Understanding The Lap-Band And Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

By Arthur Young


Today, there are a number of weight loss surgery considered safe enough to help reverse obesity. The most popular of these is the procedure involving the reduction of the stomach size. The size and volume of the stomach is reduced into a small pouch or "sleeve" shaped like a banana. This is achieved without interfering with any openings in the digestive tract. The procedure is commonly discussed as Lap-Band and Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

For your overall mental and physical well-being, it is vital that you maintain a healthy body weight. For slightly overweight people conventional means of weight loss like strict diet regime and physical exercise are enough to shed those extra pounds.

Obesity has become a worldwide health concern and in some countries, especially in the West, it has reached epidemic proportions. Eat less, and exercise more seems a simple advice to lose those stubborn extra pounds. But this advice not at all works for people who are considered severely or morbidly obese. For some people, battle with the obesity can be a never-ending.

Most of those who have tried safer and less costly procedures which are typically non-surgical methods with no much success, and the weight loss surgery comes out as the only option. The gastric sleeve surgery is performed laparoscopically. This involves making small size incisions that cuts away part of the stomach. It is performed by a bariatric surgeon who is an expert in the field. He does this by inserting a small camera also known as the laparoscope through one of the small holes and several tiny instruments to cut away the part of the stomach. This telescope transmits a magnifying image of the patient's abdomen and surrounding areas onto a television monitor, helps surgeons see the whole operation on a screen.

The surgery helps you control hunger as most of hunger-stimulating hormones are removed from the digestive system. You lose 30 to 60% bulge of your pendulous tummy within the first 12 months of operation. No medical device is implanted inside of your abdomen. You can eat most of the food items, albeit in little quantity.

Technically, it is a less invasive procedure, as pyloric valve and small intestine remain intact. The surgery takes only 60 - 90 minutes to complete. Much smaller scars, quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays are added benefits.

In some regions, obesity surgeries like gastric sleeve and lap band can save up to 50 to 70 percent of the cost in the US or Western Europe, even after travel and hotel expenses are taken into consideration. Weight reduction procedures in Mexico, for instance, are offered at a quarter of the average cost in the United States, without compromising the quality of care.

Combined restrictive/malabsorptive procedures: In recent years, the use of procedures combining restrictive and malabsorptive approaches has increased. The procedures in this category work by restricting the stomach size and physically removing parts of your digestive tract, making it harder for your body to absorb calories. The procedure that combine both restrictive and malabsorptive techniques include Gastric bypass that is generally more malabsorption but also works through restriction, the Mini-gastric bypass that works through restriction and Duodenal switch that is mostly malabsorption.




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