What exactly is weight loss surgery and what is involved? The best person to talk to about the options, types of weight loss surgery, requirements for meeting surgery criteria and the possible side effects would be your doctor. Your doctor may be able to answer your general questions and he or she should be able to refer you to a weight loss specialist.
Does undergoing surgery for losing weight seem drastic? To me, yes it does, but to many it's been a life saving procedure.
Here's a brief summary of the most common type of weight loss surgery:
Gastric Bypass, Roux en-Y
How it's done: This operation achieves its effects by creating a very small stomach pouch (about the size of your thumb), from which the rest of your stomach is permanently divided and separated. The small intestine is cut about 18 inches below the stomach, and is re-arranged to provide an outlet to the small stomach, while maintaining the flow of digestive juices at the same time. The lower part of the stomach is bypassed, and food enters the second part of the small bowel about 10 minutes after the beginning of the meal. There is very little interference with normal absorption of food - the operation works by reducing food intake, and reducing the feeling of hunger. The result is a quick sense of fullness, followed by a very profound sense of satisfaction. Even though the portion size may be small, there is no hunger, and no feeling of having been deprived. Patients continue to enjoy eating - but they enjoy eating a lot less.
The Results: The Gastric Bypass provides an excellent tool for gaining long-term control of weight, without the hunger or craving usually associated with small portions, or with dieting. Weight loss of 80 - 100% of excess body weight is achievable for most patients, and long-term maintenance of weight loss is very successful -- but does require adherence to
a simple and straightforward behavioral regimen.
Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass, Roux en-Y
Laparoscopic surgery first became available around 1990, when small, light-weight, high-resolution video cameras
were developed, allowing surgeons to "see" into the abdomen
using a pencil-thin optical telescope, and to project the
picture from the video camera on a TV monitor at the head
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