If you’re severely overweight and finding it impossible to lose the excess pounds, you might benefit from bariatric surgery. Flagstaff Surgical Associates in Flagstaff, Arizona, offers expert gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgeries to suitable patients to help them lose weight and keep it off for good. If your weight is having seriously adverse effects on your health, call Flagstaff Surgical Associates today to schedule a consultation or book an appointment online.
What is bariatric surgery?
Bariatric surgery is a collective term for procedures that help with medical weight loss. Flagstaff Surgical Associates specializes in two principal types of bariatric surgery:
Gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y weight loss surgery)
Gastric bypass is an irreversible procedure that involves sealing off parts of your stomach and small intestine. Your surgeon cuts across the top of your stomach, so you have a pouch that’s about the size of a walnut. This pouch can only hold about an ounce of food, compared to the three-pint capacity your stomach originally had.
Next, your surgeon cuts the small intestine and sews the pouch into the middle part of the small intestine. When you eat, food goes into the small stomach pouch and bypasses most of your stomach and the first section of the small intestine.
Gastric sleeve surgery
Also called sleeve gastrectomy or vertical sleeve gastrectomy, this is a newer type of bariatric surgery. Instead of making the bypasses as with the Roux-en-Y procedure, gastric sleeve involves removing the larger portion of your stomach altogether. You’re then left with a tube or sleeve-shaped stomach that has drastically reduced capacity.
Flagstaff Surgical Associates uses the robot-assisted da Vinci® surgical system to carry out bariatric surgery wherever possible. Your surgeon guides this advanced system as it enables them to minimize tissue damage and improve accuracy.
How can bariatric surgery help me lose weight?
Bariatric surgeries work in two ways. First, reducing the size of your stomach means you physically can’t overeat as there’s nowhere for the surplus food to go.
Second, food doesn’t undergo the same kind of digestive process, meaning you don’t extract all the calories as you normally would.
While this results in effective weight loss for people who are severely overweight, bariatric surgery does carry a risk of nutrient deficiency and other digestive complications.
Therefore, bariatric procedures are only appropriate for patients who have chronic weight problems when other weight loss methods aren’t working.
Why should I consider bariatric surgery?
Being obese is one of the most serious ways to endanger your health, so losing weight is vital. Obesity causes many serious health problems, including:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Severe sleep apnea
- Type 2 diabetes
- Stroke
You’re also likely to suffer from conditions like GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), and develop joint pain, shortness of breath, and skin problems. Many health problems are related to being overweight, so losing weight could significantly improve your quality of life and extend your lifespan, too.
Unfortunately, some people find weight loss such an immense challenge that the usual methods don’t work. If you’re one of these people, bariatric surgery could be the answer.
If you think you might be a good candidate for bariatric surgery, call Flagstaff Surgical Associates today or book an appointment online.