Bariatric Surgery For Weight Reduction
In 1991 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) assembled physicians, nutritionists and other healthcare professionals and made recommendations regarding bariatric treatment. “Bariatric” means obesity. From this gathering, the NIH now recommends that weight reduction should always be recommended for patients with severe obesity. If nutrition therapy, exercise, and behavior modification cannot successfully reduce weight, bariatric surgical procedures such as the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric sleeve and adjustable gastric banding are options. For many years these procedures required an incision from the breast to the groin, the open method, which comes with certain risks.
Since then, the laparoscopic method, which requires several one-inch incisions in the abdomen, has been approved as an alternative method to perform these surgical procedures. It is important for anyone considering bariatric surgery to understand the many medical, psychological, behavioral and financial aspects. For your recovery to be successful, you will need to make some lifelong changes. Some of the changes may seem difficult, but the result can be permanent weight reduction and overall improved health.