Pyramid Rx

Weight Loss Surgery

Going under the knife may seem like a desperate measure but for many people who suffer from obesity, weight loss surgery may be a viable option.

In a gastric bypass procedure, doctors shrink a patient's stomach from the size of a football to the size of a golf ball by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach, from which the rest of the stomach is separated. A segment of the small intestine is then attached to the pouch, allowing food to bypass most of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine.

Before undergoing weight loss surgery many obese patients give prescription diet pills a try. To read more about these weight loss medications or to order them from the online pharmacy, use the menu to the left under "Weight Loss".

Here are some reasons not to elect for weight loss surgery:

• It's very expensive
• Recovery can be very painful
• Recuperation can take a long time
• Weight loss surgery can be dangerous

Many health insurance companies don't pay for weight loss surgery, and even when they do, co-payments and other costs add up to a lot of money in no time at all. Also, it can become very costly to constantly have to buy new clothes as the weight comes off.

Besides the pain from the weight loss surgery wound, patients may experience nausea or severe gastric distress. Patients with sleep apnea may become sleep-deprived, with all of the associated adverse affects.

As many as 5% of surgery patients may die from the procedure, and up to 5% may experience debilitating medical complications as a result of their weight loss surgery.

For further reading, here are some online resources for more information:

Obesity (Gastric bypass) Surgery Information - Links to articles on surgical procedures, personal experiences, and FAQs on surgery and obesity.

MedlinePlus: Weight Loss Surgery - Search MEDLINE for recent research articles on Weight Loss Surgery.

ObesityHelp.com - Founded in 1998, we are the internet's meeting place for information and resources on obesity and bariatric (weight loss) surgery.