Obesity surgery remains the only option for people who have tried all the other methods of losing weight such as controlling diet, increasing physical activity, medications and other non-surgical methods. However, this recourse to weight loss is not advisable for all obese people. Surgical methods of losing weight are only resorted to in special cases of obesity. Severely obese people, whose obesity is referred to as morbid obesity (BMI >40), increase their chances of developing several health problems that may shorten their life or have debilitating effects on their general physical condition. Therefore, surgery remains the only recourse to save the lives of such people. Obesity surgery can also be performed on those obese people who may not fall under the category of morbidly obese people (i.e. their BMI is less than 40), but who are suffering from one or more obesity related diseases such as arthritis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, liver disease, cancer and various other medical conditions. Obesity surgery achieves weight loss by modifying the digestive and absorptive functions of the body. These primary functions are performed in the stomach, small intestine and the large intestine. Therefore, obesity surgery entails a permanent modification of these vital organs to ensure a weight loss that is long lasting. Obesity stomach surgery alters the size of the stomach, making it smaller. Obviously, a person will feel full after eating a smaller quantity of food and begin losing weight. This type of surgery is termed restrictive surgery because it restricts the intake of food that a person consumes. Obesity stomach surgery is performed in a number of ways. Restrictive surgery involves only the modification of the stomach, whereas the combined restrictive and malabsorptive surgery involves both the stomach and the small intestine. The different operative procedures for an obesity stomach surgery are Vertical Banded Gastroplasty, Gastric Banding and Laparoscopic Gastric Banding. Even though obesity stomach surgery results in an overall improvement in obesityrelated diseases due to a sustained weight loss, the complications caused by the surgery are worth considering before a decision is made. Patients should talk at length with the surgeon regarding the risks and complications involved. |
