What is Bariatric Surgery? (And what does bariatric mean, anyway?)
What does bariatrics actually mean? It’s a word that was created in 1965 and has a number of sources:
bar (weight; you’ve seen it before in barometer)
iatr (treatment; you’ve seen it before in pediatrics)
ic (pertaining to)
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, treatment, and prevention of obesity.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that obesity is a problem that is assuming pandemic proportions … but, most importantly to you, it’s affecting your life and happiness. Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective ways of dealing with obesity, and generally results in greater weight loss than conventional treatment.
There are several kinds of surgery that can be performed. All of them have shown excellent results in helping people struggling with obesity lose weight, gain energy and self-esteem, and generally improve their health and lives.
So what are the options? What kinds of bariatric surgery are available to you?
1. Adjustable gastric banding: this procedure is among the least invasive bariatric treatments. It uses an inflatable band to squeeze the stomach into two sections; they’re still connected, but the channel between them is very small, slowing the emptying of the upper pouch. Gastric banding physically restricts the amount of food you can take in at a meal.
2. Sleeve gastrectomy: this procedure is another form of restrictive weight loss surgery. Carried out by keyhole surgery at Phoenix, it removes about 75% of the stomach. What remains of the stomach is a narrow tube or sleeve, which connects to the intestines.
3. Gastric bypass surgery: the most common type of bariatric surgery, gastric bypass surgery combines both restrictive and malabsorptive approaches. The surgeon divides the stomach into two parts, sealing off the upper section from the lower, then connects the upper stomach directly to the lower section of the small intestine, thus creating a shortcut for the food, bypassing a section of the stomach and the small intestine.
4. Duodenal switch: this operation shares some features in common with the gastric bypass, in that both operations rely on surgically separating food from the digestive juices, thereby preventing calorie absorption. The major difference is that the DS patient is left with a much shorter length of bowel with which to absorb their food. Most of the weight loss after a DS is thought to be due to reduced calorie absorption.
The reality is that the fatter you are, the slimmer your chances of having a normal life and good health. So why not find out about bariatric surgery today? Fill in our form below of visit here to get in touch.
