Bariatric Surgery - Know More About Its Types!

Obesity is unarguably one of the most regularly discussed topics around the world. A major section of the world's population is suffering from a variety of obesity related problems. There are a number of natural methods to check obesity; however, several medical surgeries are gaining popularity among the masses with instant results to reduce weight.

Here is a list of the most common types of weight loss surgeries:

1. Gastric sleeve surgery: This surgery is performed where removal of a large part of the stomach takes place. A long pouch is created, which connects the small intestine with the oesophagus. The pouch gets stapled and after that the other parts of the stomach are reduced. In some cases, an additional step is taken for reinforcement of the staple line.

Gastric sleeve reduces the size of the stomach and a patient will feel full after eating lesser amount of food. Because a portion of the stomach is reduced, lesser amount of hunger causing hormones are produced. The patient will therefore feel less hungry.

2. Gastric bypass surgery: This is another effective weight loss surgery, which reduces the patient's stomach size, resulting in reduced appetite. The intestines are rearranged, which makes the body absorb fewer minerals. While performing this surgery, the stomach is cut and stapled to create a pouch. 

The remaining stomach is attached to the small intestine's top portion, and the small intestine is cut and attached to the pouch as well. After this, the end portion of the small intestine is connected with the non-pouch part of the stomach and is attached to the roux limb bottom. This makes the stomach's digestive juices to meet the food present in the intestines.

3. Duodenal switch: This surgery reduces the stomach size in patients, which leads to decreased appetite or craving for food. Fewer hormones, which cause hunger, are secreted and the rearrangement of the intestine causes the body to absorb minimal minerals or calories.

A part of the stomach is removed and a pouch is created. The small intestine's top portion is cut off, but the duodenum is kept attached to the stomach. The small intestines are cut, and the part attached to the large intestine called colon is connected with the duodenum. Finally, the loose end of the small intestine gets attached to the small intestine to enable digestive juices to mix with food.

4. Lap band surgery: By this surgery, a band is wrapped around the upper middle section of the stomach which squeezes the stomach. Thus a smaller section of the stomach is created above the band which fills up very quickly while having food. The patient feels full by eating less. A laparoscopic adjustable gastric band is used.

There are many different weight loss surgeries. Most of them aim at reducing the capacity of the stomach, so that the person eats less food.