Most of us who have tried to lose weight are sure to agree – it isn’t easy. Instead of slimming down and staying at a healthy weight we may find that our body mass index fluctuates from year to year as we attempt new diets that don’t work for us. If we’re severely overweight and have been battling for years to slim down then we might want to opt for weight-loss surgery instead.
Are we eligible?
Depending on where we live in the world, we might need to meet different criteria so our doctors put us forward for operations that can help us shed excess pounds. For example, our body mass index might have to be over 40. If it’s under 40 but over 35, then we may be considered for the operation if we also have other wellness issues connected to our weight. These could include type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Even if we meet all the criteria, some surgeons may put us on healthy eating plans combined with exercise regimes to see if having this will help. If they don’t work for us then we may be scheduled for one of three operations.
Which procedure?
Gastric surgery is a welcomed option for some of us who struggle with severe weight problems, and weight-loss is just one of the positive outcomes of the procedure. After having it, we may also suffer less from wellbeing issues that were caused by our body mass index, meaning we could really improve our all-round health with an operation of this type. There are three main kinds of procedure, with new methods being developed all the time.
Gastric band surgery involves having a band fitted around our stomach limiting its size and the amount we can eat. The gastric sleeve procedure is for those who want a permanent option as it involves taking out up to 85 per cent of the stomach. More invasive is a gastric bypass, which also results in partial stomach removal, in addition to bypassing a section of our intestines, so food has less time to be absorbed. Although some of these procedures are permanent they generally have the desired effect on our weight and chatting to our GPs about our options will reveal more about gastric surgery.
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