Gastric bypass surgery is done to primarily solve or treat morbid or severe obesity and other health problems associated with it. With this procedure the stomach is made smaller. The food will bypass part of the small intestine. By doing so, the patient will consume less because he feels full immediately. Getting full easily would reduce the calories taken by the body and eventually lead to weight loss.

Actually, gastric bypass is just among the many similar operations to reduce obesity. To refer all of these procedures, bariatric surgery is the term. These operations intend to reduce accumulated fatty tissues by altering the physiological and psychological attitude of a patient towards food and eating.

How does it alter normal digestion?

What normally happens is that after eating, the food would go through the stomach and then proceed to the small intestine. The nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine before it goes to the large intestine where waste is eventually pushed out of the body. The most common gastric bypass procedure, the Roux-en Y gastric bypass, alters this process.

In the Roux-en gastric bypass, a small pouch is made on the top part of the stomach. The lower part of the stomach, which is much smaller now, is connected directly to the middle part of the small intestine. The stomach was made smaller and at the same time, the intestine was cut short, the upper portion of the small intestine was bypassed. Both the upper portion of the stomach and the small intestine no longer digest food.

Statistics showed that patients would lose 60%, on the average, of their weight after the gastric bypass surgery. There are even who would say that they have lost 80% of their weight. There are studies showing that about 90% of patient who have undergone gastric surgery were able to maintain their weight loss after ten years of having the surgery performed.

Having gastric surgery is not risk-free though. People who have undergone this procedure would report more cases of gallstones, in other studies, they would also report nutritional issues like anemia or osteoporosis.

Every year there are about 140,000 gastric procedure being performed in the United States alone. The results could really be successful, with people being able to get better weight-loss results, however, about 2% of patients would find it very fatal. In the 2%, one percent could be as a result of complications during surgery. The heart in unable to support the pumping it has to do to handle the excess weight or the complication brought by it.

The other one percent cause of fatality among people who gone through the procedure, would be about not following the dietary restrictions that should be followed after the surgery. After gastric surgery, the body could no longer handle too much intake of high-sugar and high-fat food. There is a special diet that those who have just undergone the surgery should follow. Bypass diet would usually include foods that are high in protein but low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. There are vitamins and mineral supplements that are required to be taken to avoid health and nutritional deficiencies.

With more and more people turning to gastric bypass surgery as a weight-loss option, it is important to understand not only the procedure and the benefits. It is also important to weigh the risks and if our lifestyle and our body would be able to handle the dramatic loss of weight.

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If you have been searching for an alternative form of weight loss you may want to consider laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. This is probably one of the most popular trends in terms of medical procedures for people that are suffering from morbid obesity. The problem with this new trend is that a lot of people that are suffering from morbid obesity have become interested in getting this procedure done. There are many things to consider before getting this surgery. It is commonly only recommended for people that are experiencing medical issues due to their weight. Although there are some doctors that will perform this procedure for cosmetic reasons, for the most part doctors and medical health professionals try to encourage people to try all of their other options before resorting to the surgery.

If you are considering having the laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure done, there are many things that you must take into consideration before doing so. First of all you may want to think of the cost. This procedure can often be quite costly depending on where you live. Your national healthcare plan may deem this surgery as cosmetic, if this is the case you will most likely have to pay. On the other hand, if the procedure is considered medical than you may have the chance to get it covered by your plan, or at least a portion of it.

There are many tests that your doctor or medical health professional must run on you before having this procedure. Some of the things that you may expect to experience includes studies to assess the condition of your pulmonary, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems. A lot of doctors will also give you a psychological evaluation to try and determine how well you will be able to adapt to the changes. This is one of the key tests that doctors use to determine if a patient is prepared for laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Although the surgery can be reversed, it is important to consider all of the benefits and risks before hand in order to make an educated decision on whether or not this procedure is right for you.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with exactly how this procedure works, allow me to explain. It is actually quite a simple surgery that usually only lasts around 45 minutes on average. Of course this will vary depending on the doctor and the specifics of the laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Length of the surgery may vary depending on where you live. The surgery works by splitting your stomach into two pouches, the upper which is the smaller of the two and the lower which is the largest. After this is done the doctor simply reconnect you small intestine to both pouches to allow them to function normally. This procedure has been proven to decrease hunger while at the same time increases the feeling of being full. This is understandably an ideal situation for people that are interested in losing weight.

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Many people are finding themselves in a ‘catch 22’ situation these days: they desperately need to have gastric bypass surgery, but they can’t get it since they either don’t have insurance, or the insurance that they have doesn’t cover the cost. There are real benefits to the surgery and for those people who are suffering from severe obesity related health issues, the need is even more urgent. This article will show you what the cost of gastric bypass surgery is which may make it easier for you to decide on the best course of action for you and your health.

Unfortunately, insurance companies seem to be run primarily by short sighted bean counters, people who only look at the bottom line and won’t consider any procedure that will cost money. When it comes to gastric bypass surgery, this short sighted approach is actually costing the insurance companies more money. Why? Because they will be paying to treat diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many other obesity related illnesses for many years. By approving just one gastric bypass procedure they could be dramatically reducing the number of claims they get for the other obesity related illnesses.

One word of caution: don’t automatically assume that your insurance company won’t cover the surgery particularly if you are morbidly obese and have been for many years. Many companies will also do a complete physical, and emotional, workup before making a decision on whether or not to allow the procedure. More and more insurance companies are coming to understand the benefits of allowing this type of surgery, make sure you check with your company.

The cost of the surgery can range from between $15,000 and $25,000. Some clinics who perform the procedure will allow the patient to set up a payment plan, again, it’s important that you don’t assume anything and instead ask the question.

Some people are also having success by going to other countries, such as Mexico, to have the procedure done. In some cases well qualified doctors can perform the surgery much cheaper in other countries due to the fact that they don’t have to pay the ridiculously high mal practice insurance premiums that they need in the U.S. to protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits.

If you opt to have your surgery done somewhere else it’s very important that you carefully research to find a highly qualified doctor and clinic to perform the procedure. While it’s possible to save some money, you want to make sure you aren’t sacrificing quality or safety.

The bottom line is this: the cost of gastric bypass surgery can be high, but if you are morbidly obese and are suffering from a multitude of other health issues, you should try to do everything possible to get your weight to a more normal level. Make sure you ask questions and don’t just assume that you can’t afford the procedure, you may be surprised at some of the help that is available. Your employer may even be able to provide some help with this issue. Just don’t give up, keep working on ways to improve your health.

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