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Facts About Sleeve Gastrectomy New York Patients May Benefit From

By Gregory Anderson


Obesity is a condition that has negatively affected the lives of many individuals in the world today. It is particularly common among people whose daily diet is high in cholesterol and people whose lifestyle is largely sedentary. However, weight gain can occur even in people with a healthy lifestyle. This is especially true if it is genetic or if the individual is diabetic. Surgery is a big savior where lifestyle modification fails to yield positive results. These are some of the basic principles about sleeve gastrectomy New York residents may find useful.

In simple terms, gastrectomy means removing a part or all of the stomach through surgery. On the other hand, the term sleeve simply refers to a tube like structure. Therefore, sleeve gastrectomy entails longitudinal removal of a large portion of your stomach, leaving only about twenty percent of the original size. In the past, this operation was an initial step in a two step weight loss surgery. With the significant amount of weight loss that occurred soon after this first step, sleeve gastrectomy has in recent times, been done as a stand alone procedure.

Like any form of operation, there are potential risks. Some complications that can arise include aspiration, bleeding, infection and venous thrombosis among others. For this reason, patients are required to fast for a period of at least six hours before surgery. Also, those on hormonal pills are advised to stop taking them some weeks prior. The doctor has to ensure that you have enough blood in your body to compensate for bleeding. Minimally invasive surgery(laparoscopy) is the preferred method of choice as it carries less risk of the aforementioned complications.

Pain is expected after the operation and therefore pain relievers should be freely available to the individual. Also, one should not be in a hurry to resume their usual diet as the intestines take time to begin working again. As such, the initial food may only be fluids and semi solids with introduction of solids only when one has fully recovered. In addition, it is unwise for the patient to partake in activities that cause strain as they may impair healing of their wound.

The average amount of weight loss from this procedure is sixty percent you excess weight. This does not happen immediately but in about eighteen months. At some point, the patient may stop losing weight before reaching the target. This is because the body responds by slowing down the rate of metabolism in order to compensate for the drastic loss. Therefore, one needs to actively exercise to get past this stage.

Compared to other weight loss surgeries, the duration of sleeve gastrectomy is much shorter. This is simply because the intestines remain untouched in this procedure. Hence, the risk of dumping syndrome is not in the picture. Another advantage is the fact that one does not easily fall hungry since the hormone(ghrelin) responsible for it is eliminated in the procedure.

The disadvantage of this kind of operation is the tendency to have mood swings. This is due to the changes in hormone levels in response to losing large amount of weight over a short period of time. Such individuals also tend to easily get tired and their personality may change over time. Also it is not guaranteed that the person will not gain weight again if additional measures are not employed.

In summary, keeping that figure you have always wished to have is not permanently achieved through the surgery alone. The operation totally changes your life. It means making conscious decisions about your diet and making physical exercise your best friend.




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