Weight Loss Surgery or Bariatric Surgery is a procedure designed to help the patient to lose weight. There are multiple available procedures to achieve this goal.
Principles of bariatric surgery include restricting the amount of food the stomach can hold, produce malabsorption of calories, or by a combination of both. Making the stomach smaller can help the patient feels satisfied with less amount of food.
Bariatric procedures also often cause hormonal changes that makes it easier for the patients through their weight loss journey. These hormonal changes may resolve some of the obesity related disease such diabetes mellitus.
Weight loss surgery is intended for people who are 100 pounds or more overweight. A formula called “BMI” or the Body Mass Index is used to calculate the relationship between the hight and the weight of the patient. A BMI 40 or greater is an indication of surgery. A person with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or greater and one or more co-morbid condition also may qualify for bariatric surgery.
Most weight loss surgeries today are performed using minimally invasive techniques (laparoscopic surgery).