Surgery to lose weight are they effective?..

Can not lose weight and consider a more radical way? Here's what you need to know about the effectiveness of surgery.


Imagine that you spend an hour or two on the operating table and then return home (after one or two days of recovery) and undertake a program of weight loss, then you will lose 20-30 pounds more. You change the size of clothes, your energy and your mood will improve.

With bariatric surgery, it is possible. This intervention, we practice on obese people in order to make them lose weight, is generally effective, besides techniques are constantly improving.

However, it is important to understand the principles of this type of intervention, because expectations are high, probably too much. While surgery can significantly improve the health, it is the change it brings in the way of eating and the digestive process that we must attribute the cause. After surgery, you can not eat like you did before. The ability of your stomach is now restricted, you will need to take much smaller portions. Hence the importance to eat healthy foods.

Before anything else, read on to know the latest developments and controversies surrounding this surgical approach.

What are your choices?

In Canada, we use mainly two types of intervention. First, the gastric bypass, which involves reducing stomach size to that of a golf ball and connect it directly to the small intestine in order to reduce the absorption of calories. Secondly, the adjustable band gastroplasty: The surgeon stomach strap with an adjustable silicone ring to form a small pouch. Then it takes very little food to fill your appetite. This procedure is performed in patients with a BMI may not exceed 30, but who have one or more conditions.

Other possible interventions include the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, which shrinks the stomach and bypasses 60% of the small intestine, and the vertical gastrectomy, which reduces by 85% the size of the stomach.

What about liposuction?

Although this cosmetic surgery is popular (it is sucking the subcutaneous fat), it will remove a portion of the fat in certain areas of the body.

Moreover, as it does not involve a change in eating habits, the weight lost is usually resumes. Finally, it does not attack the fat that is deposited on the bodies which is the cause of many health problems. For these reasons and others, we did not used to treat obesity.

How much will it cost?

Some provinces may cover part of the costs associated with gastric bypass and gastroplasty ring. Private clinic, it will cost $ 16,000 or more, but you could get a financing plan. Explore the various options with your doctor or surgeon.

Are you a good candidate?

If your BMI is 30 or more, probably. However, this could change: researchers address currently on possible improvements that gastric bypass could bring in people whose BMI does not exceed 27. This new approach is not limited to weight loss alone, and it also has the effect of altering the action of digestive hormones that help regulate blood sugar, hence its name of "metabolic surgery".

How much weight will you lose?

According to Australian researchers who analyzed the results of 43 studies, the first year, you should lose 60-77% of your excess weight, provided to strictly follow your diet and exercise regularly. According to the authors of a large study, the differences we observed between the two types of intervention are canceled after 5 to 8 years.

Are there any side effects?

Yes. According to the results of a large study conducted at the University of New York, the complication rate stood at 9% for gastric and 24% for gastric bypass. The effects observed were either minors, for example fever, dehydration, nausea and vomiting, sometimes more serious, including infection, bleeding and accidents requiring further intervention.