Bariatric surgery is a weight loss procedure for people who are morbidly obese and have related health issues. It helps a person eat less by making them feel full sooner, after eating a small amount of food. This is surgery aims to promote weight loss in patients who have not achieved long-term success with other weight loss attempts. Bariatric surgery can work in many ways, including reducing the stomach’s storage capacity, which limits the food intake and a person feels full much sooner than before. This restriction on the amount of food intake causes a radical weight loss that is seen for a long time.
There are different types of bariatric surgeries, including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding and gastric plication. After understanding the case and the expectations of the patient, the doctor provides a detailed treatment plan and help determine which type of surgery is the best for a candidate.
Typically, people having a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, or those with BMI over 40 are the suitable candidates for a bariatric surgery.
Dietary adjustments that are after bariatric surgery
If the surgery is done to create a smaller stomach, patients who had the surgery tend to eat very less and slowly. This is one of the biggest outcomes of a bariatric surgery, and it limits the dietary intakes. Drinking water or drinks along with food has to be adjusted after the surgery.
For certain weight loss surgery, the doctors will also prescribe vitamins and mineral supplements to avoid deficiency and aid the body in adjusting with the new eating pattern.
The bariatric surgery price in India usually depends on –
- The type of surgery suitable for the patient
- Quality of the clinic/hospital
- Surgeon’s experience
- Length of hospital stay
There are a many health benefits from a bariatric surgery –
- Long-term remission for type 2 diabetes: Some recent studies have suggested that bariatric surgery causes a long term remission to type 2 diabetes. Otherwise, this type of diabetes is difficult to control and for obese patients. It is a very difficult task to maintain appropriate insulin levels in the body. Generally, a medication course of around at least 3 years after a bariatric surgery is advised to help the patient maintain their hormonal levels.
- Improved cardiovascular health. Excess weight loss helps decrease a person’s risk of getting coronary heart disease. Therefore, bariatric surgery can help with health. It decreases the likelihood of a person having coronary heart diseases, stroke or even peripheral heart diseases. The surgery may also help manage high blood pressure and cholesterol levels tend to return to normal following the surgery. The overall risks are reduced and there is improvement of the general well-being of the body.
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – Studies have shown that there was a 100% resolution of dysfunction and around 79% resolution of hirsutism. PCOS in women, results in irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair on the face/neck and infertility. Almost 50% of the women who have PCOS have problems such as obesity. These patients produce too much insulin in the body and it does not allow the proper functioning. Significant weight loss from a bariatric surgery can help improve the PCOS symptoms also.
- Depression – Depression along with anxiety are the two mental illnesses that are often associated with over eating and a sedentary lifestyle. These in turn also make a person increase their weight and become obese. These further have negative impacts on health and result in side effects. A weight loss strategy such as bariatric surgery tend to make a patient feel better in person and improve their level of confidence towards the world. Weight loss from surgery will also help boost the self-confidence by removing the poor self-image, and the low self-esteem. These help in reducing the social isolations and associated sadness.
- Joint pain relief. Obesity can lead to increased pressure on the knee and other joints. The excessive weight puts a lot of stress on the weight-bearing joints, causing chronic pain and joint damage. Weight loss surgery help provide relief from these issues also.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Obesity is a big factor in obstructive sleep apnea, as the increased weight around the neck muscles tend to block the airway while a patient sleeps. Weight loss surgery has a very good outcome for the same and helps in improving the person’s OSA along with having less clinical side effects.
- Stress Urinary Incontinence – Around 50% reduction in the complaints that patients show. Obesity is known to cause urinary inconsistency, because the excess weight puts more pressure of the bladder. People who have undergone bariatric surgery are known to have improved or even resolved bladder inconsistency.
- Fatty Liver Disease (non-alcoholic) – in around 90% of the cases, we have seen an improved outcome and around 37% reduction in the inflammation that the liver had. Associated problems that a patient has after a non alcoholic fatty liver disease are reduced to great amounts after bariatric surgeries.
- Migraines – Studies have shown that bariatric surgeries have resolved around 57% of the migraine cases. Most patients don’t realize that with increasing weight, the risk of migraines also increases. People who have obesity tend to have a higher chance of having chronic migraine. Losing weight and shifting to a healthier life is an easier way to reduce the incidence of migraines also. On the contrary, obesity and lack of exercise also have a negative impact on health, and they increase the risk of headache up by 50%.
