What are the options for weight loss surgery? The most common options done worldwide are: gastric bypass, Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB), and sleeve gastrectomy. I’m going to give you the basics on all of these. You can also watch our complete online webinar on Weight Loss Surgery Options.
Gastric bypass has been around for a long period of time. The first gastric bypass was done in 1955. It’s been around for over 60 years. It’s a well-studied operation. We know what happens to people who have gastric bypass. We know the problems that arise and what to do about the problems. It’s a very well-studied operation.
Adjustable gastric bands have been around in the US since 2001. Worldwide they’ve been around since the early 1990’s. Why do you care how long an operation has been around? We talk about long-term problems and long term results. By medical definition, long-term means 10 years long. That wouldn’t matter if I was talking about brain surgery, heart surgery, or knee surgery. It doesn’t matter. With weight loss we’re going to be talking about things that literally can last 20, 30 or 40 years. If you’re fairly young it could be 50 or 60 years. Looking at the long-term issues is very important and how it impacts your health for your lifetime.
The sleeve gastrectomy is the new kid on the block. It’s not a new operation. We used to do the surgeries for other reasons not including weight loss. About 15 years ago a hormone was discovered called ghrelin. It’s a hormone made by part of the stomach that makes you feel hungry. We thought if we took that part of the stomach out, we’ve actually done two things. First we’ve made you a smaller stomach so you can’t eat very much. Secondly, when you take that part of the stomach out, ghrelin levels go way down. Since ghrelin makes you feel hungry, hunger levels go way down in its absence. If you think about it, one of the potential downfalls of every single weight loss plan in the world is hunger. If we can control hunger it’s a lot easier to lose weight and keep the weight off. Sleeve gastrectomy is the fastest growing option out there. It is the most common operation for weight loss right now. Last year about 2/3 of all operations done for weight loss were the sleeve gastrectomy in the US. It’s over 95% of what I do these days because it works so well and we see a quick recovery with very low risk. It keeps your anatomy normal.
How does CFWLS compare to the national average? Obviously we’re doing this for weight loss to improve medical problems and improve your life. We’re doing the same thing as everyone else in the world but we’re seeing better weight loss. We have a 15.8% better average weight loss at 2 years. We have good education and weight loss. We give you a full year afterward. And with that better weight loss we also see better reduction in medical problems: Diabetes 78.6% vs 62.3%, HTN 62.5% vs 46.9%, lipids 70.7% vs 45.3%, sleep apnea 69.4% vs 56.6%, and GERD 74.3% vs 16.6%. Some people think weight loss surgery shouldn’t be done on patients with GERD. But we’ve seen it get much better, not worse. Again, it’s not the operation. It’s what you do with the operation. If you do the right things it can fix these medical problems.
Why is the education and support so important? We have Weight Management University for Weight Loss Surgery™. It’s a 12-month post-op program. It includes all kinds of thing including the following: preop and postop text books, monthly support group, 12 WMU4WLS courses, access to a private membership site via CFWLS.com, “Losing Weight USA” (weekly live webinars with access to Dr. Clark), and a private Facebook support group.
What should you do? You need to decide what’s best for your unique situation. There is no right or wrong here. What I encourage you to do is give us a call and set up a 1:1 consultation to discuss the options. Let’s you and I sit down and go over your situation. Everybody’s situation is different. Give us a call at (757) 873-1880 or email us at success@cfwls.com.
I have some final thoughts for you. Weight loss is the most important step you can make to improve your health!! There are so many medical problems that are directly related to weight loss. If we can control weight, we can control medical problems. If we can control all these medical problems it gives you the best chance of living a long, healthy life.
Watch the online seminar and give us a call (757-873-1880) and set up your 1:1 appointment. If weight is contributing to your health problems let us help you. I hope to see you very shortly here in the office.
Cat Keller has a wealth of experience in marketing, e-marketing, advertising and customer service and manages our Weight Loss Nutritional Store. She is always planning something fun and exciting. special events, discounts, giveaways – it’s never a dull moment. She is happy to help you with questions you may have regarding our products or services. Cat is a graduate of William & Mary, where she studied Government/Pre-Law and minored in Marketing.