BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Forty percent of all Americans are now overweight. As obesity continues to skyrocket in the United States, many people are considering bariatric surgery to help put them on a healthier track. For decades, gastric bypass surgery had been the go-to procedure, but in the last few years gastric sleeve has become the surgery of choice.
Forty-one-year old Tiffany Eiford has struggled with weight her entire life. At one point she reached a high of 245 pounds.
“I’ve done lots of different diets where I would lose a significant amount of weight, and then I would just put it right back on,” shared Eiford.
Eiford dropped weight after adjustable lap band surgery. But when she developed complications, the band had to come off and the weight came back on.
“It’s depressing. Honestly, it is,” Eiford explained.
Eiford decided to try a permanent option. This time, Kuldeep Singh, MD, FACS, Director of Maryland Bariatric Center at Mercy, performed gastric sleeve surgery. With gastric sleeve, doctors remove 80 percent of the stomach, leaving a small tube, or sleeve.
“Since you’re not touching the intestines, you don’t get long-term issues like malabsorption, nutritional issues,” said Dr. Singh.
With gastric sleeve surgery, the surgery is less complicated. Meaning a shorter hospital stay and quicker recovery. By comparison, during gastric bypass surgery, which has been called the gold standard, doctors create a small pouch and reroute the small intestines.
“If you have somebody with much more weight to lose, like 400, 500 pounds, then bypass is a better choice,” Dr. Singh stated.
Dr. Singh said patients who have diabetes, acid reflux or serious heartburn tend to do better with gastric bypass. For Eiford gastric sleeve was a first step.
“These weight loss surgeries, they’re a tool. They are not an easy fix. I know some people think that they are, it’s a struggle,” Eiford exclaimed.
Eiford has now lost 45 pounds since her sleeve surgery. Since 2007, gastric sleeve surgery has been gaining in popularity, and now accounts for more than 60 percent of all weight loss surgeries. Dr. Singh said both surgeries are permanent and require commitment and lifestyle changes.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor; and Kirk Manson, Videographer.
GASTRIC BYPASS VS GASTRIC SLEEVE FOR WEIGHT LOSS
REPORT #2792
BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery encompasses many different weight-loss surgeries, like gastric bypass and gastric sleeve, and involves making changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight. When diet and exercise haven’t worked or when you have serious health problems because of your weight, that’s when bariatric surgery is done. Some procedures limit how much you can eat, while others work by reducing the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. While bariatric surgery can offer many benefits, all forms of weight-loss surgery are major procedures that can pose serious risks and side effects. Also, you must make permanent healthy changes to your diet and get regular exercise to help ensure the long-term success of bariatric surgery.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bariatric-surgery/about/pac-20394258)
WEIGHT LOSS SURGERIES: Both gastric sleeve surgery and gastric bypass reduce the stomach from its regular size to a small pouch. The two procedures differ in the way the new stomach pouch is created. With gastric sleeve surgery, the surgeon permanently removes about 80 percent of the stomach. What remains is sewn into a small banana-shaped stomach pouch and no other changes are made. With gastric bypass, a small stomach pouch is created by removing, or “bypassing,” most of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. The newly created stomach pouch is then reconnected to the remaining small intestine. The bypassed part of the stomach is attached further down the small intestine, so it still provides the acid and digestive enzymes produced there. The portion of your small intestine that’s removed with your stomach normally absorbs some nutrients and calories. Since this section is bypassed, the absorption of those calories doesn’t happen, which contributes to your weight-loss. Gastric band surgery is a third type of bariatric surgery where a small stomach pouch is created by placing an inflatable band around part of the stomach. The size of the opening between the pouch and the rest of the stomach affects the amount of weight you lose.
(Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/gastric-sleeve-vs-gastric-bypass#differences)
NEW WEIGHT LOSS DEVICE: Gelesis100, also known as Plenity, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and is an exciting recent innovation in weight management. Although Plenity comes in capsule form, it is actually a weight-loss device, not a medication. The capsules are filled with hydrogel particles. When taken with a full glass of water before meals, the particles expand in the stomach and take up space, leading to the sensation of fullness. The gel particles eventually move through the intestinal tract, and are broken down by enzymes and excreted. There were few safety concerns in the clinical trial. In fact, no treatment-related serious adverse events occurred. In addition, Plenity is not absorbed into the body at all. As a result, there is little reason to worry about pharmacologic side effects, or interactions with other medications, both of which frequently limit people’s ability to use weight-loss drugs
(Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/new-fda-approved-weight-loss-device-shows-promise-2019072917362)
* For More Information, Contact:
Kuldeep Singh, MD, FACS Dan Collins, PR
Ksingh2@mdmercy.com dcollins@mdmercy.com
(410) 332-9528 (410) 332-9714
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