The Bariatric Surgery Review

This is an active medical intervention to lose weight not only dramatically but immediately and hopefully in the long run. Costing about $3000, this surgery involves gastric bypass procedures and has increased popularity over the past several years. It is still surgery and has all the risks involved in the invasive means of weight loss. It involves two steps, the first being removal of a segment of your stomach so one can only take in small amounts of food and reattaching a portion of your small intestine to the new stomach, reducing the capacity to absorb nutrients and calories from the food being consumed.

Not all can qualify for this procedure as there is criteria that need be met that were set by the National Institutes of Health, such as a minimum Body Mass Index of 40 or 35 if there are other morbidities involved. Also, the bypass surgery must be the court of last resort for the prospective patients. There is also preparation for surgery such as exercise and weight loss tips. The downside is that twenty percent of patients that undergo the surgery require follow up operations to correct complications like abdominal hernias. Others develop anemia, osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. These may be averted so long as the proper medical advice and discipline is observed by the patient.