Is Bariatric Surgery right for you?
This is a question that many obese people struggling with weight ask. It is always best to speak with a doctor to determine your options. Often times doctors are able to reduce a patients weight over time through less evasive means than surgery. Bariatric surgery is usually used after all of these other options have not worked.
According to the US National Institues of Health, bariatric surgery should be used for people with a BMI of at least 40. They also recommend it for people with a BMI of 35 or more and that also have other conditions like diabetes.
If you are considering bariatric surgery, you also need to be well aware of the risk factors with these types of procedures. These procedures have become increasingly safe over time, but there are still risks as there are with any kind of surgery. Some of these risks and side effects could include: vomiting, dumping syndrome, nutritional deficiences, or complications with the bands or other medical devices.
Before deciding to go ahead with a bariatric procedure you should understand the risks, discuss your options at length with your doctor, research the experience of the surgeon, and understand the monetary costs and what parts your insurance will pay for.
What is Bariatric Surgery?
Bariatric surgery is weight loss surgery that includes a number of procedures. Bariatric surgery is performed on obese people. An obese person is someone with excess body fat and a Body mass index of 30 or more. Being obese can have several negative effects on a person’s health. Due to the obesity problem, hospitals, doctors, and surgeons offer a number of different weight loss or weight reduction surgeries. This group of different surgeries is called Bariatric surgery.
Bariatric surgery is usually performed by reducing the size of the stomach. This is done by implanting a device or by removing a part of the stomach. It can also be done by routing the small intestines into a stomach pouch. The basic idea is to make the stomach smaller. One medical device that can be used to reduce the size of the stomach is a gastric band. This band wraps around a portion of the stomach and creates a small pouch. There are a number of ways that the band can be positioned to perform this procedure.
So what can you expect will happen after having bariatric surgery? Studies have shown that this procedure causes long term weight loss, a reduction in mortality of 23%, recovery of diabetes, and improved cardiovascular risks.