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MINIMALLY
INVASIVE WEIGHT LOSS
HEALTH BENEFITS OF SURGICAL
WEIGHT LOSS
In
the section about the health consequences of severe obesity, we
listed problems, or co-morbidities, that affect most of the
organs in the body. Most of these problems can be greatly
improved, or entirely resolved, with successful weight loss.
Most people have actually observed this, at least for short
periods, after a weight loss by dieting. Unfortunately, with
dieting, such benefits usually do not last, because weight loss
from diets does not often last. Weight loss achieved with
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass can average 80 percent of excess body
weight, and can be maintained for years following surgery. We
instruct patients in a very simple program, which is much easier
to follow when one is not constantly deprived on a diet.
Medical
conditions that may be greatly improved after surgery include:
High blood pressure
About 60 percent of
patients who have high blood pressure, and who are taking
medications to control it, are able to stop all medications and
have a normal blood pressure, usually within two to three months
after surgery. When medications are still required, their dosage
can be lowered, with reduction of the annoying side effects.
High
cholesterol
More than 70 percent of patients will
develop normal cholesterol levels within two to three months
after the operation.
Heart disease
Although
it can't be said definitively that heart disease is reduced, the
improvement in problems such as high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, and diabetes certainly suggests that improvement in
risk is very likely. In one recent study, the risk of death from
cardiovascular disease was profoundly reduced in diabetic
patients who are particularly susceptible to this problem. It
may be many years before further proof exists, since there is no
easy and safe test for heart disease.
Diabetes
More
than 80 percent of Type-2 diabetics obtain excellent results,
usually within a few weeks after surgery: normal blood sugar
levels, normal Hemoglobin A1C values, and freedom from all their
medications, including insulin injections. Based upon numerous
studies of diabetes and the control of its complications, it is
likely that the problems associated with diabetes will slow in
their progression when blood sugar is maintained at normal
values. There is no medical treatment for diabetes that can
achieve as complete and profound an effect as surgery - which
has led some physicians to suggest that surgery may be the best
treatment for diabetes in the seriously obese patient.
Abnormal
glucose tolerance or "borderline diabetes" along with
associated conditions like hyperinsulinemia and insulin
resistance are even more reliably reversed by gastric bypass.
According to the international federation for the study of
obesity (IFSO), since this condition becomes diabetes in many
cases, the operation can frequently prevent diabetes as well.
Asthma
According to IFSO,
successful bariatric surgery reduces the number and severity of
asthma attacks. When asthma is associated with gastroesophageal
reflux disease, it is particularly benefited by gastric bypass..
Respiratory insufficiency
Improvement
of exercise tolerance and breathing ability usually occurs
within the first few months after surgery. Often, patients who
have barely been able to walk find that they are able to
participate in family activities, and even sports.
Sleep
apnea syndrome
Dramatic relief of sleep apnea
occurs as patients lose weight. Many report that within a year
of surgery, their symptoms were completely gone, and they had
even stopped snoring completely—and their spouses agree.
Many patients who require an accessory breathing apparatus to
treat sleep apnea no longer need it after surgically induced
weight loss. Sleep apnea is cured in about 75 percent of
patients after surgery.
Gastroesophageal
reflux disease
Relief of symptoms of reflux
usually occurs within a few weeks of surgery for many patients
Gallbladder
disease
When gallbladder disease is present at the time
of the surgery, it is "cured" by removing the
gallbladder during the operation. If the gallbladder is not
removed, there is some increase in risk of developing gallstones
after the surgery which can be minimized by taking bile salts
orally for six months after the surgery.
Stress
urinary incontinence
This condition responds
dramatically to weight loss and usually significant improvement
in the control occurs. A person who is still troubled by
incontinence can choose to have specific corrective surgery
later, with much greater chance of a successful outcome with a
reduced body weight.
Low back pain,
degenerative disk disease, and degenerative joint disease
Patients
usually experience considerable relief of pain and disability
from degenerative arthritis and disc disease and from pain in
the weight-bearing joints. This tends to occur early, with the
first 10 – 15 kgs lost. If there is nerve irritation or
structural damage already present, it may not be reversed by
weight loss, and some pain may persist.
Results
not without efforts
Don't underestimate the
physical and social adjustments you'll have to make after
surgery. You'll have a stomach pouch about the size of a small
egg. In the first six months after surgery, eating too much or
too fast may cause either vomiting or an intense pain under your
breastbone. Instead of eating regular-sized meals three times a
day, you'll be required to eat four to six very small meals :
about 2 ounces each. Most people, however, quickly learn how
much they can eat at one meal. And over time, the amount you can
eat increases.
Surgery for weight reduction is not a miracle
procedure. Though you can generally expect to lose weight and
keep it off, especially if you have a gastric bypass, changes
needed in your eating and exercise habits are yours to make. But
health benefits of losing weight are yours as well.
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| Obesity
Surgery : |
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| Weight
loss surgery : |
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