Relevant information about Weight Loss.
About Weight Loss
This is a medical specialty that involves the loss of body mass, in an effort to improve fitness and health, and to change the look. Therapeutic Weight Loss, in people who are overweight, can decrease the appearance of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure, among others.
Besides going through several personalized diets, there are many procedures that contribute to lose weight. Among the most recognized and not intrusive Weight Loss methods are adjustments to eating patterns and increased exercises. In fact, physicians usually suggest to their overweight Patients to combine a healthy diet, and good physical activity. Other less recommended methods of losing weight are including the use of drugs and supplements that reduce appetite, block fat absorption, or decrease the stomach volume.
Weight loss is a specialty that still is trying to gain a clear ground in the medical field. In fact, many specialized institutions are trying to make weight loss and weight management an official medical specialty. Of course, there are already many professionals especially dedicated to the study and treatment of weight loss.
Around the world, there are two-thirds of adults that are overweight, who would need an adjust treatment. Due to the importance that weight loss has gained over the last years, this specialty has been becoming even more complex, getting to contribute to the health of millions of people.
Most common procedures
There are three key procedures to treat the weight loss, in a more radical way. These are: duodenal switch; gastric balloon; and lap band surgery.
The duodenal switch surgery is also known as biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, and it is a weight loss surgery procedure that combines a restrictive and a malabsorptive aspect. The restrictive portion of the surgery involves removing around 70% of the stomach along the greater curvature. The malabsorptive portion of the surgery reroutes a lengthy portion of the small intestine, and at the same time, it creates two separate pathways and one common channel. The shorter pathway, which is the digestive loop, takes food from the stomach to the common channel. As regards the longer pathway, the biliopancreatic loop carries bile from the liver to the common channel. The common channel is the portion of small intestine, some 75-150 centimeters long, in which the contents of the digestive path mix with the bile from the biliopancreatic loop before emptying into the large intestine. The goal of this measure is to reduce the amount of time the body spends to capture calories from food in the small intestine, and to limit the absorption of fat. After surgery, and following the correspondent guidelines of Surgeons, the Patients only absorb approximately 20% of the fat they intake.
Regarding the gastric balloon, it is a common surgery that offers a Clinically proven method of reducing appetite. In this procedure, the Doctor inserts an inflated gastric balloon into the stomach. The balloon also contains saline and stays inside the stomach for approximately six months to help Patients get into the habit of eating healthy and to face the weight loss program in a more easier way. The gastric balloon program starts with a consult with a physician or specialized Surgeon. Patients should have into account that inserting the balloon is essentially an outpatient procedure. The process itself only takes from 20 to 30 minutes. Afterwards, patient is taken to the recovery room, and then will be able to go home in about 24 hours.
For those who are curious of what the “balloon” is like, it is a soft sac made of silicone that the Surgeon inserts into the stomach. Once inside, it is injected with saline. The gastric balloon works to make the patient have the sensation of being full, so that they don’t get hungry all the time. The balloon will not stay forever inside the body, but will be removed after six months. In other words, the objective of the procedure is to create a small pouch in the upper part of the stomach, without stapling, and at the same time limiting the entrance of food.
The lap band surgery consists of a surgery where a gastric band device is introduced through small incisions in the abdomen and is placed around the upper part of the stomach. The resulting new stomach then reduces the functional capacity of the stomach. Besides, the band has a balloon which is adjustable and can reduce the stomach size, as well as prolonging the period of fullness. The procedure is made under general anesthesia and can last from thirty minutes to one hour. The band involved is fitted around the uppermost part of the stomach, creating a 15cc small pouch. It is specially designed so that it can be inflated or deflated at any time after the procedure. These measures help the patient keep losing weight until they achieve their goals. The restriction takes place in the radiology room and in general takes fifteen minutes.
Professionals inject saline into a port placed under the skin in the wall of the stomach, and then the tube that comes off of the band leads to the port.
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