Body transformation is a long journey. Whether it is for aesthetic reasons or to help you overcome obesity-related health issues, the journey requires dedication and hard work. Obesity and conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, joint discomfort, and sleep apnea are frequently associated. Weight loss can often resolve or reduce the symptoms and severity of these conditions.
Gastric Balloon
A non-surgical weight loss procedure called the gastric balloon helps patients lose weight by creating a sense of fullness that encourages long-term lifestyle changes. When paired with all-encompassing guidance and a nutritious diet, it effectively restricts caloric intake. It has been demonstrated to assist patients in losing over twice as much weight as diet and exercise alone.
The procedure is non-surgical and requires a short hospital stay. After ensuring you tolerate the device, your doctors will discharge you with a clear liquid diet that gradually progresses to a soft food diet. Your team will also provide you with regular follow-ups from a dietitian and other members of the support staff who will help guide your dietary and lifestyle changes.
The gastric balloon, which is made from silicone and comes filled with saline, is placed in the stomach endoscopically. It takes up space, which helps you feel full and encourages healthy eating habits. Typically, only individuals with a BMI of 30 or higher can receive this procedure. However, those with BMIs slightly outside this range may still be candidates based on other health issues.
Gastric Sleeve
The gastric sleeve is a popular type of bariatric surgery that helps people lose weight and manage their health conditions. It reduces the stomach size by removing part of the organ and restricting the amount of food eaten at once. The sleeve surgery is usually done laparoscopically, using small incisions in the abdominal area. Surgical staples seal the stomach, creating a banana-shaped pouch with a narrow opening that leads into the small intestine. When the stomach is smaller, a person can’t eat as much and feels full sooner. It helps with weight loss and also reduces the production of the hormone ghrelin, which is associated with hunger.
Patients must make long-term lifestyle changes for this permanent procedure. Over time, the sleeve may stretch out, which means that patients must be vigilant about how they eat to avoid regaining weight or having a dilated stomach. But with a commitment to healthy eating and lifestyle habits, sleeve surgery can bring great results, with the average person losing around 25% of their body weight in the first year.
Gastric Lengthening
Gastrocnemius lengthening is used to increase the flexibility of your calf muscles, especially in people with tightness that doesn’t respond to stretching or other conservative treatments. Your foot and ankle surgeon may recommend this surgery in conjunction with other procedures, such as bunion and flatfoot corrections, or for patients who have plantar heel ulcerations. Roux-en-Y surgery is a complex procedure that changes how your digestive system works. It’s named because it creates a Y-shaped connection between your stomach and small intestine. First, your functional stomach is reduced to a small pouch, then connected to a lower segment of your small intestine.
In 2004, Terry reported on a laparoscopic version of this surgery that uses an articulated endo stapler introduced through the right chest rather than the EEA stapled buttonhole. This version, the stapled wedge gastroplasty, allows for a more extended resection of the gastric fundus while maintaining the pylorus-to-stomach angle. The more extended resection also reduces the pressure on the esophagus, which can prevent the healing of ulcers in that area.
Gastric Bypass
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a surgical procedure used to help people with extreme obesity (more than 100 pounds over their ideal body weight). It’s often recommended for people with health conditions like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure who haven’t responded to diet, medicine, or exercise. During this surgery, your surgeon will make several small incisions in your abdomen and use a camera to guide the operation (laparoscopic approach). The stomach is then divided into a more petite top portion (pouch) about the size of an egg. The lower part of the small intestine is bypassed, limiting food intake. Your pouch will stretch over time, and you may experience discomfort, which your doctor can control with medication. You will also need to adhere to a strict diet, which can be difficult if you’re accustomed to eating large portions. However, many patients find that the gastric bypass reduces or eliminates their health problems related to obesity, like sleep apnea and high cholesterol levels. Follow-up studies show that it’s one of the most effective surgeries for long-term weight loss and improved related health conditions.
Lap Band
The Lap Band is a tiny, adjustable pouch made of silicone wrapped around the upper abdomen. With this procedure, you eat less food and feel full more quickly (early satiety). The Lap Band is placed laparoscopically, which means it doesn’t require cutting, stapling, or stomach rerouting and thus has less postoperative pain and a shorter hospital stay.
The implant is adjusted by injecting saline into a port that’s in the skin near the stomach to increase or decrease the restriction of food. It is done several weeks after surgery and repeated a few times a year as needed to find the right balance between eating conditions and weight loss. Although the Lap Band is considered one of the least invasive surgeries for weight loss, it still requires a commitment to significant and long-term changes in lifestyle and eating habits. It is generally only recommended to those who have not been successful with more conservative, non-surgical options such as supervised diet and exercise programs. It is also not suitable for pregnant women or those with medical conditions that could complicate the surgery.
