Surgeries to Lose Weight

Various surgeries are designed for weight loss, but they all require a change to the stomach or intestine areas. Weight-loss surgeries commonly work by limiting how much the stomach can store.

History

• The first surgery to treat serious obesity was an intestinal bypass and was performed 40 years ago. The procedure caused weight loss through malabsorption, which is when changes to the intestines are made that do not allow a person to get all the nutrients they need out of food.

Types

• Restrictive (where the stomach is made smaller) and malabsorptive (shortening the intestine and regulating the digestion of food) surgeries are two types of operations for weight loss.

Considerations

• People are only considered for weight-loss surgeries if they are regarded as extremely overweight--100 pounds for men and 80 pounds for women--or have conditions such as sleep apnea, diabetes or heart disease.

Benefits

• Most patients benefit from weight-loss surgeries by losing pounds quickly and continually, generally until 18 to 24 months after the operation. Improvement of medical conditions that obesity causes is another advantage.

Warning

• Weight-loss surgeries can result in several side effects, such as development of gallstones, nutritional deficiencies, vomiting and increased gas. Diet changes, and possibly vitamin supplementation, will be necessary after the surgery to reduce the risk of damage to the digestive system and to ensure continual wwight loss.