Obesity has become a significant problem in the United States and bariatric surgeries are increasingly viewed as viable solutions. While most doctors will recommend diet and exercise as the primary solution, they also recognize that these solutions do not work for everyone. Furthermore, obesity is such a dangerous issue that time can be an important factor.
It may take years to remove some of the dangerously high fat levels that people have accumulated when they decide that they need to change. However, their hearts and other internal organs may not be able to stand another few years. For this reason, bariatric surgeries may be able to save lives when the patient simply cannot reduce weight in sufficient time to save their own health.
What Are Bariatric Surgeries?
These surgical procedures seek to actually make it impossible for obese people to aggravate their health problem. A doctor performs this surgery in one of two ways. He or she can physically restrict the stomach with a gastric band. This makes it difficult for someone to eat much more than a small amount because there simply is no room left in the stomach. A bariatric procedure can also entail the actual removal of a portion of the stomach and a rerouting of the small intestine. The ultimate effect is similar.
Recovery and Life after Surgery
After the procedure, most patients are initially permitted to eat nothing more than liquids until the gastrointestinal tract recovers. Afterward, the patient can begin to eat a greater variety of foods that will have a mild effect on the GI tract. Eventually, a patient can return to eating many foods that he or she could eat before.
The alteration of the digestive system, however, forces many patients to rely on vitamin supplements for the rest of their lives. Most patients will never again be able to eat large portions after bariatric surgeries. If they do, nausea will set in to remind them that they do not have the stomach for that anymore.