for obesity, the surgeon removes 70% of the stomach and bypasses more small intestines. Another similar method of treatment is Biliopancreatic Diversion with a duodenal switch. This procedure gets done with a duodenal switch. But, unlike the resembling process, less of the stomach gets removed in this procedure. The surgeons also bypass less of the small intestine.

Biliopancreatic Diversion offers good result with faster and greater weight loss in comparison to gastric bypass surgery. The patients can eat larger meals even after surgery, unlike other surgical methods. The surgeons use laparoscopy for performing the surgery as it is minimally invasive preventing risks of hernias.

Gastric Balloon or Intragastric Balloon System

The intragastric Balloon System is a weight loss surgery. In this surgical treatment for obesity, the surgeons place deflated balloon within the stomach. When the balloon moves to the stomach and gets placed perfectly, the surgeons fill the balloon with saline water. The balloon filled with saline water provides a sense of fullness with which the person controls hunger.

Though the process doesn’t involve any surgeries, it requires medical attention of surgeons. The patient need not stay at the hospital. The balloon remains within the stomach for six months, and the patient can lose about 10% of excess body fat within the time.

Aspire Assist

Aspire Assist is a tube-like device place in the abdomen after abdominal incision. This device has a port of disk-shaped. The patient needs to attach the tube to the external draining device for removing the food material to the toilet after 30 minutes of consuming the meal.

This device removes around 30% calories. The patients need to monitor the device and seek counseling from the surgeon frequently. The patients must get the tube replaced after using it many times.

Conclusion

Each of the surgical treatment methods for obesity has pros and cons. The patients must also learn about the associated side effects of surgical treatment for obesity. The surgical treatment methods certainly are highly effective in comparison to other nonsurgical methods to treat obesity. You need to consult an expert. After diagnosing your health condition, the surgeon will select the best surgical treatment method as would be appropriate for you. Consult the best doctor to get the best results of surgical treatments.

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:December 14, 2018

Recent Posts

Related Posts