AllBodySurgery.com

Believe it or not, according to The National Institute Of Health, 127 millions Americans are currently in the category of being overweight. Furthermore, 60 million Americans are in the obese category, and 9 million Americans are morbidly obese. Before you ask yourself how this could happen, ask yourself how many minutes it would take you to get to the nearest fast food joint. When one truly stops to think about this, its no wonder that so many people suffer with excess weight. Today, there are multiple obesity weight loss surgeries (also known as bariatric surgeries) that greatly reduce your weight in a small amount of time. However, should it really have had to come down to this?

In this article I will introduce several different weight loss operations that greatly reduce ones weight in a seemingly small amount of time. I will also explain, in depth, the procedure, recovery time, and associated risks of these operations. However, before I explain ways to handle obesity, I think I should address obesity itself.

What is obesity? An excessive accumulation of fat which exceeds the body’s skeletal and physical standards, or being 20% or more above your Ideal Body Weight. Morbid obesity occurs when a person is 100 pounds or more over their Ideal Body Weight. Ideal Body Weight is a weight healthy for an individual based on the individual’s height and bone structure. How does one become obese? Unhealthy eating habits, and lack of exercise. Obesity is identified as being a chronic disease, meaning that the symptoms build slowly over an extended period of time. In this case, one continues to gain weight slowly over the years until they find themselves in the obese category.

Bariatric surgery (also referred to as weight loss surgery) it is a general label for a group of operations that share a common goal: helping the patient lose a large amount of weight. The cost of bariatric surgery will vary based on the operation. If the patient is a qualified candidate, the surgery and hospitalization could be covered by the insurance company. The general range of coverage is between 50 and 100%. In any instance, cost should not be the main concern of anyone considering the procedure. Several factors that should be analyzed when considering such surgeries include:

• After the surgery, the patient will have to re-learn how to eat, following a very harsh post bariatric surgery diet.
• There are certain foods the patient will never be allowed to eat again.
• There are lifelong risks of nutritional deficiency associated with bariatric surgery.

For further comfort and support, there are countless numbers of bariatric surgery centers around the United States that are always happy to answer any and all questions the patient may have. Further, the American Society for bariatric surgery is a great website to visit for in-depth information on all bariatric surgeries.

Gastric bypass surgery is one type of bariatric surgery. It is a major gastronomical operation that seals off most of the stomach, therefore limiting the amount of food that the patient is able to eat. Gastric bypass surgery also seals off most of the small intestine, reducing the amount of calories and nutrients that the body is able to absorb. After the surgery, the patient must follow a brutal diet that consists of the following:

• Absolutely no solid foods are allowed the first week after surgery.
• For the month afterwards, only blended foods are allowed, with no chunks of solids.
• The following month, a soft diet is allowed. Such a diet consists of foods such as baby food and applesauce.
• The patient can then slowly make the transition back to solid foods.

The cost of gastric bypass surgery can range between $20,000 and $35,000. Insurance companies, however, are slowly realizing that this surgery greatly improves the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, insurance companies are beginning to absorb more of these costs. This form of weight loss surgery is the most popular option in the United States, but like all surgeries, includes possible risks and complications. The main risk of Gastric Bypass is the bodies inability to absorb nutrients, which could lead to Iron-deficiency anemia and significant calcium loss. In some patients, Metabolic bone disease may even occur. Despite the risks, there can be enormous benefits of gastric bypass surgery as well. Enjoying life again, feeling normal and comfortable in your own skin, freedom to go wherever you wish whenever you wish without being tied down to a wheelchair or breathing machine, and so much more. In addition to full blown gastric bypass surgery, there is also what is known as mini gastric bypass surgery. This operation only takes about 30 minutes and the total hospitalization time is less than 24 hours.

Lap Band surgery (Laparoscopic surgery) is another bariatric surgery option. In this operation, a small pouch is created in the upper part of the stomach with a controlled and adjustable stoma. This limits food intake. The Lap Band is placed in the body through 1cm incisions (in the abdomen) around the upper part of the stomach, creating a “new stomach”. This new stomach drastically reduces the amount of food the stomach can handle at one time. The cost of Lap Band surgery is competitive between the United States and other countries, with price ranges between $17,000 and $30, 000 in the United States and between $10,000 and $15,000 abroad. Of course, there are Lap Band surgery risks including nausea, vomiting, heartburn, band slippage and abdominal pain. Diet after Lap Band surgery is just as harsh as any other post bariatric surgery diet. For the first 3-4 days, a clear liquid only diet must be followed. For the first 5-6 weeks, a full liquid diet, mainly consisting of protein shakes, is followed. In the next 7-12 weeks, only shredded foods are allowed. After that food must be eaten very slowly, and in very tiny bites for the rest of the patients life.

Bariatric surgery is definitely on the rise, with 100,000 people going under the knife in 2003, and approximately 140,000 in 2004. Why is this? The sad truth is only 5% of overweight and obese people lose the weight and keep it off for an extended period of time. When compared to the 61% success rate of bariatric surgery, it seems as if there is no hope of being fit and thin unless one endures an extremely invasive and dangerous operation. Is this the way things have always been? Of course not! But in today’s world staying healthy and active, for whatever reason, is difficult for so many people. So much so that surgery is the number one way of losing unwanted weight. Is this the way things should be? In my opinion, no, definitely not. I believe that so many people could prevent themselves from slipping into the obese category by simply eating healthy and exercising. Of course, this is much easier said than done.