Sitting life style, fat food and laziness have made many people obese. Obesity is based upon body mass index (BMI). People with BMI of 25-29.9 kg/m2 are considered to be overweight. People with BMI of 30 kg/m2 and more are considered to be obese. It is not easy to fight obesity since the treatment requires strong will to change ones style of life. Obese patients dream to lose extra weight by taking weight loss pills, but sometimes the only way for them to get ride of many excess pounds is to undergo a surgical procedure.
This article is devoted to weight loss surgery (obesity surgery or bariatric surgery) and cosmetic surgery that can help to ‘melt’ fat away. Weight loss surgery is used as a collective term for surgeries that help to promote weight loss. As for cosmetic (plastic) surgery this procedure is available only for patients with average or slightly over-average weight. We hope that this article can help you to understand if you really need a surgery to fight extra weight.
Will Surgery Help Me to Lose Weight?
It’s important to understand that weight loss (obesity) surgery is recommended ONLY for patients with severe obesity. Before you go through a surgery procedure you should have tried exercises, diet plans and medications and not succeed. If you are just slightly overweight you will risk undergoing a surgery as you never know how it can result on your future and health. In this case it’s better to consider cosmetic surgery such as liposuction.
Every candidate should realize that bariatric (obesity) surgery will completely change his or her lifestyle and require maintaining a healthy weight after the surgery. According to the USA National Institutes of Health, weight loss surgery is recommended for patients with BMI of more than 40 or for patients with a BMI between 35 and 40 if they have serious medical conditions such as diabetes or arthritis that would improve with weight loss.
Types of Obesity Surgeries
There are 3 types of weight loss (obesity) surgery: restrictive, malabsorptive and combined. In order to choose the best type of surgery for you, you need to understand how much weight you have to lose.
Restrictive surgery helps to reduce the stomach size and limit the amount of food a patient can eat at once. The most common restrictive procedures are lap banding (LAGB) and sleeve gastrectomy.
LAGB is performed with small incisions without big cuts. A patient gets a silicone band at the stomach entrance that gives the feeling of being full after eating small portions of meals. This procedure is not very difficult to perform and it has a low complication rate. With its help a patient can lose up to 75 % of his or her excess weight within 2 years.
Sleeve gastrectomy can help patients with BMI of 50 and more. This surgery removes the majority of patient’s stomach and replaces it with a sleeve-shaped stomach that isn’t stretching or can hold less food. This procedure can help to lose about 33 % of extra weight in 2 years.
Malabsorptive (Bariatric) surgery decreases the small intestine length. This helps to induce weight loss by reducing calories’ absorption. One of the most popular malabsorptive procedures is biliopancreatic diversion.
Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) removes part of the stomach. This helps to lose weight by processing food into the large intestine before calories are absorbed in the small intestine.
Combined procedure has two elements, both restrictive and malabsorptive. Its most common type is gastric bypass also know as RYGB. This procedure has a high success rate. Patient receives a small stomach attached to the small intestine and can’t eat more than a piece of bread and half cup of food at once. RYGB helps patients to lose up to 68 % of their excess weight in a year.
Complications and Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery
Every weight loss surgery can cause complications. It can result in pain, bleeding, infection, health problems, need for a second surgery, etc. Thus it’s important to perform a surgery in experienced bariatric surgery centers.
The positive side of weight loss surgery is that it helps patients to lose about 60 % of their extra weight in 1-2 years. Bariatric surgery reduces extra pounds and the risk of health conditions associated with obesity.
You might think that bariatric surgery is a perfect way to reduce weight. But such procedures might lead to dramatic results. A patient who has undergone a weight loss surgery should maintain a healthy lifestyle and monitor progress for the rest of his life. Besides this the recovery after obesity surgery can be very stressful and emotional.
Cosmetic Surgery
One of the most popular weight loss surgeries nowadays is cosmetic (plastic) surgery known as liposuction or lipo. This operation removes fat from different parts of human body and improves its shape. The most common areas for liposuction are thighs, hips, abdomen, buttocks and face. It’s important to clearly understand that liposuction removes only fat and not cellulite.
To undergo a liposuction a patient can’t be obese. Patient’s weight must be average. Besides this it is important to have good health and tight skin. How is it performed? A surgeon inserts a special instrument (cannula) into fatty areas and removes fat by the help of a suction pump. The results depend on the amount of fat being removed.
Unlike obesity surgery liposuction helps to remove only excess fat and doesn’t cure obesity. Talk to your surgeon and ask all possible questions about liposuction once you decide to undergo this cosmetic procedure. Remember that every surgery is risky and can’t guarantee a positive result.