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What is bariatric surgery?

For people who do not have enough willpower to cope with their own immoderate habit of eating a lot, there is a way out - bariatric surgery. This operation is aimed at interfering with the structure and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract in order to forcibly reduce the possibility of absorbing unlimited calories.

There are several types of bariatric surgery:

decrease in the size of the stomach,
creation of detours for the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract and shortening the path of passage of food.

Reduce the size of the stomach:

by placing a constricting ring on the body of the stomach (gastric banding),
by introducing a balloon with saline solution into the stomach cavity to create a feeling of fullness in the stomach - imitation of satiety (intragastric balloon),
by resection of the body of the stomach in order to reduce its volume (sleeve gastroplasty).

Workarounds to reduce the time it takes to digest food are created by:

by forming a small reservoir in the stomach at its inlet and connecting it to the small intestine (gastric bypass),
by restructuring the path of movement of food from the stomach through the small intestine with the help of ligation of the duodenum and the initial part of the small intestine (biliopancreatic limbus) to the intersection of the small intestine with the large intestine, which makes it possible to reduce the time of food digestion (biliopancreatic shunting).

The types of bariatric surgery can be combined on the recommendation of a surgeon and an endocrinologist.

All bariatric surgeries lead to the desired result - weight loss by reducing the amount of food passed through the gastrointestinal tract and the possibility of its complete assimilation.

Bariatric surgery refers to complex surgical interventions in the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract and can have long-term complications, for example, diarrhea, constipation, colitis, and poor bowel permeability.

After bariatric surgery, you need to monitor your diet, follow the diet recommended by your doctor, and take vitamin and mineral supplements.

Bariatric surgery may be contraindicated in cases where the patient has a history of mental illness, acute cardiovascular disease, blood diseases, immunodeficiencies, diabetes mellitus.