Types of Bariatric Surgery

There are two types of bariatric surgery the Gastric Bypass and the Gastric Banding. There are variations to both of them but basically you have a bypass and some kind of banding. Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine.The most common gastric bypass surgery is a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
In normal digestion, food passes through the stomach and enters the small intestine,where most of the nutrients and calories are absorbed.




It then passes into the large intestine (colon), and the remaining waste is eventually excreted.

In a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the stomach is made smaller by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach using surgical staples or a plastic band.

The smaller stomach is connected directly to the middle portion of the small intestine (jejunum), bypassing the rest of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine (duodenum).
This procedure can be done by making a large incision in the abdomen (an open procedure) or by making a small incision and using small instruments and a camera to guide the surgery.


Gastric Banding involves the laparoscopic placement of a hollow silastic band around the upper part of the stomach. This band divides the stomach into a small upper pouch above the band and a larger pouch below the band. This small gastric pouch limits the amount of food that a patient can eat at any one time, and will result in a feeling of fullness after eating a small amount of food.

Diabetes and Bariatric Surgey

My Weight History

On December 27, 2007 I had lap band surgery. My weight was at that time 326 pounds, as of 6/29/2008 I weighed 224 pounds. This was the best thing I could have ever done. I have tried Jenny Craig, WeightWatchers and other fad diets. I have to say that WeightWatchers was great but for some reason I could not continue eating right. I would always fail. For five year my weight would fluctuate and at one point going as high as 345. I had Type II Diabetes, my tryglycerides were 450 and I was taking over 6 meds a day. I tried natural cures to lower my triglycerides and blood sugar. I tried natural cures or over the counters weight loss remedies. Nothing worked. So in October 2007 I decided to go get a consultation with a doctor to discuss weight loss surgery. He explained there are two types of bariatric surgery the Gastric Bypass and the Gastric Banding. After a discussion we decided to go with the Gastric Banding or LAPBand. LAPBand is a trademark go to http://www.lapband.com/ for further information.

Does Bariatric Surgery Help to Reduce Cancer Risk

Recently read an article about how bariatric surgery for obese patient can cut cancer risk by 80 percent. The article states that morbidly obese patients, people who are 100 pounds (45 Kg) over weight who have undergone the weight loss surgery greatly reduce their risk of cancer. Researchers from McGill Univeresity in Montreal tracked 1,035 patients who had the surgery for five years. They also monitored 5,746 patients who matched the surgery group in age, weight and sex and did not have the surgery.

The evidence in this finding shows that having the weight loss surgery is better for your health and overall quality of life. A quote from Dr Nicolas Christou the head of the bariatic surgery who led the study stated that "The evidence is mounting that weight loss through weight-loss surgery, if you are extremely obese, is extremely beneficial both to your health as well as to your quality of life."

Being obese raises the risk of many forms of cancer including breast, colon, esophagus and kidney as well as heart diseases and diabetes. There has been an estimated 205,000 people who have had bariatric surgery in the United States last year and in addition to cutting the incidence of breast cancer by about 85 percent and colon cancer by about 70 percent, there was also a reduction in the risk of pancreatic cancer, skin cancer, uterine cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma the researcher said.

The New England Journal Medicine published findings last year that stated obese people who have had bariatric surgery have a lower risk of death from heart disease, diabetes as well as cancer compared to obese people who do not have such surgery.

Dr Daniel Gagne of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh who presented another study at the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, states "There's an old misconception that this is cosmetic surgery. But actually, people who are overweight don't live as long because a lot of them develop weight-related health problems that shorten their lives. What we see in all these studies is that when people lose the weight, their health gets better."

There are other condition as well that are helped by weight loss surgery. Other studies at the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery showed that most patients with asthma and arthritis were able to stop taking steroids to treat the conditions within about a year of having bariatric surgery. This study involved 49 morbidly obese patients who were taking steroids and other immunosuppressant medications to treat chronic inflammatory diseases and autoimmune diseases.

Being morbidly obese in a major problem in America and in parts of the world. Having over 100 pound extra on your body and putting in bad food into you body creates many problems that lead to death. By losing less than half of excess weight within a year of bariatric surgery was enough for patients to see dramatic improvements in type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and sleep apnea.