Breaking down the facts: Is weight loss surgery right for me?

Often, people are unsure whether to try one more diet or seek another treatment to help with weight loss. In this current era of innumerable diet programs, weight loss medications and weight loss surgery, it is hard to know what is best for you. If you are someone who has struggled with losing weight or had a hard time keeping weight off it is likely you would benefit from another form of treatment in addition to diet and exercise. Obesity is a hormone-driven disease that makes it hard to lose weight even if you are optimizing lifestyle choices. Weight loss medications help increase fullness and decrease hunger but only while you are taking medication. Weight loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery) decreases hunger, increases fullness and sometimes decreases the amount of calories your body absorbs. While each treatment comes with risks and benefits, the benefit of surgery is that you do not need to take medication for the rest of your life.

Read on as our Lakeside Hospital bariatric surgeons answer a few commonly asked questions about weight loss surgery.

Q: Am I a good candidate for weight loss surgery?

A: While a bariatric surgeon can provide a personalized answer to this question, there are some general qualifications for weight loss surgery. Many insurances cover bariatric surgery for:

• People with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher
• People with a BMI of 35 or higher, with another weight-related condition

Weight loss surgery can not only help with weight loss but help resolve other diseases, such as diabetes, sleep apnea and fatty liver disease. Weight loss surgery also helps decrease the chances of developing many types of cancer.

Q: What types of weight loss surgery work best?

A: There’s no best type of weight loss surgery. Your surgeon can help you determine which would be best in your specific case. Weight loss surgery offers different percentages of weight loss.

There are several types of bariatric surgery procedures, including:

• Vertical sleeve gastrectomy. During this minimally invasive procedure, a large portion of the stomach is removed, leaving behind a smaller stomach the size of a banana. By reducing the stomach size, this procedure limits the amount of food you can eat moving forward.
• Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. During a gastric bypass, the stomach is divided into two portions—a small “pouch” that’s the size of an egg and a larger portion that will no longer be used. The small intestine is then divided into two parts, and the lower part is attached directly to the stomach pouch. The other portion of the small intestine is then connected to a lower part of the small intestine, causing food to bypass most of the stomach and part of the small intestine.
• Modified duodenal switch. This operation begins similarly to the sleeve gastrectomy, where a large portion of the stomach is removed, leaving a smaller banana-shaped stomach. Then, a segment of the small intestine is connected to the end of that stomach, allowing food to bypass most of the small intestine. This procedure limits the amount of food you can eat and reduces the number of calories absorbed.

Q: What else should I know about weight loss surgery?

A: Talk with your surgeon about what type of surgery will work best based on your specific health needs and concerns. While one kind of surgery is not necessarily better than another, a particular type may work better for you.

Weight loss surgery is performed minimally invasively through small incisions, usually lasts between 1-3 hours, and has a 1-night hospital stay. Also, surgery is just the first step, so remember that no matter what type of surgery you choose, you’ll need to pair it with healthy lifestyle habits to improve your health.

No matter if you choose medicine, surgery or both to treat your obesity, the most important thing is to be proactive about treating your disease. Weight loss helps not only improve life expectancy but also quality of life. Obesity is disease, and it is OK to ask for help.

Have other questions about weight loss surgery? Learn more about Weight Loss programs at Lakeside Hospital, or call 504.988.2274 to schedule an appointment.