Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery is the most effective way to treat overweight, morbid obesity and related diseases. It is indicated for patients who have a high BMI, are overweight or have any type of obesity.
Bariatric surgery involves making changes to the digestive system to help patients lose weight. Patients usually come to bariatric surgery when diet and exercise have not worked or when they have serious health problems due to being overweight.
Some of these procedures limit how much you can eat, others work by reducing the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.
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Why is it done?
What health problems can I have if I am overweight or obese?
- Heart disease and stroke.
- High blood pressure.
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
- Sleep apnea.
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Cancer.
- Joint problems.
- Among others.
Procedures
Gastric Balloon
It is a non-surgical and reversible technique that consists of introducing a silicone balloon or balloon into the stomach endoscopically. Subsequently, this balloon is filled with saline or air, thus limiting the capacity of the stomach and provoking a feeling of satiety.
A diet must be followed during the maintenance period of the stomach balloon. At the end of the treatment (6 months), the balloon is deflated and eliminated in the stool or removed by the bariatric surgeon.
This procedure is indicated for patients who have a maximum overweight of 7 kilos (15 pounds).
How is the procedure performed?
What type of anesthesia is used?
Postoperative care
- Follow the liquid diet sent by the nutritionist, usually fruit juices, soups, vegetable cream and plenty of water.
- Hydrate well; the patient should drink water in sips and at spaced times to avoid the sensation of nausea and heaviness.
- Avoid physical exercise during the first week.
- Take the medications prescribed by the doctor in the corresponding schedules.
- Do not self-medicate.
- Keep your check-up appointments with the nutritionist.
- To attend the revision appointments with the bariatric surgeon.
Gastric Sleeve
The gastric sleeve is a surgery to treat obesity that seeks to reduce the volume of the stomach and, therefore, its capacity. This technique removes 75% to 80% of the stomach to leave a long tubular stomach. It is performed under general anesthesia.
Limiting the size of the stomach restricts the amount of food you can consume. In addition, the procedure causes hormonal changes that help you lose weight, as it reduces the production of ghrelin, a hormone that regulates appetite, which can reduce the desire to eat. These same hormonal changes also help alleviate conditions associated with being overweight, such as high blood pressure or heart disease.
This procedure is indicated for patients with extreme obesity, that is, those who have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40; but patients with lesser degrees of obesity can also undergo the procedure; patients who have a BMI greater than 30 and who have a disease associated with obesity or overweight such as high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea or metabolic syndrome, among others, can also be included.
What type of surgery is used to perform the procedure?
Postoperative care
- Follow the liquid diet sent by the nutritionist, usually fruit juices, soups, vegetable cream and plenty of water.
- Hydrate well; the patient should drink water in sips and at spaced times to avoid the sensation of nausea and heaviness.
- Avoid physical exercise during the first week.
- Take the medications prescribed by the doctor in the corresponding schedules.
- Do not self-medicate.
- Keep your check-up appointments with the nutritionist.
- To attend the revision appointments with the bariatric surgeon.
- Perform wound healing according to the instructions given by the doctor.
How is the procedure performed?
Gastric Bypass
This technique modifies the digestive system with a double purpose: to reduce the amount of food that can be ingested (restrictive criterion) and the nutrient absorption capacity of the intestine (malabsorptive criterion). To this end, the stomach is reduced in size to a capacity of 20-50 c.c. and then connected directly to a more advanced section of the small intestine (bypass), so that only 60% of it is used for food absorption.
Gastric bypass is performed on people who have already had a gastric sleeve but have not been able to lose the amount of kilos they need to reach their ideal weight, or on men who are over 45 kilos overweight and women who are over 36 kilos and who also have metabolic syndrome (coincidence of three or more cardiovascular risk factors) or type 2 diabetes and arterial hypertension.
How is the procedure performed?
The surgeon cuts the upper part of the stomach to separate it from the rest of the stomach. This creates a reservoir that is about the size of a walnut and can only hold one ounce (28 grams) of food. Normally, the stomach can hold about 1.5 liters of food.
The surgeon then cuts the small intestine and sews part of it directly into the reservoir. The food enters this small reservoir in the stomach and then passes directly into the small intestine that is sewn to it. The food does not pass through most of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine, but enters directly into the middle part of the small intestine.
What type of anesthesia is used?
Postoperative care
- Follow the liquid diet sent by the nutritionist, usually fruit juices, soups, vegetable cream and plenty of water.
- Hydrate well; the patient should drink water in sips and at spaced times to avoid the sensation of nausea and heaviness.
- Avoid physical exercise during the first week.
- Take the medications prescribed by the doctor in the corresponding schedules.
- Do not self-medicate.
- Keep your check-up appointments with the nutritionist.
- To attend the revision appointments with the bariatric surgeon.
- Perform wound healing according to the instructions given by the doctor.
