Weight-loss surgeries: Weight loss operations vary.
Restrictive procedures reduce stomach size and digestion. Normal stomachs hold 3 quarts of food. After surgery, the stomach may hold as little as one ounce, then 2 or 3 ounces. Smaller stomachs can eat less. Less eating means more weight loss.
Malabsorptive/restrictive operations alter food intake. They reduce your stomach size and bypass the section of your digestive track, making it tougher to absorb calories. Due to negative effects, doctors rarely perform intestinal bypasses or malabsorptive procedures.
The newest method, implanting an electrical device, interrupts stomach-brain nerve connections to cause weight loss.
Gastric Bands
Gastric banding restricts weight loss.
How it works: The surgeon squeezes the stomach into a smaller upper pouch and a larger bottom pouch with an inflatable band. A little canal connects the two regions, slowing upper pouch emptying. Most people can only consume 1/2–1 cup before feeling full or nauseous. Soft, well-chewed food is needed.
Pros: This operation is simpler and safer than gastric bypass and others. You receive a smaller scar, faster recovery, and band removal procedure.
Doctors can also alter the band. The doctor injects more saline into the band to tighten it and reduce stomach size. The doctor removes band fluids with a needle to loosen it.
Cons: Gastric banding results in less weight loss than other operations. Over time, they may also gain weight.
Risks: Gastric banding often causes vomiting after eating too much too fast. Band issues can arise. It may leak, slip, or loosen. Some need further surgeries. Every surgery risks infection. Life-threatening consequences are rare.
Gastrectomy
Another stringent weight loss surgery. The surgeon removes 75% of the stomach. The stomach becomes a thin tube that links to the intestines.
Pros: Other weight loss surgeries may be too hazardous for very obese or sick persons. A sleeve gastrectomy is a less-invasive weight loss surgery. After 12–18 months, individuals can have gastric bypass surgery if needed.
A sleeve gastrectomy doesn’t alter food absorption because the intestines aren’t damaged.
Sleeve gastrectomy is irreversible.
Risks: Infection, sleeve leakage, and blood clots are common.
Gastrectomy (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass)
Gastric bypass is restrictive and malabsorptive.
The surgeon cuts the stomach in half and seals the upper region. The surgeon joins the upper stomach to the lower small intestine.
Food bypasses portion of the stomach and small intestine thanks to the surgeon. Avoiding these digestive stages reduces calorie absorption.
Pros: Rapid weight loss. 50% happens in the first 6 months. It may last 2 years following surgery. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, sleep apnea, and heartburn often improve quickly due to rapid weight loss.
Gastric bypass works well long-term. Research show that many people maintain their weight loss for 10 years or more.
Cons: You may not obtain adequate nutrients since you won’t digest food as well. Calcium and iron depletion can cause osteoporosis and anaemia. You’ll need supplements and a strict diet for life.
Dumping syndrome, in which food pours from the stomach into the intestines before being digested, is another gastric bypass danger. 85% of gastric bypass patients dump. Nausea, bloating, discomfort, perspiration, weakness, and diarrhoea are symptoms. Sugary or high-carbohydrate foods can cause dumping, therefore changing your diet can help.
Gastric bypass is irreversible. Reversal is unusual.
Risks: Gastric bypass is risky. Most operations risk infection and clotting. Hernias may require additional surgery after gastric bypass. Rapid weight loss might induce gallstones.
vBloc
This: An implanted pacemaker-like device transmits regular electrical impulses to the vagus nerve, which tells the brain the stomach is full. Brain-to-stomach vagus nerve. Remote control adjusts the blocker device under the rib cage.
Pros: This device is the least intrusive weight loss surgery. General anaesthesia might extend the outpatient procedure to 1.5 hours.
Cons: Doctors must reprogram batteries that empty completely. Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, swallowing issues, belching, moderate nausea, and chest pain may occur.
Risks: Infection, implantation site discomfort, or surgical complications. Complications are rare.
The American Association of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery does not recommend this technique (ASMBS). The American College of Surgeons Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) requires institutional review board (IRB) permission before executing them.
BPD
A more extreme gastric bypass. The surgeon eliminates 70% of your stomach and bypasses additional small intestine.
Biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch is less extreme. Although more complicated than a gastric bypass, this operation bypasses less of the small intestine and stomach than biliopancreatic diversion without the switch. It reduces dumping syndrome, starvation, and ulcers.
Pros: Biliopancreatic diversion can lose weight faster than gastric bypass. The remaining stomach is larger than gastric bypass or banding pouches. This operation may allow you to eat more.
Cons: Biliopancreatic diversion is rarer than gastric bypass. Nutrient deficiency is a bigger concern. Dumping syndrome is another concern. The duodenal switch may reduce these hazards.
Risks: One of the most complicated and risky weight loss operations. This operation, like gastric bypass, has a high hernia risk that requires additional surgery. Less invasive surgery reduces this danger (called laparoscopy).
Gastric/Intragastric Balloon System
What it is: In restrictive weight loss surgery, a deflated balloon is implanted in the stomach (through the mouth). Saline solution fills it to reduce hunger. Weight loss surgery, gastrointestinal problems, and liver failure are contraindications for the intragastric balloon.
Pros: No surgery or hospitalisation. The balloon lasts six months. That’s enough time to shed 10% of excess weight.
Cons: Potential stomachache, nausea, and vomiting a few days following balloon installation.
Risks: The FDA reported five intragastric balloon-related deaths in 2017. (e.g., perforation of the stomach or esophagus, or intestinal obstruction).
The agency also received reports of spontaneous balloon overinflation with air or fluid and severe pancreatitis induced by the balloon pressing on organs.
Best Weight Loss Surgery?
Health and body type determine weight loss surgery.
Simpler operations may not be viable if you are fat or have had abdominal surgery. Discuss procedure pros and downsides with your doctor.
Visit a weight-loss surgery centre if possible. Expert weight loss surgery reduces problems, according to studies.
Make sure the surgeon is experienced in the operation you need wherever you are.