Weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery is an efficient tool in fighting morbid obesity and weight related illnesses if traditional weight loss methods failed.
Not everyone should consider having weight loss surgery because they are a little or more over-weighed. This is why there are some requirements, which if fulfilled qualify a patient as a bariatric surgery candidate. These are as follows:
- The patient already turned the age on 18
- The patient's body mass index (BMI) is 40 or higher
- The patient has been over-weighed for at least 5 years
- The patient made serious efforts to lose weight with non-surgical, traditional methods and failed
- The patient suffers from one or more obesity related comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, respiratory disorders, heart conditions, infertility, hypertension, high cholesterol level) - in these cases a BMI of 35 is accepted)
If you meet these requirements and decided to undergo weight loss surgery you need to request a consultation in order to decide together with the weight loss surgeon, which of the available surgical weight loss procedures is the most suitable for you.
CHRIAS (Christiana Institute of Advanced Surgery ) offer for Delalware patients the following procedures:
- Adjustable gastric banding
- Gastric bypass
- Gastric sleeve
These are laparoscopical, minimally invasive surgical procedures all suitable for long-term weight loss.
These surgeries are different but all serve the same purpose the treatment of morbid obesity.
The adjustable gastric banding involves placing a silicon band (Lap Band or Realize Band - these are the two devices approved by the FDA the first in 2001 and the second in 2007) on the top of the stomach, creating a so called pouch, which restricts the amount of the food intake, helping the patient to a slow but steady weight loss.
Gastric bypass involves the division of the stomach in two sections and rerouting the divided small intestine as well bypassing a large part of the stomach, a part of the jejunum and the duodenum.
Gastric sleeve or sleeve gastrectomy involves the removal of 75% of the stomach and leaving behind a sleeve or banana shaped much smaller stomach.
Dr. Wynn is co-founder of CHRIAS - Christiana Institute of Advanced Surgery. She has performed over 2000 weight loss surgeries.
