Bariatric Surgery: What is It & Types of Weight Loss Surgeries?

Obesity is becoming a major concern for the doctors as well as for the general population nowadays. According to a report released in October 2017, the percentage of Indian adults living with obesity will reach around 5% by 2025, from 3.7% in 2014. This appalling increase of 1.3% is indicating towards India which is not going to be healthy enough. This demands addressal.

Now, What Next?

Obesity causes excess accumulation of fat in the body which has an adverse effect on health. Here bariatric surgery can be of a big help. Due to the advancement of the technology and the use of the latest approaches, weight loss surgeries are able to deliver the desired results at the same time, reduce the side effects. A lot of people prefer to undergo bariatric surgery for weight loss in the top hospitals like Nanavati Max Hospital. Its specialised team of doctors aims at your care, convenience and cure.

In this blog, we are going to discuss bariatric surgery and its various types in detail with an aim to create awareness.

What is bariatric surgery?

Bariatric surgery is a collective term used for gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries. It is considered as a last resort when exercise, lifestyle modification and diet does not work or when you have serious health problems because of your weight. Some procedures limit how much you can eat. Other procedures work by reducing the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

4 different types of weight loss surgeries:

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Commonly known as gastric bypass, best doctors in India consider roux-en-Y gastric bypass as the ‘gold standard’ in weight loss surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach. This greatly limits the amount that you can comfortably eat and drink at one time.

Here, the small intestine is cut and then attached to the new pouch. This allows the food to flow directly from the pouch through the newly attached intestine. However, the main part of the stomach continues to make the digestive juices which are flowed into the small intestine re-attached to the new pouch. This change in the passage allows food to pass through a portion of the small intestine, thus facilitating an individual to absorb less nutrients and calories.

This type of surgery is performed in almost all the best hospitals in Mumbai. A specialised team of doctors execute the procedure using the latest technology and approaches in order to give the desired results.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding

As the name suggests, the procedure involves the use of a band containing an inflatable balloon which is placed around the upper part of the stomach and fixed in place. This creates a small pouch in the upper portion of the stomach.

Following that, a medical appliance is inserted beneath the skin of the abdomen which is connected to the band. This allows changing the size of the balloon by inflating or deflating it through injecting or removing the fluid. The main objective of the procedure is to restrict the amount of food that your stomach can hold, but it doesn't reduce the absorption of calories and nutrients.

Sleeve gastrectomy

This procedure involves the removal of a portion of the stomach. The remaining part is formed into a tube-like structure. The objective behind the same is to reduce the production of an appetite-regulating hormone which may ultimately lessen the desire to eat. So, by making the stomach smaller in size, one cannot hold much food, thus reducing the production of the hormone. Here, it does not affect the absorption of calories and nutrients in the intestines.

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch

The procedure is very much similar to sleeve gastrectomy and takes place in two parts; 1) a tube-like shaped pouch is created by removing a portion of the stomach 2) a large part of the small intestine is bypassed.

This procedure limits the amount of food that has been consumed. With the passing time, its effect reduces, thus facilitating patient to eventually consume a normal amount of food.

Medically Reviewed

Dr. Manmohan Kamat (Head & Sr Consultant - General & Minimally Invasive Surgery)

Dr. Manmohan Kamat is the Head and Senior Consultant, General and Minimally Invasive Surgery, with an experience of over 31 years. He specialises in Laparoscopic Appendicectomy, Laparoscopic Sterilization, Laparoscopic Surgery, Laparoscopic Hernial Repair and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy among others.