Weight Loss Surgery, Brooklyn NY
Click here to download the Bariatric Surgery Overview
The American Society for Bariatric Surgery describes two basic approaches that weight loss surgery takes to achieve change:
- Restrictive procedures that decrease food intake.
- Malabsorptive procedures that alter digestion, thus causing the food to be poorly digested and incompletely absorbed so that it is eliminated in the stool.
Gastric Band Surgery
The gastric band reduces the amount of food that can be eaten at one time. The gastric band wraps around the upper part of the stomach, dividing the stomach into a small upper pouch that holds about ½ cup of food and a larger lower stomach. As a result, you’ll feel fuller sooner and stay fuller longer.
The gastric band allows for normal digestion and absorption. The gastric band is also reversible.
Gastric Bypass Surgery
A gastric bypass restricts food intake and the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs. In this procedure, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch and attaches a section of the small intestine directly to the pouch. This allows food to bypass a portion of the small intestine.
Having a smaller stomach pouch causes you to feel full sooner and eat less; bypassing part of the small intestine means the body absorbs fewer calories.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
A sleeve gastrectomy procedure decreases the size of the stomach, limiting the amount of food that can be eaten at one time. During the sleeve gastrectomy procedure a thin vertical sleeve of stomach is created using a stapling device. The rest of the stomach is removed. The sleeve is about the size of a banana.
As a result, you’ll feel fuller sooner and stay fuller longer and allows for normal digestion and absorption.
Laparoscopic / Minimally Invasive Surgery
For the last decade, laparoscopic procedures have been used in a variety of general surgeries. Many people mistakenly believe that these techniques are still “experimental.” In fact, laparoscopy has become the predominant technique in some areas of surgery and has been used for weight loss surgery for several years. Although few bariatric surgeons perform laparoscopic weight loss surgeries, more are offering patients this less invasive surgical option whenever possible.
When a laparoscopic operation is performed, a small video camera is inserted into the abdomen. The surgeon views the procedure on a separate video monitor. Most laparoscopic surgeons believe this gives them better visualization and access to key anatomical structures.
The camera and surgical instruments are inserted through small incisions made in the abdominal wall. This approach is considered less invasive because it replaces the need for one long incision to open the abdomen. A recent study shows that patients having had laparoscopic weight loss surgery experience less pain after surgery resulting in easier breathing and lung function and higher overall oxygen levels. Other realized benefits with laparoscopy have been fewer wound complications such as infection or hernia, and patients returning more quickly to pre-surgical levels of activity.
Laparoscopic procedures for weight loss surgery employ the same principles as their “open” counterparts and produce similar excess weight loss. Not all patients are candidates for this approach, just as all bariatric surgeons are not trained in the advanced techniques required to perform this less invasive method. The American Society for Bariatric Surgery recommends that laparoscopic weight loss surgery should only be performed by surgeons who are experienced in both laparoscopic and open bariatric procedures.
