Types of Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery can help you shed excess pounds. But to make it effective, significant lifestyle adjustments – including adhering to diet guidelines – may be required.

Gastric bypass involves reconstructing your stomach into a smaller pouch and connecting it with the small intestine’s duodenum, to restrict what food you can eat while decreasing calorie absorption, decreasing hunger, and improving blood sugar control.

Gastric sleeve

The gastric sleeve is the most frequently performed type of bariatric surgery. Designed as the initial step in an overall weight-loss plan or performed as a single procedure for weight reduction, it uses minimally invasive surgical techniques for treatment. Furthermore, it can also be combined with other forms of bariatric procedures like gastric bypass.

At this operation, a surgeon extracts most of the stomach, leaving only a banana-size pouch behind. Food from the main part of the stomach passes directly into this small sleeve pouch before heading towards the small intestine for digestion. With less food being swallowed at one sitting and less hungry between meals than usual due to decreased capacity, patients find themselves feeling full after smaller meals are eaten – not to mention reduced production of hunger hormones that stimulate eating!

Once recovering from surgery, patients can gradually introduce solid foods into their diet after approximately one month, being mindful to chew each mouthful slowly and stop when full. Some individuals may develop nutritional deficiencies if they do not adhere to a strict postoperative diet and may require supplements like multivitamins, calcium, or B-12 shots from their doctor to compensate.

Understand that gastric sleeve surgery is permanent; you will have to commit to making changes in both diet and lifestyle for life after surgery. Furthermore, having support networks in place such as friends and family who will cheerlead your efforts toward success may be invaluable.

Gastric bypass

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is the go-to choice for weight loss surgery. Also referred to as bariatric or gastric sleeve, this process changes your gut hormones to curb hunger and promote fullness, as well as improving blood sugar control – sometimes eliminating diabetes medication altogether – and even alleviating health conditions linked with obesity such as acid reflux, high cholesterol and sleep apnea altogether.

At this minimally invasive operation, surgeons create a small stomach pouch about the size of an egg and connect a portion of your small intestine to it. Food passes directly from this pouch into this first portion of your small intestine instead of passing back through your stomach and duodenum where additional calories could be absorbed.

Since 1967, laparoscopic gastric bypass has been the gold standard in bariatric surgery. It’s usually recommended for patients who have a BMI of 40 or greater (obesity), or who suffer from serious weight-related health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or severe sleep apnea.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery differs from its minimally invasive counterpart in that it requires you to stay overnight under general anesthesia in a hospital setting. Over time, your pouch may stretch over time; thus it’s essential that you follow all instructions provided by your healthcare team regarding diet and supplements so as to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

Gastric band

Gastric banding surgery uses small incisions to attach an adjustable silicone band around the upper part of your stomach, creating an adjustable pouch that sends signals to your brain when you have eaten enough and are now full. Like sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding surgery may help you lose weight while decreasing health risks such as high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep disorders.

Gastric banding surgery is performed as an outpatient procedure, meaning you can return home either the same or following day. Someone must accompany and drive you home after receiving anesthesia; take over-the-counter painkillers if any discomfort persists.

Your doctor will attach the gastric band to a long tube that connects it to a small, quarter-sized port under your skin in the abdomen. At appointments, he or she will use this port to add or withdraw saline fluid from its balloon within the band to adjust how tight or loose the band is.

A gastric band is one form of bariatric surgery that’s completely adjustable and reversible; however, insurance typically doesn’t cover this procedure unless used to correct serious health conditions. If you are considering getting one fitted for yourself, speak with your physician first about whether this procedure would suit you before making your decision.

Duodenal switch

This weight loss surgery is less popular, yet still effective at helping people shed extra pounds than other procedures. Also known as Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD-DS) or Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass with Duodenal Switch, this process creates a tube-shaped stomach pouch and redirects part of the small intestine so as to limit how much food can be eaten at one time while less fat and calories are absorbed by your body – an option best suited for severely obese people with BMI 50 or above.

At our bariatric surgeons’ workstation, they will remove about 70 to 80% of your stomach to create a sleeve-shaped pouch which limits what and how much food can be eaten at one time. After attaching an upper portion of small intestine to its lower portion without going through its middle section, food will pass more rapidly from your stomach into this new portion of intestine, increasing metabolism and further weight loss.

Due to a duodenal switch’s reduced absorption, patients must take special care to take vitamin supplements on schedule and prevent gallstone formation due to rapid weight loss causing cholesterol buildup in liver’s bile ducts. By following doctor advice and adhering to weight loss surgery recommendations, significant and sustained weight loss may result as well as improvement or resolution of obesity-related comorbidities such as diabetes and high blood pressure.