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Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery : Do the Benefits Really Outweigh the Risks?

Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery : Do the Benefits Really Outweigh the Risks?

Obesity is a common, serious and costly health problem. If you are considering having a bariatric surgery, you have to keep in your mind that, first, the procedure will be less expensive in Turkey than having it in your country. Secondly, the procedure will require that you make big differences in your lifestyle. Here, we make a list of tips to make things smooth and clear for you before your bariatric operation. 


What is a Bariatric Surgery?


In order to better grasp this idea, let’s review some recent advances in the way we address obesity. Severe obesity is a chronic condition that, for many people, is difficult to treat with diet or exercise alone, and increases risks for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, and many other devastating health conditions. Bariatric surgery refers to a series of weight loss procedures that an obese individual can have in order to reduce their food intake, therefore enabling them to lose weight.

A person is classified as obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is over 30. If their BMI is over 40, they are deemed severely obese. Bariatric Surgery has been proved scientifically as the most effective and durable treatment for the obesity. There are 3 main bariatric procedures that are widely performed.  These are gastric bypass, gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy.

Gastric bypass is the most commonly used bariatric procedure worldwide. the surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach that will be the only part of the stomach that receives food. This greatly limits the amount that you can comfortably eat and drink at one time. The procedure involves re-routing the digestive system past the stomach in order to promote satiety, suppress hunger and reverse one of the primary mechanisms by which obesity induces type 2 diabetes. The gastric band procedure involves having an inflatable band placed around the top portion of the stomach. This creates a small stomach pouch above the band with a very narrow opening to the rest of the stomach. This newly created stomach pouch is considerably smaller and facilitates significantly smaller meals, which translates into less calories consumed. With a sleeve gastrectomy, around 80% of the stomach is removed to create a smaller stomach pouch. This reduces the amount of food that can be consumed.

These procedures are considered safe in the hands of an experienced surgeon,  at an experienced hospital, and when the benefits versus risks of surgery are reviewed for the specific person considering this surgery and the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. In short, obesity as a complex disease can be approached in many different ways and should not be managed simply with one intervention, but rather with many interventions strategically fitting a person’s individual problems and needs.

After surgery, patients may lose as much as 60 percent of excess weight six months, and 77 percent of excess weight as early as 12 months after surgery. And on average, five years after surgery, patients maintain more than 50 percent of their excess weight loss.