Things to consider are:

• Amount of Excess body weight
• Health state
• Comorbidities
• Life style
• Expectations
• Procedures

There are several procedures, broadly divided into two:

Some are the restrictive procedures; That limit the amount of food you can eat; And others are malabsorptive procedures, where what you eat is not completely absorbed.

There are mixed procedures that restrict the amount you eat as well as the absorption; You could say that those are the most complete. At one time Gastric Bypass was considered the gold standard of this type of surgery, because it combined both procedures: Restrict what you eat and absorption of calories.

Gastric Bypass  consists of cutting the stomach and leaving a small pouch where it fits a small amount of food much smaller than before, and we make a short circuit where the food leaps and unites more distally towards the intestine. Depending on the length we want to give, we can jump up to 3 meters of intestine or more where there will be no absorption. By jumping the pancreas or duodenum we then have a positive metabolic effect for the patient. This surgery helps control comorbidities. Therefore, some patients with diabetes, glucose intolerance or metabolic syndrome could greatly benefit from the bypass.

Gastric sleeve

Is a restrictive procedure with metabolic changes comparable with bypass. Has become the most popular prodcedure worldwide. Which consists of cutting a part of the stomach, around 70%, thereby eliminating its great storage capacity, leaving it in the form of a tube that is calibrated with a oro-gastric boogie and cutting the rest.

With this we achieve that the patient does not eat as much food and at the same time to eat more times per day. It also gets rid of a hormone that is partly responsible for being hungry. So, if we eliminate a great part of the production of this hormone the patient has no longer the anxiety to eat.

The gastric sleeve is one of the simplest surgeries with the best results.

Duodenal Switch

This is a combine procedure, that has a restrictive and malabsorptive component, where we combine the gastric sleeve and skip a large part of the intestine leaving the absorption of food in about two meters of intestine before passing to the large intestine for elimination.

The disadvantage of the duodenal switch is that it requires a lot of care with supplements . Because the patient can become malnourished if not fed correctly. Then the patient must visit the nutritionist constantly to take care of all their nutrients and micro elements to maintain optimal health.

For more information about the gastric sleeve, or to find out which weight loss surgery is right for you, please contact VIDA Bariatrics

DR. GABRIELA RODRIGUEZ RUIZ MD Ph.D. FACS

Dr. Gabriela Rodriguez specializes in General and Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery. She brings to VIDA Wellness and Beauty a wealth of experience in bariatrics. Dr. Rodriguez is a founding associate of the Mexican College of General Surgeons. A world-class bariatric surgeon with double certification in the US and Mexico.