What is Bariatric Surgery?
If you have been unable to achieve significant and lasting weight
loss through traditional methods of diet and exercise, you may want to consider
bariatric surgery.
The word “bariatric” refers to the treatment of obesity. Bariatric surgery uses
surgical means to treat a person suffering from obesity. Studies by the American
Society for Bariatric Surgery have demonstrated that bariatric surgery, or weight
loss surgery, yields the longest period of sustained weight loss in patients who
have not succeeded with other methods.
- Restrictive surgery reduces the amount of food that the stomach
can hold but does not alter the normal digestion of foods and nutrients.
- Malabsorbtive surgery shortens the digestive tract to limit the
number of calories and nutrients that the body can absorb.
- Combination surgery restricts the amount of food the stomach can
hold and the number of calories and nutrients that the body can absorb.
Bariatric surgery is not, however, a cure-all method for those struggling with obesity.
It is a tool that must be combined with a positive attitude, self-discipline and
a strategy of planning ahead to meet your long-term weight loss goals.
LMHS' Bariatric Center offers three types of weight loss surgery: adjustable gastric
banding, gastric sleeve and gastric bypass.
To fully understand how bariatric surgery can aid your weight loss, you must first
have a working knowledge of the digestive process.
Digestion begins as soon as food enters the mouth. After chewing and swallowing,
the food moves down the esophagus and enters the stomach, where gastric acid juices
continue to break down the food. The stomach can hold a little more than the contents
of a two-liter soda bottle.
As the food continues through the small intestine, liver bile and pancreatic juices
mix with the contents of the food to help speed up digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Most of the calcium and iron is absorbed in the first part of the small intestine.
The remaining 20 feet of small intestine absorbs the majority of the calories and
nutrients.
Food particles that cannot be digested in the small intestine are stored in the
large intestine and eliminated through waste.
