Types of Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric treatment aims to reduce weight by restricting your food intake or affecting the way your body absorbs calories. These procedures have been shown to both reduce weight and the symptoms of obesity-related problems like diabetes and hypertension (raised blood pressure).

Is Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery Right For You?

These types of operation are usually used to treat obese people, although they can also be useful for those with metabolism-related conditions like diabetes. You're unlikely to be offered surgery unless you've already tried to control your weight unsuccessfully with a healthy diet and exercise, and other medications haven't worked or can't be used for other reasons (such as allergies).

It's wrong to think of bariatric treatment as an easy alternative to dieting and exercise. But if you've tried and failed time and again to beat menopausal weight gain through traditional means, bariatric surgery may be the only option left for you. General guidelines recommend bariatric surgery if your Body Mass Index is 40 or more, at which point you would be clinically defined as morbidly obese.

In some cases, a BMI of more than 35 could qualify you for the surgery, if you also have another medical complication like diabetes .

Main Types of Bariatric Surgery

There are two main types of procedure: restrictive and malabsorptive (or sometimes both).

Restrictive procedures reduce the amount of food your stomach can hold so that you eat less.

Malabsorptive procedures alter your digestive system so that your body can't absorb the maximum amount of calories from your food.

These are the most commonly used bariatric procedures:

Gastric Bypass Surgery

© Luis Louro | Dreamstime.com

Gastric bypass surgery involves surgically redirecting the flow of food through the intestinal tract to a smaller stomach pouch, so you feel full after eating less food than usual. The small stomach pouch is created by stapling the upper half of the stomach, which is why this is commonly referred to as "stomach staple" surgery. This method is both restrictive and malabsorptive.

Gastric Banding

Gastric lap band is a form of restrictive bariatric plastic surgery which uses a rubber band made of silicone to restrict the amount of food you can eat in one sitting by limiting the size of your stomach pouch.

Gastric Sleeve

Gastric sleeve surgery, or sleeve gastrectomy, is another restrictive method of limiting the stomach size by surgically removing a part of the stomach.

Advantages of Bariatric Surgery

Studies have shown that over the long term most people lose signficant amounts of weight after bariatric surgery as well as reducing their risk of dying from weight-related health complications. Successful bariatric surgery can lead to:

• reduced risk of heart disease
• reduced risk of stroke
• improvement or complete cure of certain liver diseases
• reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
• reduction of symptoms for current diabetes sufferers

Despite the obvious advantages, every type of bariatric surgery has risks, and you'll have to be monitored regularly by a medical professional to check for side effects. To truly benefit from any of the various types of bariatric surgery, you'll need to make a lifetime commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

Go from Types of Bariatric Surgery to Beat Menopause Weight Gain.