Lose Weight With Surgery
Gastric surgery is an option for treatment of severe obesity. Restrictive surgeries reduce the size of your stomach. Surgery that changes the way your body absorbs food is an additional option to reducing stomach size. Talk with your doctor about gastric surgery to lose weight if you are severely obese or suffer weight-related medical conditions.
Instructions
1. Try traditional weight loss techniques, including diet plans and exercise before exploring gastric surgery. Many doctors require proof that traditional methods have failed before approving weight loss surgery. Expect a psychological exam and nutritional counseling before and after weight loss surgery.
2. Determine to lose weight and make changes in your lifestyle. Learn about the side effects of gastric surgery including life-long medical follow ups. Review your insurance policy to find weight loss surgical procedures covered under your policy. Discuss with your doctor the surgical procedure that is best for you.
3. Look at the benefits of stomach stapling or gastric banding, both restrictive surgical methods to lose weight. Stomach stapling creates a small pouch in your stomach and allows you to eat one cup of food before you become uncomfortable. Gastric banding also creates a small pouch in your stomach with the surgical implantation of an adjustable band on your upper stomach. Both surgical treatments carry risks and require several days of recovery time. Gastric banding appears to lessen side effects but it is a relatively new procedure and more long-term studies are needed.
4. Explore biliopancreatic diversion to reduce your ability to absorb more calories and nutrients. This procedure accounts for five percent of U.S. weight loss procedures. Difficult to perform, this procedure secures the stomach to a lower portion of the intestine. Many patients develop nutritional problems. For more information on the side effects of this and other procedures available to lose weight, visit the Web MD website.
