A Second Chance at Life - Gastric Bypass Surgery

A Second Chance at Life:

Gastric Bypass Surgery

In the recent years, American adults and even children have become morbidly obese, which has fueled a campaign for an effective intervention. The intervention that is beginning to receive widespread popularity is gastric bypass surgery. According to Tish Davidson and Teresa G. Odle in the article 'Obesity Surgery,' "gastric bypass surgery [is] probably the most common type of obesity surgery; gastric bypass surgery has been performed in the United States for about 25 years. In this procedure, the volume of the stomach is reduced by four rows of stainless steel staples that separate the main body of the stomach from a small, newly created pouch. The pouch is attached at one end to the esophagus. At the other end is a very small opening into the small intestine. Food flows though this pouch, bypassing the main portion of the stomach and emptying slowly into the small intestine where it is absorbed." This limits the amount of food an individual can consume, which helps to prevent overeating. Therefore, gastric bypass surgery is the best way to lose the unwanted pounds and keep it off because of the low post surgical complications, exuberant long lasting results, and decrease in obesity related heath problems.

Even though gastric bypass may be a vast growing surgery; there are many requirements a candidate must meet before going under the knife (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Parisi, Mark. "Off the Mark." Off the Mark. 25 April 2005

Gastric bypass is life changing procedure that is not to be taken lightly by any means.

Only those persons deemed morbidly obese and that have been unable to lose weight through diet and exercise qualify for... surgery. Criteria includes having a body mass index of more than 40, which equates to about 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women. (Sanchez)

There are many heath risks associated with any medical procedure. Gastric bypass beyond a doubt helps people shed on average about half their original weight, however, with such a dramatic weight loss and decrease in stomach size comes substantive side effects. David Bjerklie emphasizes that "there are risks, including... patients [that]... developed nerve damage ranging from minor tingling in the feet to incapaciting pain and weakness," but many of the problems can be avoided by taking proper care by enrolling in nutrition programs. In many cases people "complain of increased sensitivity or reduced tolerance to the effects of alcohol compared with their experience before the operation. This might be explained... [by]... the dramatic reduction in body weight... [or]... rapid absorption of ethanol..." (Klockhoff)

After the gastric bypass