Surgery Options
Choosing to undergo weight loss surgery is a very serious decision. Bariatric Surgery procedures are considered major surgeries and require careful consideration by both the patient and the doctor. As a patient, you need consider both the benefits of the surgery and the risks and the complications. You need to understand what you can expect after surgery. You must be willing to change your lifestyle permanently.
Types of Surgery
Weight loss surgery has been performed in the United States since the late 1960s, with operations classified into three main types:
- Restrictive The amount of food intake is restricted by altering the digestive system.
- Malabsorptive The body's digestive system is altered so that food is poorly digested, so that excess calories in are incompletely absorbed and eliminated in the stool. Purely malabsorptive surgeries can lead to nutritional deficiencies and other health issues, however, and Scottsdale Bariatric Center does not endorse or perform these types of surgeries.
- Restrictive/Malabsorptive A combination of the two classifications.
At the Scottsdale Bariatric Center, we specialize in two types of procedures: Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass and Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band procedures. Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band is a restrictive type of weight loss surgery while the Gastric Bypass is primarily restrictive, with some malabsorptive characteristics.
In laparoscopic surgery, the camera and surgical instruments are inserted into the abdomen through five or six small incisions. This gives the surgeon better visualization of the anatomy and better access to key anatomical parts.
Compared with traditional 'open' incisions, laparoscopic surgery with small incisions offers a better surgical outcome. A recent study shows that patients with laparoscopic weight loss surgery experience less pain after surgery resulting in easier breathing and higher overall oxygen levels – and with better healing. There are also fewer wound complications such as infection or hernia with patients returning to normal pre-surgery activity levels more quickly.