The Benefits of Healthy Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery

For most people, losing weight is a losing battle. It's difficult losing weight and then keeping it off. For some, this is a constant battle for a longer and better life. Therefore, opting for bariatric, or gastric surgery is not considered an “easy way out.”

Previously, in the first segment of this topic, “Healthy Weight Loss and When to Choose Weight Loss Surgery,” nutritionists and exercise experts discussed when surgery is an option and the life changes that goes along with it.

For many people who choose surgery, however, weight loss surgery is not performed to control weight. It is performed to control the medical conditions related to the excess weight the patient is carrying.

There are three main bariatric surgeries that people can consider during the process of weight loss surgery. The three surgeries are gastric bypass surgery, gastric banding, and gastric sleeves. With surgeries like this, people see drastic and lasting solutions. Overall, with these surgeries, people can lose as much as 50% of body weight within one year.

Dr. Glenn M. Ihde, a board certified general surgeon, said, “I think the pros for undergoing weight loss surgery is that it definitely works. There are failure rates in the 10 to 15% range, but you have to take that in comparison to the failure rates on non-surgical weight loss attempts, which, according to the National Institutes of Health 1991 study, is about 95%.”

Gastric bypass surgery was developed in the 1960s. This is a surgery that essentially splits the stomach in two. The first stomach collects food and connects to a lower part of the smaller intestine. The second stomach’s only function is to create digestive fluids to pass on to the smaller intestine to help digest food.

Kay Manera was a patient who underwent gastric bypass surgery on July 13, 2012. Kay was very happy with her results.

“The Gastric Bypass surgery saved my life,” she said.

Manera said she was dealing with insulin deficiency, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes. This was the step she felt like she needed to take if she wanted to live longer.

“I happened to go into surgery on a Friday, and when I was released Sunday, I no longer needed insulin,” Manera noted.

She added that she was fortunate to be able to get the surgery, and is looking forward to the time she saved by getting this surgery done.

Liz Lourash also underwent the gastric bypass surgery on Aug. 9, 2012.

“I realized that at 40, I needed to find a way to lose the weight," she explained. "I was chasing after two kids, and my health was starting to suffer. I'd lost hundreds of pounds, but could never keep it off. It always came back plus 10-20 more.” 

After surgery, Lourash said she lost 140 pound. She noted that it was one of the best decisions she had ever made.

Overall, there are benefits to this surgery, which includes faster and more dramatic results. With the rapid weight loss comes rapid recovery from a variety of weight-related afflictions. Carrying extra weight induces diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, early heart disease, and a multitude of other disease processes.

As with any major surgery, however, this procedure could also be risky. These risks include blood clots or infection. Additionally, because food moves faster through the process of digestion, the body might be missing out on much needed nutrients and calories.

“In terms of risk, it’s important to remember that all medical therapy has risk, but so does avoiding the treatment of medical conditions.” Dr. Glenn Ihde emphasized. “So, in contrast to the generally held belief that weight loss surgery is risky, it is actually quite safe and has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death by 89 percent. Among the cons for weight loss surgery is for patients to understand that it is going to change the way [they] eat. If [they] don’t understand the mechanisms by which weight loss surgery works, then [they] will struggle with making the changes.”

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Above: Mr. and Mrs. Lourash (Contributed Photo/Liz Lourash)

Another procedure, Gastric Banding, involves an inflatable band being surgically placed around the stomach, which creates a smaller upper stomach and a larger lower one. With the smaller upper stomach slowly pushing food through the channels, it gives the feeling of becoming full faster. The benefit of this surgery: it's not permanent and the band can be removed. There is also a quicker recovery time than the gastric bypass surgery. However, for some people, weight loss may take more time. The band could also slip and start a leak that can cause extreme pain, and can only be relieved through additional surgery.

Finally, there is the gastric sleeve, which is a bariatric surgery that removes about three quarters of the stomach. What remains resembles a sleeve, which connects to the esophagus to the smaller intestine. Some benefits include it being a perfect surgery for patients who tend to have complications during surgeries. No foreign objects are inside the body to cause infection, but in some cases, the staples could leak and start causing a variety of health problems and infections. With this surgery, people on average see results of weight loss sooner than the banding, but not as fast as gastric bypass surgery.

All in all, this procedure has helped many with their fight against weight loss, but this surgery does more than help with weight. It helps people with various medical issues that come with being overweight. These surgeries can help prolong lives.