Why a surgery to lose weight?


Why a surgery to lose weight?

Obesity is a real health problem and, every day, the number of people who suffer from it is in fact increasing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has cataloged it as the epidemic of the 21st century, since it affects the today to 1.7 billion people.
The group of candidates for bariatric surgery, are those patients with severe or more obesity and whose BMI (weight divided by squared height) is greater than 34 and with greater reason even if you have diseases associated with obesity, even with lower BMI .
The most extreme degree of overweight is morbid obesity.

When the patient reaches this degree of obesity, current medical treatments (changing habits, diets, exercise, medications) are not effective in 96-98% of patients and, in some cases, this type of medical treatment results to what is called the yo-yo effect: the patient makes a great effort and time to lose a few kilos and recovers them in a short time. It is clearly studied and established that medical (non-surgical) treatment for the management of severe obesity has a failure rate of approximately 97%. This means that the person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 35, with treatments such as diet, exercise, drugs, mesotherapy, acupuncture or cosmetic surgery, will fail in their attempt to lose weight significantly and that They can keep it.
The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity in our society and the important complications and comorbidities that it originated has aroused the interest of scientists and the public in this pathology.

Surgical treatment is currently the only effective and lasting treatment for morbid obesity and in many cases, it significantly improves and even definitively cures associated complications such as diabetes or hypertension. Among the various bariatric surgery techniques, gastric bypass (BPG) seems to be definitely imposed, offering an excellent balance between weight loss (> 70% of excess) and surgical risk and subsequent quality of life.
Surgical treatment has demonstrated success over 70% in the long term with low morbidity and mortality. Today, surgery is the only treatment option in this type of morbidly obese patients.
We must keep in mind that bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic operation: it is a gastrointestinal surgery that is performed on patients whose obesity puts their lives at risk.

Surgical techniques

1) Gastric Bay-pass technique The surgical technique of gastric bypass is the most widespread worldwide by laparoscopic approach and as described by Wittgrove and Clark.

The digestive loop is placed ante colic and ante gastric according to the variant described by Gagner.


2) Gastric band surgery consists of an inflatable band that is placed around the upper part of the stomach, limiting its ability to expand. Since you can't store as much food as before you feel fuller faster, eat less, and lose weight. You can lose more than 45 kilograms with this procedure.

3) Gastric sleeve surgery removes about 85% of the stomach, leaving a small tube that when created only allows small volumes of food to be eaten.

In addition, it helps reduce appetite for the lower production of the hormone Ghrelin, which is created in the gastric fundus (part of the stomach that is removed).

This procedure is also laparoscopic and is indicated for people with severe obesity.

4) The surgical establishment of a short circuit between some portion of the biliary tree and the digestive tract is called a biliodigestive bypass. This is generally established, particularly with the duodenum or jejunum.

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