What does obesity surgery consist of?
Obesity surgery is a set of operations, which are designed to produce a restriction of the volume of food in the stomach with/without an associated malabsorption component.
When is this surgery indicated?
When an overweight person fails to maintain significant weight loss through dieting and lifestyle changes, there may be an indication for surgery.
Classically, the indication for this type of surgery is based on the patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI).
Thus, obesity surgery would be indicated in patients with a BMI over 40, or with a BMI between 35 and 40 if the patient has an associated disease. It is also acceptable to operate on cases with BMI between 30 and 35 if they suffer from diabetes.
What type of operation should be performed in each case?
Each patient requires a personalized study to choose the type of operation.
For example, when the patient has significant gastroesophageal reflux, Vertical Gastrectomy is contraindicated and a gastric bypass should be performed.
In a case of moderate diabetes, the bypass seems to be superior to the gastric sleeve as well.
Are there any risks for the patient?
Obesity surgery should be performed by experts through laparoscopic approach. In this way, complications appear in less than 5% of patients.
What are the results after surgery?
70-80% of patients lose more than 50% of their excess weight and maintain it over time.