| Gastric Bypass Surgery
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is a common form of gastric bypass surgery, basically, performed to correct morbid obesity by means of reducing the patients' calorie intake.
In the United States , this is the most popular surgery to lose weight and it is estimated that approximately 140,000 procedures were performed during 2005. This operation has been performed for nearly 50 years; however, its popularity is relatively recent, starting at some point between the 1980s and 1990s.
Gastric bypass requires that the patient be informed on the benefits and risks involved with the procedure before consent to sign an authorization to allow a physician to perform the procedure, although the laparoscopic approach has become more popular in recent years and have a number of advantages.
Researchers consider gastric bypass as the "gold standard" operation for weight loss in the U.S. not limited to obese people but more likely for them. The procedure involves around five tiny incisions in the stomach reduced to a pouch and attaching part of the small intestine, rarely causing infection due to the cuts and ever rarer the development of a hernia as can occur with other bariatric procedures.
From the laparoscopic approach, gastric bypass surgery can be performed quicker than the traditional open operation, taking an hour or so to be completed, reducing the exposure time to anesthesia and hence reducing the risks of developing anesthesia-related complications, and often does not need pain relief medications.
In addition, the stay in the hospital last only a few hours to up a day or two, and patients can retake their normal activities or return to work in one to two weeks after the gastric bypass procedure. Studies have proven that gastric bypass surgery has good long-term weight loss results.
Although discomfort while walking occurs immediately after surgery, this problem can be controlled with medication and patients are at lower risk to developing complications such as bedsores, pneumonia, blood clots, or other complications resulting from prolonged immobility.
Related to weight loss, gastric bypass shows a peaking weight loss after 18 to 24 months after surgery. Half of the total excess weight lost the first 6 months after the procedure, improving or curing other conditions such as heartburn, sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, venous stasis disease, and certain types of headaches.
Statistics reveal that gastric bypass has a mortality rate of approximately 2%. An overall of 1% of all patients suffering immediate complications and death, and another 1% having post-operative complications that leads to death within one month of surgery, although these figures can be reduce with convenient and timely treatment.
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