There are a number of weight loss surgery options available on today’s medical market and anyone thinking about this serious surgery should be familiar with as many as possible before making a decision.
The basic types of weight loss surgery options are restrictive and malabsorptive. Here is the difference between the two.
Restrictive Weight Loss Surgery is accomplished by closing off a large part of the stomach so that only a small amount of food can be eaten at a time greatly reducing the calorie and fat intake.
Malabsorptive Surgery is done by bypassing portions of the intestines. Since the nutrients do not pass through much of the area where they are absorbed the patient loses weight because these nutrients do not enter the body.
One of the most popular of the weight loss surgery options is Gastric Bypass Surgery which combines both restrictive and malabsorptive techniques. In this surgery a small pouch is made in the stomach and then a part of the small intestine is used to bypass much of the large intestine. This means the patient must not only consume smaller amounts of food, but that much of the food that is consumed will not be absorbed by the body.
There are two basic types of bypass gastric surgery. One is open surgery and the other is laparoscopic surgery. In open surgery the surgery is performed through one large incision, whereas in laparoscopic surgery it is done through a number of small incisions using a camera.
Since laparoscopic surgery has very small incisions it has a much faster recovery time and less complications than open surgery. For this reason open surgery is only done on people who can not qualify for laparoscopic surgery because of medical complications.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is one of the most performed weight loss surgery options. It is popular because it has such a good track record when it comes to less complications and long term success. Today’s average cost is around $25,000-$35,000 dollars if there are no complications.
There is also a mini gastric bypass. It has even fewer complications and can actually be done in around 45 minutes. The patient can even leave the hospital within 24 hours. The cost of this surgery can be as low as $12,000.
Before agreeing to any weight loss surgery options be sure and discuss all of them with your doctor and go with his advice or get another opinion if you feel you need it to be comfortable.
Our website has a wealth of information on gastric bypass surgeries if you would like to drop and read some of our more indepth articles on the subject.
