Weight Loss Surgery
You have tried every conventional way to shrug of those extra kilos but then nothing seems to be working. Maybe, it is time to opt for a medical procedure like either a Laparoscopic Gastric Banding Surgery or a Sleeve Gastrectomy. Tried and tested procedures for treatment of conditions like severe obesity when losing weight naturally is not a possibility anymore.
Laparoscopic Gastric Banding Surgery
For those suffering from severe obesity, Laparoscopic Gastric Banding Surgery (LAGB)can help in weight loss when other conventional weight loss methods fail. The procedure is recommended for severely obese patients having a BMI over 40. It can also be recommended for those patients whose BMI hovers between 35 and 40 and have health disorders like Hypertension, Sleep Apnea, Heart Disordersand type 2 Diabetes.
- Procedure
In this procedure an implant shaped in the form of a soft silicone ring with an expandable balloon at its centre is placed at the top part of the stomach. This divides the stomach into two sections wherein the smaller sectionremains above the band. This soft constriction ensures a person eats only the right amount of food to fill the stomach’s top section. After a meal intake food passes via the opening in the band and slips into thebottom part of the stomach where the digestion process occurs normally.
A balloon at the centre can be inflated or deflated to adjust the tightness of the band. Saline solution is added to the band to make the orifice between two parts of a stomach smaller. The saline solution makes the passage of food starting right from the top section of the stomach to the rest of stomach slow. Whereas, removal of saline from the band causes larger particles of food to pass on at a rapid rate.
Recovery and Costs
Laparoscopic Gastric Banding procedure can be performed as an outpatient surgery. It means a patient can go home on the same day of the operation.In the hands of an expert surgeon the whole procedure may take only up to 30 to 60 minutes. Once the procedure is done a doctor can call up a patient for a comprehensive follow-up program that can include dietary counselling and some monthly visits to monitor the weight of a patient. Other than that, a regular exercise routine might be suggested to maintain a healthy lifestyle. On the cost front too, there is a marked difference in the amount charged for the procedure in the USA and India. Say the procedure can cost anywhere around 15000 USD in the USA whereas the same procedure in India can cost just around 6000 USD.
Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight loss procedure and it also goes by the name of vertical sleeve gastrectomy. It is a laparoscopic procedure which involves insertion of small instruments via several small incisions in upper abdomen. In the sleeve gastrectomy procedure nearly about 80 percent of stomach is removed and what is left in its place is a banana sized and shaped stomach. This new shaped stomach restricts the amount of food intake.
- Procedure
A sleeve gastrectomy procedure can be carried out in the traditional manner where large incisions are made in the abdomen. However, with the advent of technology sleeve gastrectomy is being done laparoscopically wherein small instruments are inserted via multiple small incisions in the upper abdomen.Instilling of a band is not required in the procedure nor is the digestive process
changed. The procedure relies on Hormonal changes which enable patients to feel more satiated, eat less food and in the bargain take care of any diabetes related issues.
Recovery and Costs
Depending on the overall health of a patient, the hospital stay may not last more than one to two nights.Once the procedure is completed, a patient is put on a sugar-free liquid diet for the first week. From hereon the patient progresses on to pureed foods for the next 3 weeks and finally a patient can consume regular foods approximately 4 weeks after the surgical procedure. A patient might just need to stay around for 2 days in the hospital after the procedure.While on the cost front too there might not be too much of a strain on the patient as the cost of the surgery which can be anywhere around 25000 USD in the USA would cost around only 7000 USD in India.
