Different types of Bariatric Surgeries

Bariatric Surgeries are surgeries done in the stomach and intestine for weight loss. They are two types:

• Restrictive: where the quantity of food that a person can eat is restricted
• Malabsorptive: where changes are made in the intestine to change the digestive process causing less absorption of consumed food.
• Combination: some surgeries have a combination of restrictive and malabsorptive elements to give more effective and long-term weight loss along with improvements in Diabetes, cholesterol levels, High blood pressure etc.

All Bariatric Surgeries are done with Laparoscopic techniques (Keyhole surgery) using a pencil like long instruments and special cameras to view inside the abdomen. Thus, these surgeries cause very less pain and help patients return to their usual activities within 2-3 days. Being done using keyholes i.e. very small cuts, these surgeries also give very tiny scars.

Types of Bariatric Surgeries:

1. Gastric Balloon:

This is the only Non-surgical Bariatric Procedure for weight loss.
A completely Non-surgical, scar less weight loss procedure performed using Endoscopic techniques without placing a single cut on the body. It takes approximately 15 minutes.

A balloon is passed into the stomach cavity and gradually filled with saline. This makes the stomach feel full of small quantities of food and decreases appetite. This helps patients move on to a healthy diet and easily lose weight. Patients can leave the hospital in just 2 hrs.

2. Gastric Band:

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure involves placing an adjustable, inflatable silicone band around the upper part of the stomach. The band acts as a restricting belt around the upper part of the stomach, limiting the quantity of food that a person can eat at one time.

Thus, patients are able to eat only small quantities of food at any given time. In addition, the gastric band can be adjusted (ie, tightened or relaxed based on patient weight loss requirements) on an out-patient basis comfortably without any further surgery. Thus patients can control their food consumption quantity which results in better weight loss results.

3. Gastric Sleeve

This is a type of Restrictive Bariatric Surgery which works by reducing the stomach capacity.

In this surgery, the stomach size is reduced to create a long narrow tube. This leaves approximately 15% of the stomach to receive food, thus limiting greatly the amount of food that can be consumed in each meal. The smaller meal size stimulates the body to burn previously stored fat for energy, thus giving considerable weight loss.

Being laparoscopic, the procedure is almost pain-free and cosmetically appealing. The removed portion of the stomach is responsible for secreting the hormone ‘Ghrelin’ which stimulates hunger. Because Ghrelin secretion reduces the following Sleeve, appetite, and feelings of hunger reduce significantly.

4. Gastric Bypass(Roux-en-Y):

This is a Bariatric procedure which has a combination of restrictive and mal-absorptive effects to give the patient long-term desired weight loss with the resolution of health problems such as Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol levels etc.

In this procedure, first, the stomach is reduced to the size of a small pouch, so less food can be consumed at each meal. This small stomach pouch is then connected to the lower segment of the small intestine with laparoscopic techniques. Food thus bypasses the lower stomach, the first segment of the small intestine (duodenum) and early part of the second segment (jejunum) and directly enters the lower segment of the small intestine because of which the intestinal digestive pathway gets rerouted.

5. Gastric Imbrication:

This is a Reversible procedure for weight loss.

The stomach bag is folded on itself using stitches to reduce its size and reduce the capacity of the stomach. Thus the quantity of food that can be consumed is reduced and patients can lose weight. The surgery is reversible because the stitches if needed can be removed in the future.

6. Mini Gastric Bypass

This is a Laparoscopic procedure, suggested as an alternative to the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, due to the simplicity of its construction, which minimizes the surgical time and decreases the overall complication rate.

A long narrow tube of the stomach is created and the lower small intestine is then attached to this stomach tube. Food directly enters the lower small intestine, bypassing the early portion of small intestine, thus decreasing absorption of calories and giving weight loss.

Need to know about Bariatric Surgeries? Consult a Surgeon now.