As a leading providing of Melbourne bariatric transportation, we have seen the changes facilitated by weight loss surgery. According to most estimates, around 80% of patients experience good long-term results after bariatric surgery.
There are still a few health risks to consider before undergoing weight loss surgery. It’s also important to note that weight loss surgery in itself is not a cure-all for obesity, but requires dedicated lifestyle and dietary changes to see the best long-term results.
What Is Bariatric Surgery?
Any surgical procedure that limits food intake and/or malabsorption of calories is classified as bariatric surgery.
There are four main types of bariatric surgery:
-Gastric Bypass
-Sleeve Gastrectomy
-Adjustable Gastric Band (gastric banding)
-Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch
Advancements in technology now allow doctors to perform these surgeries using minimally invasive techniques. Weight loss surgery alone does not guarantee weight loss, but instead works as a helpful assistant in the process. In order to loss weight and keep it off, patients must be committed to the necessary lifestyle changes. When weight loss surgery is combined with diet and exercise, it provides life-changing results that allow you to live your life as you want and pursue your dreams.
Long-Term Weight Loss From Bariatric Surgery
Patients that maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle generally retain 50% of their excess weight loss five years post-surgery. As a result of losing the weight and keeping it off, patients report a much higher quality of life, including an improvement or resolution of over 40 conditions related to obesity.
How Bariatric Surgery Can Save You Money & Help You Earn More Money
According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, weight loss decreases your chances of developing a deadly cancer by 60%, as well as coronary artery disease by 56% and type 2 diabetes by 92%.
Patients that are able to lose weight and keep it off thanks to bariatric surgery see an improvement in their financial picture as well. Medical expenses decrease as much as 29% within 5-years of getting bariatric surgery. Weight loss also correlates with higher earned wages, increasing average annual salary by around $2,765 per year.
Can You Regain The Weight After Bariatric Surgery?
You can always regain the weight, even after successfully losing weight following weight loss surgery. While patients are generally very excited about their weight loss and all of the benefits that come with, it’s easy to slip back into old habits and regain weight. That’s why long-term care is so important even many years after surgery. Follow ups are key, especially in regards to nutrition, the most important aspect to maintaining weight loss.
Weight loss tends to plateau around the two-year mark, at which point you’re not consistently losing weight anymore. Even though weight loss isn’t as obvious anymore, it’s still important to keep up with diet and exercise. Otherwise, weight gain could start all over again.
Health Risks Associated With Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery is used as a last resort when other weight loss measures are not working. That being said, when bariatric surgery takes place it is generally a life-saving procedure. Even if the patient’s life is not in danger yet, long-term obesity comes with countless life threatening health problems.
The risks associated with bariatric surgery are generally less extreme then the diseases that arise from obesity. Still, it’s important to know and understand the potential risks associated with bariatric surgery, such as:
-Postoperative pain and a slow and difficult healing process.
-An increased risk for iatrogenic splenectomy and abdominal wall complications.
-Around 20% of patients develop incisional hernias.
Different types of bariatric surgeries can make you more prone to different complications. For instance, the laparoscopic surgical approach tends to provide reduced postoperative pain and wound complications, as well as increased postoperative pulmonary function, but laparoscopic surgery can increase the risk for gastrointestinal bleeding, anastomotic stricture and late postoperative bowel obstruction.
Other potential side effects of bariatric surgery include:
-Bowel obstructions
-Gallstones or hernias
-Diarrhea
-Nausea
-Vomiting
-Dumping syndrome
-Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
-Malnutrition (especially common in patients that do not take multivitamins and other necessary nutrients.)
-Iron or calcium deficiencies
-Staple-line failure in the pouch
-Ulcers
-Stomach perforation
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation For Bariatric Surgery
Stellar Transportation offers compassionate, safe and reliable non-emergency medical transportation for bariatric patients in Melbourne and beyond. Contact us today for a free quote!