Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgeries are the latest entries to have rocked the weight loss market. With obesity acquiring the status of a global epidemic, weight loss surgeries are being offered as the last option to treat cases of super morbid obesity. In such cases, all forms of treatment for weight loss starting from balanced diet to weight loss exercises and diet pills fail to curtail obesity. Then surgeries are taken to be the last resort for treating obesity. Surgical treatment may sound drastic, but in fact, more and more people are considering weight-loss surgery since chronic obesity is hard to treat with diet and exercise alone.

The rising popularity of weight loss surgeries can be evident from the latest data from the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). The estimated number of weight-loss surgeries performed in the United States in 2005 was 171,000, which is a significant increase over the estimated 140,000 in 2004 and 103,200 in 2003. This trend is also due to the advanced and safer procedures adopted for the surgical treatment. There are two types of obesity surgery — restrictive and combined restrictive/mal-absorptive. While different ways of performing each surgery have been developed, each type of surgery has its own risks and side effects which can be best decided by the consulting physician.

There are several forms of weight loss surgeries available. One such form of surgery which is common is the bariatric surgery. It involves the stapling of the stomach so as to reduce the capacity of food intake. One of the recently most used and successful weight loss surgeries is the gastric bypass surgery. A clinical study of gastric bypass surgery has recorded fewer complications, a greater reduction in obesity-related diseases, and more weight loss when compared to the gastric banding procedure (where the stomach is tied with a band into two, to initiate weight loss).

Complication factor: Research shows that about 40% of the weight loss surgery cases develop complications. Some may develop complications such as a hernia, abdominal cramping or pneumonia in the six months after the procedure. A deficiency in vitamin B1, or thiamine, may be a serious complication following gastric bypass surgery, according to a recent study. These surgeries besides complication factor and health risks, has very high recurring cost pertaining to the postpartum treatment even after a year of the surgery.

NOTE: Successful weight loss does not depend on surgery, drugs, injections, fad diets or other manipulation undertaken by the therapist, rather it depends on the ability of the patient to manage the disorder herself and to persist indefinitely with some restrictions on dietary freedom.