July 18, 2008, Newsletter Issue #53: Understanding Surgical Procedures for Weight Loss

Tip of the Week

Most liposuction procedures are performed in an outpatient setting. To complete the surgery your doctor will first make a tiny incision near your trouble area. Doctors are aware of scaring so they usually work hard to keep the incisions as inconspicuous as possible. Your surgeon will inject fluid into the area to be treated, this prevents extensive tissue damage. A cannula is inserted and with a vigorous push and pull motion fat is removed. If more sites are to be treated, your surgeon will suture the incision before moving on to the next area. Recovery time is usually pretty quick with liposuction. You will be asked to wear a form-fitting girdle for a short period after the surgery. Sutures are removed five to seven days after surgery. Patients typically return to normal activity in three to four weeks. Swelling peaks and begins to subside during the first week with total reduction occurring after several weeks. Bruises fade and ultimately disappear after about four to six weeks. You may still have numbness in the treated areas for some time, but it usually subsides after a few weeks.

The most common types of bariatric surgery are gastric bypass and lap-banding. Of the two, gastric bypass is the most invasive procedure. Both surgeries work by restricting the amount of food that can be held in the stomach. With gastric bypass, the stomach size is dramatically reduced by using a stapling procedure and re-attaching the small stomach pouch to the intestines. This procedure reduces the volume of food that can be eaten to about two tablespoons.

A newer more popular bariatric procedure is the Lap-band, which stands for Laparoscopic Banding. In this surgery, an adjustable band is placed around the upper portion of the stomach. No stapling is necessary to create a smaller pouch. The band can be adjusted to the amount of restriction needed to meet the goals of your weight loss. An attractive aspect of this surgery is that the technique can be reversed.

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