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About Weight Reduction Surgery
Are You a Candidate for Weight Reduction Surgery?
About the Procedure
What to Expect After Your Surgery
Your Recovery
Possible Complications
About Weight Reduction Surgery
For those who are severely overweight and cannot through traditional diet and exercise lose the excess weight in a safe and healthy manner, weight reduction surgery may be an option.
Weight-reduction surgery, known also as bariatric surgery, alters the anatomy of your digestive system in order to limit the amount of food you can eat and digest. As a result, surgery can provide long-term, consistent weight loss if you're a proper candidate for this procedure.
Are You a Candidate for Weight Reduction Surgery?
Weight reduction surgery is a major procedure and only candidates who are extremely overweight and suffer related health problems should consider it.
At the time of your consultation, Dr. Javaheri will calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) and inform you whether you are eligible for the surgery. In addition, Dr. Javaheri will discuss with you not only what the surgery entails, but the necessary lifestyle changes you will have to make in order for the surgery to succeed in the long-term.
At the time of your consultation Dr. Javaheri will ask you about your general medical history, specifically pertaining to any medical conditions that could cause problems during or after your surgery, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, blood clotting problems, or a tendency to form excessive scars.
There are several different types of weight reduction surgeries that are generally divided into two categories: restrictive and malabsorptive. A restrictive procedure achieves weight loss by reducing stomach size in order to limit the amount of food you can eat. The most common of these procedures is a gastric bypass. A malabsorptive procedure achieves weight loss mainly by limiting the amount of nutrients and calories absorbed in the intestine. This procedure is less common than restrictive procedures and has a greater risk of complications. The most common and recommended procedure used today for weight reduction surgery is gastric bypass surgery.
During gastric bypass surgery, a section of your stomach is stapled across the top, sealing it off from the rest of your stomach resulting in a tiny pouch that can hold approximately a half an ounce of food. The small intestine is then cut and part of it is sewn directly onto the pouch.
After the surgery, food will by pass your stomach and the first section of the small intestine and enter directly into the new pouch and second section of your small intestine, which will limit your ability to absorb calories. Though food never enters the lower part of your stomach, your stomach continues to secrete digestive juices to mix with any food in your small intestine.
What to Expect After Your Surgery
When successful, weight-loss surgery can result in dramatic improvements in your overall weight and health. Most patients during the first one to two years following their procedure lose up to fifty to sixty percent of their excess weight. In addition, most patients that maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly keep the weight off for ten or more years.
Patients who are severely obese and have type 2 diabetes usually see improvement in the control of their blood sugar levels, or their blood sugar levels become normal. About two-thirds of patients suffering from high blood pressure see dramatic improvement in the management of their blood pressure levels. In addition, those suffering from sleep apnea experience significant improvement of their symptoms, including less daytime sleepiness.
There will many physical and social adjustments you will need to make after your surgery. You will need to follow a strict regiment of exercise, and carefully manage your diet. Your stomach in most cases will be about the size of a small egg. In the first six months after surgery, eating too much or too fast may cause either vomiting or an intense pain under your breastbone. You will be required to eat four to six small meals throughout the day instead of eating three normal meals. Most patients quickly learn how much they can eat at one meal, and with time, the amount you can eat will increase.
Your Recovery
Post-Weight Reduction Surgery Tissue Excess
The excess tissue generally includes the abdomen, hips, back, arms, thighs, breasts, and sometimes the chin and neck area. The road to reconstruction involves multiple stages starting with the removal of the abdominal, hip, and back tissue. This procedure is sometimes referred to as a “belt-lipectomy” or “belt panniculectomy”. This is a circumferential excision of the excess skin and fat of the abdomen, hips, and back.
The next stage is variable depending on the desire of the patient. But it can be any of the remaining procedures: thighplasty (removal of the excess skin, fat of the thighs and a thigh lift), brachioplasty (removal of the excess skin and fat of the arms), mastopexy (lifting of the breast tissue), and even a face lift.
There are a lot of scarring associated with these post-weight reduction surgeries, and Dr. Javaheri will discuss all of the procedures in great detail with you at the time of your consultation.
Individuals vary greatly in their anatomy, their physical reactions, and their healing abilities, and the outcome is never completely predictable. As with any surgical procedure, the risk of infection is always a possibility. This can be minimized by the preventative administration of antibiotics both at the time of your surgery and afterwards while in recovery.
Tissue breakdown, infection, blood clots forming in the legs, hematoma, seroma (fluid formation under the operated site), are some of the possible complications. Again, Dr. Javaheri will discuss these in great detail prior to your surgery.