Considering Weight loss surgery?

Are you considering weight loss surgery and not sure where to start?

The information below will give you an insight into whether or not you are eligible for weight loss surgery and the types of surgeries available.

The type of surgery performed varies according to the patient’s needs and expectations. Your surgeon will need to consider a number of factors before they are able to advise which weight loss surgery is best suited to you.

Below we give a brief outline of the most common treatment options.

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Being eligible for weight loss surgery is dependent on a number of factors; your age, weight and medical history. As a guide, we follow the same guidelines as the NHS, the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) Guidelines, which states that people wishing to seek treatment for obesity must fit one of the following criteria:

• A BMI +35 with other weight related illness such as sleep apnoea, heart conditions or Type 2 Diabetes; or
• A BMI + 40 if they do not have additional health related illnesses.

As private specialists in this field we understand there are some exceptions to the above rules. If you have been unsuccessful in losing weight and, have an obese BMI, we may be able to help you.

Get in touch with us today to book a consultation and find out how we can help you.

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A non-surgical weight loss treatment option is a gastric balloon.

The gastric balloon is a soft silicone structure that is inserted into the stomach in a collapsed state. The 20 minute procedure only requires mild sedation. The gastric balloon is introduced endoscopically through the mouth before entering the stomach. Once in place, it is inflated with either air or saline until it occupies a significant portion of the stomach. The balloon stimulates the satiety receptors to produce a sense of fullness, therefore reducing the desire to eat large portions of food.

Find out more about the Gastric Balloon here.
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The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) is the least invasive, permanent surgical weight loss treatment. It can usually be performed as a day-case or with an overnight stay in hospital. Most patients will be back to normal activities, including work, within a week.

The gastric band is placed just below the oesophagus, at the top of the stomach, with a very small pouch of stomach above the band. The Lap-Band can be adjusted, by injecting saline, through an access port, buried beneath the skin of the abdominal wall. As saline is added to the gastric band, the pressure on the upper stomach increases; this increased pressure reduces appetite. When the gastric band is correctly adjusted patients become much less interested in food, with control of their appetite. This is the key to success; diets usually fail, because patients cannot sustain the intense will power needed to fight their appetite day after day, month after month when dieting. By inhibiting appetite, the gastric band allows patients to work with a diet. In addition to controlling appetite, the gastric band makes patients slow down when they eat, reducing portion size. Daily calorie intake is reduced by controlling portion size and reducing appetite, with steady weight loss following. Patients need to be prepared to work hard with the gastric band, to get the weight loss they want.

Find out more about the Gastric Band here.
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Gastric bypass surgery is the gold standard against which all other obesity operations are judged.

Using key-hole surgery, under general anaesthetic, a small rectangular pouch is formed from the upper stomach.

This small pouch reduces portion size dramatically; initially after surgery, patients can only eat very small portions. In the longer-term, most patients will be able to eat a child’s size portion.

After gastric bypass, food no longer passes through the stomach into the duodenum. Food bypasses the stomach, duodenum and approximately 80 to 150cm of the small intestine. Food still mixes with all the digestive juices produced by the liver, pancreas and stomach, but further down the bowel than before surgery. This bypassing of the stomach and small intestine, interferes with hormones produced by the gut that control appetite, so it is normal for patients not to feel hungry after surgery.

By, reducing portion size and decreasing a patient’s appetite, their daily calorie consumption is reduced to approximately 600 calories. Rapid, reliable weight loss occurs.
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The gastric sleeve or sleeve gastrectomy, is a restrictive procedure, which reduces the volume of the stomach. Keyhole surgery is used to remove 90% of the stomach, changing it from an expandable reservoir for eaten food, to a narrow tube approximately 1cm in diameter.

By removing, the part of the stomach that contains cells that release the appetite controlling hormone ghrelin, the surgery makes patients less hungry. The capacity of the sleeve is much less than a normal stomach, so portion sizes are much smaller.

You can find more information on any of the above surgical procedures here.

Streamline Surgical provides life changing weight loss surgery. Bariatric surgery isn’t simply about losing weight. The transformation our patients go through in terms of their self-esteem, health and happiness as well as weight loss is what makes our job so fulfilling.

From the first time that you see us you will be in the hands of our nationally recognised surgeons, all of whom are members of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) and the International Federation of the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO). With enviable UK and international reputations, we offer the highest levels of expertise and care in all of our centres.

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Don’t wait any longer contact us today to see how we can help you.