A Complete Guide to Bariatric Surgery for Patients
Bariatric Surgery is a viable option for highly obese people (BMI over 40); if other weight-loss methods such as diet control, exercise, etc. have failed,
With our assistance, you can lay the foundation for life after bariatric surgery so that you will be both mentally and physically prepared. The following step-by-step guide can be helpful if you are interested in bariatric surgery but don’t know where to begin.
Bariatric Surgery: A Step-by-Step Guide
This procedure results in a considerable weight reduction. It includes gastric bypasses as well as other methods. Getting educated and preparing for weight loss surgery is an essential first step. To ensure your long-term success and safety, we meet your weight loss goals.
Surgery depends a great deal on this factor to be successful. Preoperative steps include:
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A change in lifestyle
A lifestyle change must be needed. After a surgeon consult, patients should join the gym under fitness trainer supervision. Sometimes yoga, walking, aerobics, etc., can help too. Abstaining drinking and smoking will benefit a lot. Your primary care physician can prescribe medicated patches or gum to assist in quitting smoking.
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Dietary habits & medications
Foods high in sugar and calories are strictly prohibited. Patients should start consuming healthy foods, such as salads, fruits, and natural food. A surgeon may change the dose if a patient takes any regular medication. Sometimes, the surgeon halts some medicines.
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Examining and evaluating the patient
Individuals will be assessed by the medical team, a specialist dietician, and a psychotherapist to check the Patient’s surgical prospects. Following your bariatric surgeon’s first examinations, a set of preliminary blood tests and x-rays are routinely conducted one week before surgery.
Bariatric Surgery Types
Bariatric surgery types are operated on the digestive tract. The examination results, investigation reports, general health, and age determine an individual’s surgery method. The following techniques can opt according to the Patient’s prospects:
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Sleeve Gastrectomy
In a sleeve gastrectomy, a large portion of the stomach is surgically removed along the broader curvature of the stomach to reduce its size by about 15%. Thus, a sleeve-like structure forms. Laparoscopic surgery is the best choice for this process.
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Duodenal Switch
The surgery can be laparoscopic or open. This technique makes part of the small intestine “switched” with the duodenum. So, food does not pass through the small intestine’s intermediate section. Dietary fats and calorie absorption come down to a slower rate. Therefore, this accelerates the weight loss process, reducing excess body fat.
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Gastric Banding
Using laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon adjusts the silicone band around the upper part of the stomach. When the silicone band is squeezed, it creates an inch-wide pouch on the stomach. Once banding the stomach, it can hold only one ounce of food. It leads the Patient to a gradual weight loss.
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Gastric Bypass
A normal stomach can hold approximately three pints of food. The surgeon initiates an operation in which a portion of a small intestine is cut and sewed directly to the pouch with safety. Food then passes through this little pouch in the abdomen and into the small intestine that is stitched to it.
The Day of Surgery
Before the scheduled procedure time, the staff takes the Patient to the operating room. All surgical equipment and clothing are sanitized to remove all microorganisms before use. Patients are provided with clean surgical gowns. Preoperative heparin (anti-coagulant) may be given.
Depending on the type of procedure performed by your surgeon, your surgery should take between one and three hours. (Sometimes, the Patient may be told to be hospitalized a day before surgery in case he/she has a cardiac problem or is suggested by the doctor.) Hair is shaven from the skin around the stomach, and the area is washed with a disinfectant.
A nurse, a doctor, and an anesthesiologist will question and inform you about what to expect during the procedure. Then an IV will be started sooner. During the surgery, the Patient’s blood pressure will be kept recorded frequently.
Care After the Surgery
After the procedure, the patient’s immediate recovery area will be made available. Later, will be relocated to a private hospital room until his/her vital signs have stabilized, and his breathing has returned to normal. This may take many hours. If all goes smoothly and the blood oxygen levels return to normal, the Patient will be transferred to a standard hospital room the following day.
Depending on the procedure and recovery, patients must spend one to two days in the hospital. During the first few days of recovery, the surgeon assists in getting up to begin walking. For pain relief, the surgeon can insert an epidural catheter.
A patient must exert effort after bariatric surgery on his/her lifestyle, diet, counseling, and follow-ups to succeed and maintain weight loss surgery.
Talking about the Bariatric surgery diet, the Patient is not allowed to eat for 1-2 days after surgery. The patient gets the nutrition intravenously. The nutritionist recommends a special Bariatric surgery diet plan for the next three to four months. It contains light and easy-to-digest foods.
Bariatric Surgery: Pros and Cons
It is not just obesity that bariatric surgery treats, but it helps patients with several other conditions such as High BP, Acid reflux, Cardiac Disease, Diabetes, and arthritis. The surgery also reduces the risk of dying from Cardiac Disease, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases greatly.
Bariatric Surgery Side Effects
In the wake of the surgery, bleeding and blood clots are possibly forming. Sometimes infection near the surgery area or the internal area can happen. It is not possible to pass food normally through the intestines right after the surgery because of several cuts in the digestive tract. So, digestion sometimes gets affected after surgery.
Final Words
When all the instructions are carefully followed, bariatric surgery can provide a very positive outcome. However, lifelong care is required afterward. Pre-surgical requirements and surgical methods must be fully understood by patients before undergoing the operation. Each Patient undergoing bariatric surgery may not experience the same outcome; however, the patients usually lose a pretty of their unhealthy weight.