Posts Tagged ‘gastric bypass’

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, Is It For Everybody?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy, also known as vertical sleeve gastrectomy continues to be utilized by bariatric surgeons as a favored surgical treatment for morbidly obese patients. Traditionally, this procedure is a precursor to the decrease of the level of hormones that influences food craving. People experience a paradigm shift in self-esteem right after the extreme weight loss in months right after this particular bariatric surgery. I can’t tell you how often that I commonly hear that it changed the lifestyle of my patients as they come in for after-care.

For morbidly obese patients with a BMI in excess of 60, traditional gastric bypass surgery such as the roux-en-y, poses a sky-high level of risk. Knowing the danger, gastric sleeve is employed as this kind of procedure can be carried out readily through a laparoscope and with remarkably less danger. Whenever satisfactory fat is shed, another procedure is performed which is a classical gastric bypass operation.

Patients that are prospects for a lap-band surgical treatment are usually anxious simply because a foreign body will be implanted into their abdominal region. With sleeve gastrectomy, there will be no implantation of any sort of foreign object directly into any part of your body which makes it a very desirable alternative for many patients. Long-term side effects like intestinal blockage, protein and vitamin deficiency, and low iron levels, which are expected in lap-band, will certainly no longer be a problem with gastric sleeve as it is only the stomach that is being resected. Apart from that, it no longer needs an adjustment or filling after the surgery. This means lesser follow-up appointments that will certainly be very hassle-free. Patients would be able to go back to their normal life in no time.

Gastric sleeve is definitely an irreversible procedure that involves vertical resection from the top section of the stomach, called the fundus, right down to about two inches from the pylorus, the area where the stomach and small intestine meet up. To stop bleeding and leakage, the very first step in this process is solidifying hemostasis and stapling (or heat sealing) the seams bilaterally through the location where the incision will be made. When the first step is performed, resection will follow. Sutures are fastened over the area of incision to reinforce the staples earlier positioned, the resected part will be put aside and the wound will be closed.

Gastric physicians emphasize that no obesity surgical treatment is an ultimate cure. It’s merely an instrument to assist patients reduce their caloric intake. The operated stomach can enlarge again and the weight formerly dropped can be gained once all over again. When this happens, the sleeve can be done once again, but this calls for another operation.

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy at Weight Loss Surgery

How Can A Bariatric Surgeon Help Cure My Diabetes?

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Surgeries like laparoscopic gastric bypass and other weight loss medical operations are primarily done to resolve issues of morbid obesity. Not only does Roux-en-Y gastric bypass facilitate in weight-reduction, but medical studies confirm that it’s powerful effects on co-morbid conditions associated with morbid obesity such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. There are significant medical studies showing beyond a shadow of a doubt that gastric bypass practices was effective enough to strongly hinder or force the abatement of Diabetes mellitus type 2.

A bariatric surgeon will reduce the size of the stomach during a gastric bypass procedure. A small pouch is created on the top of the stomach and the middle section of the small intestine is connected to the remaining part of the stomach. With this stomach at a smaller size, a lower volume of food and water can be in the stomach at any one time. This helps to cut the number of calories through the physical limitations of the new stomach.

Gastric Bypass Diabetes Study

After weight-loss surgery, an individual’s weight loss could be dramatic. In fact, the weight loss is so dramatic that there is a 5% drop in weight within the first few weeks of the surgery. On average, every patient one year after surgery will have lost 50 to 60% of their original weight. Two years after the surgery, patients will usually achieve their lowest weight loss and will begin to look to maintain weight and not lose weight. It is doable, but the key concept is permanent lifestyle change. At this point, the maintenance program would involve the patient sticking with the dietary plan and doing the exercises to maintain body weight homeostasis.

For most people, a gastric bypass will force diabetes into remission within weeks of the weight-loss surgery. This is not just about hormonal factors, the amount of weight lost by the patient has significant effects on diabetes. Duke University medical research proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the amount of weight that they person carries correctly proportional to the severity of their type 2 diabetes. Hormones also have a factor, since the studies also showed an effect on the gut hormones. They have a stronger insulin resistance.

Gastric Bypass Type 2 Diabetes

In the scientific study conducted, it was statistically proven that bariatric patients following gastric bypass surgery had a marked improvement in their diabetes. They had lower blood-sugar levels and take lower amounts of medication. About 48 percent of the respondents were able to achieve complete remission.

Gastric bypass patients also have to think about other factors that can affect their diabetic state. Nutritionally speaking, diet also plays a major role in diabetic tendencies. People have who have undergone the surgery must follow a strict diet plan. Too much sugar at fat is best avoided after the surgery, since it could result into the Dumping syndrome which has vomiting, nausea, dizziness, sweating and diarrhea as symptoms. Because of the change in diet, the individual gets to eat less food and less carbohydrates.

The results are not only significant among adult patients. The teenager may have to wait a year before the type 2 diabetes will be reversed to the point of taking them off of medication, but it is well worth it. Ideally, prevention is best, but there are some extreme cases in society today a young teens being saddled with morbid obesity as a result of that weight. Used to be that only adults suffered from co-morbid diseases usually associated with obesity such as high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and the list goes on. Times have changed, and we need to look at gastric bypass surgery as a way to prevent premature death of these individuals.

Experts agree that diabetes can surely be reduced by undergoing gastric bypass surgery. It is best that you look at all options prior to undergoing a major life-changing event such as gastric bypass surgery. It is not always the best option for every individual that is morbidly obese. It is only a tool. The gastric bypass surgery effects could fail especially if the same lifestyle before the surgery is still followed. It is still about eating healthy and getting regular activity into your schedule.

Read more on Diabetes Gastric Bypass at Gastric Bypass Diabetes Cure!