Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas
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Obesity Surgery  in North Texas

Overview of Obesity

Obesity is a major health problem in the United States and throughout the developed world. Millions of people in the U.S. are classified as morbidly obese which places them at significant risk for early death and suffering from one or more of the many obesity-related diseases that have a major negative impact on the quality of their lives. 

More than 41 diseases and conditions linked to obesity have been identified thus far. Common diseases related to obesity include:

• Heart disease
• Type II diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Some types of cancer
• Sleep apnea
• Degenerative joint disease
• High cholesterol
• Gastro esophageal reflux (heartburn)
• Venous disease
• Leg swelling (edema)
• Infertility
• Stress urinary incontinence (bladder leakage)
• Asthma
• Other respiratory illnesses

Bariatric Surgery

Losing weight can be a lonely and frustrating process. For many obese people, diets and/or medical therapy have not produced any real solution to their weight problems.  If you are morbidly obese and are looking for a safe and effective means to achieving permanent weight reduction, bariatric surgery (sometimes referred to as gastric bypass surgery or weight loss surgery) may be the answer for you. 

Weight loss surgery has been around since the 1950s when the first intestinal gastric bypass operations were performed.  Since then, there have been many refinements in surgical procedures for obesity and much has been learned.  Today Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and the adjustable gastric banding (LAP-BAND) are the procedures of choice for the majority of surgeons performing weight loss surgery in the United States. 

The safety and effectiveness of Roux-en-Y and LAP-BAND bariatric surgery procedures have been proven repeatedly in numerous scientific studies performed in the US and abroad. The safety of these weight loss surgeries is greatly increased when qualified surgeons dedicated to the treatment of obesity perform them.

Obesity surgery has two major mechanisms of action for achieving weight loss: restriction and malabsorption. 

Restrictive Procedures

Some bariatric surgery procedures work solely by restricting the amount of food and therefore calories a person can take in.  An example of this type of procedure is the vertical banded gastroplasty, in which a small pouch is created by stapling off the top part of the stomach, while leaving a small banded outlet into the remaining stomach to restrict the stomach's holding capacity at mealtime.  This procedure does not enjoy the popularity that it once did because numerous studies showed a significant long-term failure rate and a lesser degree of weight loss overall when compared to gastric bypass and other bariatric surgery procedures. The LAP BAND System, which addresses these concerns, has replaced vertical banded gastroplasty as the restrictive procedure of choice.

Examples of Restrictive procedures are:

LAP-BAND® System 

Malabsorptive Procedures

Malabsorptive procedures often involve rerouting the intestinal anatomy so as to reduce the body's ability to digest and absorb food. These procedures are often referred to as intestinal bypass operations or gastric bypass operations and are usually used in combination with restrictive approaches.

Examples of Restrictive procedures are:

Roux-en-Y gastric Bypass

Duodenal Switch