Obesity

About obesity and Bariatric surgery

Obesity is, as we know, one of the hardest plagues of the modern age. This phenomenon has long been perceived as a disease and not just a result of a problematic lifestyle. Bariatrics, which is a field in medicine treating obesity, offers a number of surgical procedures that can end the disease.

Bariatric surgery isn’t considered simple, but their results are amazing. Private surgery in the Herzliya Medical Center surgical department will guarantee professional and responsible work that would successfully fight the abnormal weight and allow you, after a strict and controlled process, to have a normal life.  What options does the patient have? What are the possible surgeries within this frame and how exactly are they done? This is where you could get all the answers.

Obesity: the phenomenon and the conditions that require surgery

Obesity and abnormal overweight are determined by the BMI index – Body Mass Index that is calculated with a simple formula: the person’s weight divided by their height squared (in meters). However, a person will be defined as suffering from abnormal overweight also by the percent of fat tissues in his body and according to an international table determining the recommended weight.

When should you have surgery that fights overweight? Bariatrics experts state that abnormal overweight means a personal  BMI index of 40 and up, a condition requiring urgent surgery. By the way, some people also reach a BMI of 60, which is an extreme case that might lead to death at any moment.

Even for people with a BMI of 35 and lower, bariatric surgery is recommended if they suffer from other diseases like hypertension, diabetes, abnormal cholesterol and more. In this situation, the patient is facing 4 types of surgery, with the right procedure being chosen after personal consultation between the patient and the surgeon.

What is the secret of bariatric surgeries

The average stomach can contain up to 1.5 kg of food, but for heavyweight people, the volume is even bigger. Bariatric surgeries narrow or physically reduce the stomach, thus leading to almost immediate weight loss in very fat people, among else due to a decrease of the ghrelin hormone production, which causes increased hunger.

The surgeries are done by narrowing the stomach, cutting a part of it or bypassing it. The big advantage of most of these surgeries is that the person can no longer control the amount of food he puts in his mouth. The narrowing or reduction of the stomach leads to a real physical need to reduce the amount of food consumed.

Bariatric surgeries: all types

As we noted, there are 4 bariatric surgeries performed in the operation room across the world.

Ring surgery – known in the population as gastric banding surgery but it includes, in fact, the simplest surgical action of all surgeries in that field. During the surgery, a sort of band is installed that creates a narrow pocket in the upper part of the stomach. This way, most of the solid and “heavy” food can’t reach the actual stomach and the result – consumption of smaller amounts of food.

Sleeve gastrectomy ( stomach sleeve) – as its name, makes the stomach a narrow and long sleevelike organ. In fact, in this surgery, 85% of the stomach is removed and its volume is reduced significantly. The stomach is too narrow to contain all the food it used to before, but in addition to that, the production of the ghrelin hormone is hurt and the constant feeling of hunger is stopped.

Gastric bypass – the most common surgery in the USA in bariatrics. Here, a small “stomach pocket” is left, in a volume of about 30 ccs leading directly into the small intestine and bypassing the duodenum and the original stomach. The latter remains in fact without use in the body and that person’s fattening capability is gone forever.

mini-gastric bypass – combines 2 elements together: reducing the volume of the stomach, significantly reducing the amount of food that can be consumed, and in parallel limiting the achieved absorption via larger bypass of the stomach to an advanced part of the small intestine.
Differently, than regular gastric bypass, the surgery includes one anastomosis only, so the risk for surgical complications at the anastomosis spot in smaller and the surgery is shorter.

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch – the most complicated surgery, and not just because of its name. This surgery, in fact, includes 2 bariatric surgeries – sleeve resection and then duodenal switch, leading to a bypass of the duodenum and half o the large intestine. In this surgery, the stomach remains relatively big, 100 cc, when the duodenum bypass causes a decreased absorption of the food in the body, and accordingly – a large and significant weight loss.

Every bariatric surgery has advantages and disadvantages that might be expressed differently according to the patient’s data. After the surgery, make sure to have a medical escort, constant professional follow-up and dietary consultation, since they’re critical for quick healing. Herzliya Medical Center’s personnel will escort you and provide close guidance on these matters to ensure the procedures ends successfully.

For consultation and additional information, contact us at +972-9-959-4888 or leave your details and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.