Bariatric surgery is a category of surgeries dedicated to changing your digestive system to limit the amount of food you can eat or how much food your body can absorb. Bariatric surgery is commonly used to treat severe obesity, but it can also be used for mild to moderate obesity as a preventative measure to improve your health and quality of life.
What Happens During Bariatric Surgery?
When you undergo bariatric surgery, your surgeon will alter your digestive system to help your weight loss efforts. The surgical measures taken to achieve this will change depending on the type of surgery you have done.
In a sleeve gastrectomy, around 80% of your stomach is removed to make a small banana sized stomach instead. With a gastric bypass, the top of your stomach is stapled into an egg-sized pouch and attached to a portion of your small intestine to essentially create a “shortcut” that limits how much food your body absorbs.
Most bariatric surgeries are done laparoscopically to reduce pain, scarring, and recovery time. If a laparoscopic approach does not suit your needs, your surgeon can perform bariatric surgery in a traditional large-incision surgery. For more information, check out our comprehensive bariatric surgery guide here.
Bariatric Surgery Myths
Weight loss is a heavily debated topic, with everyone having a different opinion on what is the “best” method to use to lose weight. The hard reality is that weight loss is a difficult task regardless if you are trying to lose five pounds or a hundred pounds.
Due to the convoluted nature of weight loss, there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding bariatric surgery. To fully understand the benefits and realities of bariatric surgery, we are going to debunk a few common myths you may have heard about weight loss surgeries.
Myth #1: Bariatric Surgery is the “Easy Way Out”
Bariatric surgery is misconstrued as an easy way out because it helps people lose weight through a surgery instead of traditional diet and exercise. On the surface, it appears that you can simply have a surgery, shed the weight, and move on with your life, but that cannot be further from the truth.
To be considered for bariatric surgery, you have to go through months of consultation appointments and a healthy living program that includes classes on diet, exercise, and more. The goal of this process is to encourage a bariatric surgery recipient to establish new, healthy habits to maximize the results of their surgery and prevent them from regaining the weight later on.
Another reason bariatric surgery sounds like a shortcut is due to the misconception that it is the first weight loss method someone tries. Surgery is usually the last effort taken towards weight loss since surgery can come with risks or have complications. People living with obesity usually try traditional methods before considering surgery, and they only go the surgical route after multiple methods without success.
Myth #2: Bariatric Surgery is Dangerous
Every surgery has risks that your doctor will discuss with you prior to the surgery, but bariatric surgery is not as dangerous as commonly believed. When it comes to evaluating risks with bariatric surgery, the comparison shifts to ask how surgery risks compare to risks from obesity.
Obesity can increase your risk of multiple health complications, including:
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure/Hypertension
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
Conditions like those listed above can heavily impact your quality of life, and in some cases be fatal. By losing weight through traditional methods or bariatric surgery, you can greatly reduce your chances of developing these conditions. If you already have one of these conditions, losing weight can help improve your symptoms and decrease your chances of premature death.
In comparison to other major procedures, bariatric surgery poses the same risk level as other surgeries, such as having your gallbladder removed. Medical advancements have greatly reduced the risk of bariatric surgery since it became a practice in the mid-1900s.
Bariatric surgery is commonly performed laparoscopically, allowing skilled surgeons to make a small incision and perform the surgery with a probe. Laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive and allows you to have a shorter recovery time versus a large incision.
Myth #3: You Gain the Weight Back After Surgery
Results from having a bariatric surgery are the most noticeable within the first year or two following your surgery. The extent of your results from bariatric surgery will depend on your habits and lifestyle changes after the surgery. With diet and exercise changes, around 70% of bariatric patients maintain their weight loss five years after surgery.
Myth #4: No Insurance Plan Will Cover Bariatric Surgery
Medical expenses and visits can get expensive when they are not covered through your insurance. Each insurance plan is different, but there are many insurance plans that do cover bariatric surgery.
Your insurance company and others commonly approve weight loss surgeries when you have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more and a health condition caused by your weight, such as:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension/high-blood pressure
- Arthritis
- Sleep apnea
If you have a BMI over 40, your insurance company may not require you to have another condition. To know if your surgery can be covered through insurance, make sure to talk to your bariatric surgeon and your insurance representative.
Myth #5: All Bariatric Surgeries are the Same
Not every bariatric surgery does the same thing. Each surgery aims to take weight loss using different techniques to achieve different outcomes. Different surgeries that fall under bariatric surgery include:
- Sleeve Gastrectomy: Reduces your stomach to a smaller size by removing the majority of your stomach, allowing you to feel full after eating smaller portions.
- Gastric Bypass Surgery: Allows you to feel full sooner by creating a “shortcut” from your stomach to your small intestine.
- Duodenal Switch Surgery: Combines a sleeve gastrectomy with a bypass of most of your small intestine.
- Revisional Bariatric Procedures: Used to modify or repair a previous bariatric surgery.
After discussing your health goals and conditions with your surgeon, they will evaluate which procedure will work best for you.
Myth #6: You Only Get Bariatric Surgery for Cosmetic Reasons
Although the weight loss from bariatric surgery will change your appearance, cosmetics is not the primary objective of bariatric surgery. Weight loss procedures focus on weight loss as a means to reduce the impact caused by weight-related chronic health conditions.
Bariatric surgery can help you lose weight regardless if you need to lose 50 pounds or over 100 pounds. When you are considering bariatric surgery, think through the long term benefits more than the cosmetic changes to focus on making progress on your health journey.
Bariatric Surgery at Nashville Bariatrics
If you are considering bariatric surgery for weight loss, our experienced surgeon, Dr. Patrick Davis, at Nashville Bariatrics can help. Dr. Davis can help you find the best surgical option for your goals and consult on your next steps in your weight loss journey.
We provide self-payment options and financing plans for patients without insurance coverage or whose procedures are not covered.
Set up a consultation today to discuss how bariatric surgery can transform your life.
Visit Nashville Bariatrics at 393 Wallace Rd Ste 301, Bldg A Nashville, TN 37211, or call us at 615.425.0550.
Dr. Davis and his team are ready to guide you toward a healthier lifestyle.