Obesity is a serious, chronic disease that is known to reduce a person’s lifespan, increase disabilities and create many co-morbid conditions. A weight problem is more than just appearance: obesity is a health hazard. According to the National Institutes of Health, 66 percent of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese. Obesity not only affects adults, but 25 percent of American children are obese, and obesity is now the leading cause of preventable deaths. Being overweight or obese can cause diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, hypertension, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and other breathing problems and some forms of cancer.
Obesity also is associated with complications during pregnancy, menstrual irregularities, stress incontinence, psychological disorders, depression and increased mortality.
Even though these statistics are astonishing, hope is available through minimally invasive surgery performed at Self Regional Healthcare.
Self Regional Healthcare offers a thorough, multidisciplinary program involving informational lectures, preoperative and postoperative classes, support groups, nutritional and exercise support, guidance, psychological support and medical support. This program will assist you in your adaptation to the lifestyle expectations necessary for a successful outcome. A fully trained team will provide quality care during your journey to the new you. The goal of weight-loss surgery is to allow people to regain a better quality and healthier life; however, we must emphasize that the surgery itself is just a tool to help you bring this goal to reality.
If you think you would benefit from our program, please contact Bariatric Coordinator Cynthia Iwig, RN,BSN at ciwig@selfregional.org or at (864) 725-7051.
Bariatric surgery reduces the amount of food and calories that can be ingested at each meal, but this procedure involves more than just surgery. It is about changing lifestyles and habits and requires patient dedication to achieve good results. Patients are assisted with this through extensive pre-surgery counseling, support group meetings and post-surgery follow-up.
Before being accepted as a candidate for surgery, patients must meet the following criteria:
In the BMI calculator below, select your gender and then move the red slider handles and select your height and weight. The results of the BMI calculations are displayed below. Note that these are approximate values and are intended to be used only as a rough guide.
If you fit any of these criteria and are interested in Self Regional Healthcare’s Surgical Weight Management Service, please contact Cynthia Iwig, RN, BSN at (864) 725-7051 to register for the monthly informational session about our program.
The Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAP-BAND®) procedure is a purely restrictive procedure and is a minimally invasive approach to weight-loss surgery. Smaller incisions mean less pain, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker recovery.
The operation involves placing a silastic “belt” around the upper part of the stomach, which essentially separates the stomach into two parts: a tiny upper pouch and a larger lower pouch.
The band is connected by tubing to a port that sits below the skin of the abdominal wall, usually near the belly button. The port can’t be seen from the outside. Inside the belt is a balloon that can be filled by placing fluid through the port. As the balloon is filled, it slows the passage of food from the upper pouch into the lower pouch. As the band is progressively filled, patients will feel full with smaller amounts of food. Band patients typically lose one or two pounds per week during the first year.
There are several features that make the adjustable gastric band appealing. There is minimal stress to the body at the time of surgery because the band is almost always done laparoscopically and does not involve cutting the stomach or rerouting the intestines. Most patients can go home the next morning. Recovery from surgery is usually quick and most people return to work within a week or so after surgery.
Patients contemplating gastric banding must be comfortable with the thought of having a “foreign body” in them for life. Although no problems have been reported to date, it is unknown what the effect of having this foreign body will be in 20-30 years. It is also unclear at this point what the long-term (more than 10 years) weight-loss results with this operation will be, although the early data is promising.
After banding, patients need to be available for regular follow-up, especially in the first year after surgery when the band is being “tightened.” If you live several hours from Self Regional, this can be difficult.
Band patients do not suffer adverse effects from eating sugars (dumping syndrome) so they need to be more disciplined in their food choices. Things such as sodas, ice cream, cake and cookies slide through the band easily, but obviously these choices will not lead to the desired goal of significant weight-loss.
Although the band has an excellent safety profile, there are complications that can occur with any weight-loss operation, and the band is no different.
The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure combines restrictive and malabsorptive techniques and is currently the most popular technique of weight-loss surgery. During the procedure, stapling and cutting is used to create a small, upper-stomach pouch, which restricts the amount of food able to be consumed. A portion of small bowel is bypassed, which delays food from mixing with digestive juices to avoid complete calorie absorption.
Gastric bypass patients typically lose 60 percent of excess weight in the first year following surgery.
Surgery should not be considered until you and your doctor have evaluated all other options. The proper approach to weight-loss surgery requires careful consideration and discussion of the following with your doctor:
The modifications made to your gastrointestinal tract will require permanent changes in your eating habits that must be adhered to for successful weight loss. Post surgery dietary guidelines will vary by surgeon. You might hear of other patients who are given different guidelines, but it is important to remember that every surgeon does not perform the same weight-loss surgery procedure and that the dietary guidelines will be different for each surgeon and each type of procedure. What is most important is that you adhere strictly to your surgeon’s recommended guidelines.
Following are some of the generally accepted dietary guidelines a weight-loss surgery patient might encounter:
An information session is the first step in the Self Regional Healthcare Surgical Weight Management program. The session offers the opportunity to learn more about the surgical procedures, expected outcomes of weight-loss surgery, necessary lifestyle changes, as well as the risks and benefits associated with both options.
The free sessions are offered monthly. To register, call Cynthia Iwig, bariatric program coordinator, at (864) 725-7051. Space is limited, and participants are encouraged to bring a support person to the session.
Please search our physician directory by clicking here or call (864) 725-6058 for the name of a surgeon in your area.
