SURGERY AS A MEANS OF FIGHTING OBESITY
Obesity is excess weight that threatens your health in the more or less long term. Despite everyone’s good will, it is not always easy to solve this problem, precisely because it affects the field of health much more than well-being. The management of this disease that is obesity requires a global intervention, integrating the psychological aspect, drug treatments and the possibility of surgery. The medical consultation is a mandatory step to fully understand the ins and outs of a possible surgery.
IN WHICH CASE?
In which case does the cure of obesity go through surgery? Surgical intervention is obviously not a trivial act , decided overnight, without consequence. It requires upstream the opinion of a doctor who, depending on the case, can be your general practitioner, your pediatrician or even a specialist such as an endocrinologist or a gastroenterologist.
Below a BMI of 35, surgery is often not a solution
In general, surgery is scheduled for cases of very severe obesity. This profile can easily be detected by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI) which turns out to be a first important indicator. As a reminder, the BMI is based on a weight/height ratio. If the BMI result is over 40 or 35, the risk to your health is obvious. Surgery is then a solution.
CAN YOU DECIDE ALONE ON THE USE OF SURGERY FOR YOUR OBESITY?
No. _ The doctor remains the only one to authorize the surgical solution. Several appointments are necessary before such a decision is made. The doctor must observe in the patient a real desire to lose a lot of weight. In particular, he analyzes his journey: failure of diets, stabilization of weight, a desire to change his eating habits, to resume physical activity and to accept regular post-operative follow-up. It should be noted that the patient must be of legal age (over 18 years old) and that advanced age (over 60 years old) can generate complications preventing any surgical intervention.
The doctor is the only one who can authorize the surgical solution
Several medical concerns may also delay the surgery or even cancel it: cardiovascular problems, alcohol addiction, history of stomach surgery, inflammation of the digestive tract, depression, etc. In addition, the patient must know that surgery alone is not sufficient to cure obesity. His future behavior with respect to diet and physical activity is just as decisive.
HOW DOES SURGERY CAUSE WEIGHT LOSS?
There are two types of surgery : plastic and digestive .
Plastic surgery achieves results according to a known procedure. This involves directly removing the excess fat using a scalpel or liposuction. Several areas of the body can be unloaded: buttocks, thighs, belly, etc. However, specialists try to avoid this type of intervention which tends to leave some unsightly results for a fairly modest benefit. Indeed, after this intervention, the patients find it easier to gain weight, which is not the initial objective.
Stomach surgery, therefore called digestive surgery, is mainly composed of three different interventions.
The first aims rather to reduce the quantity of food ingested by causing satiety more quickly, that is to say by curbing the feeling of hunger. Under dietary control, it notably avoids diets that are too intense and the yo-yo effect of weight gain and weight loss. Performed by laparoscopy, or laparoscopy, it consists of placing an adjustable gastric band (which can be tightened over time if necessary) around the initial portion of the stomach, deforming it into a sort of hourglass. The reduced volume of the stomach creates a greater speed of satiety.
The surgical world has expanded its intervention panel to fight against obesity. There is the possibility of performing a kind of bypass within the stomach, which is called gastric bypass . The operation aims to reduce the ingestion of foods such as the gastric band but adds a decrease in their reabsorption in the small intestine.
More recently, the surgical intervention including the installation of a sleeve gastrectomy has been designed . This operation substantially reduces the size of the stomach by about two-thirds through a vertical resection. It is a partial removal of the stomach causing a restrictive character, the stomach being reduced, the feeling of hunger also becomes so.
In a condensed way, it is therefore three surgical operations that are most often carried out in order to correct excessive excess weight:
CARE OF OBESITY: WHICH SURGERY, FOR WHAT RISKS?
From a surgical risk point of view, gastroplasty remains the safest method, especially since the reversibility of the technique is easy and total. The average weight loss calculated over five years reaches the figure of -50 to -60%. It is particularly recommended for people with morbid obesity. Overall, surgery can reduce obesity by 50-60%. Postoperative complications are always possible but are infrequent, especially for gastroplasty.
The intervention which appears the most delicate, in view of these comparative elements, is the installation of a bypass. This operation can lead to iron, calcium, zinc or vitamin B12 deficiencies. However, these conclusions should be minimized because gastric bypass is the most requested surgical operation today. She seems to get the best long-term results. Finally, it should be noted that the decision for a sleeve gastrectomy, indicated in particular for patients with a very high BMI, is irreversible and the impact in terms of weight loss remains to be assessed.
The choice of surgical technique essentially depends on the profile of the patient on which the doctor’s opinion will refer in priority.