If you are suffering from an obesity-related medical condition such as diabetes or hypertension and haven't been able to lose weight through traditional methods, bariatric surgery can help you shed unwanted pounds and improve your overall physical health. Patients must still eat a healthy diet and follow a regular exercise regimen, but surgery puts them on the path to success. Gastric bypass and the LAP BAND procedure are the two most commonly performed bariatric surgeries. Gastric bypass surgery produces weight loss in morbidly obese patients by limiting food intake and preventing nutrients from being absorbed. The surgeon reduces the functional portion of your stomach to a pouch that is one ounce or less in size and creates a small opening between the stomach and intestine to delay stomach emptying. One advantage of gastric bypass surgery is that patients tend lose weight faster in the first year. However, the LAP BAND system produces the same amount of total long-term weight loss.
The LAP BAND procedure helps patients to lose weight by controlling the flow of food through the digestive tract with an inflatable band that is adjusted to accommodate individual weight loss goals. The band can be tightened by injecting a saline solution into the patient's access port and loosened by removing some of the fluid. The LAP BAND procedure is reversible and requires a shorter hospital stay than gastric bypass surgery.
Learn More about Bariatric Surgery
To successfully lose weight, you must choose the type of bariatric surgery that is right for you. Meeting with a qualified bariatric surgeon can help you learn more about gastric bypass surgery and the LAP BAND procedure. Your doctor can review your medical history and weight loss goals to determine which weight loss method is most likely to be successful.
