Why choose laparoscopic surgery for weight loss
Obesity is the name given to the condition, in which a person has accumulated an excessive amount of body fat, to the point that it has a negative impact on their health and wellbeing. Today, if a person’s bodyweight is 20% or more greater than the recommended ideal, they are classed as being obese.
Unfortunately, obesity is now a huge problem in first world countries. It is estimated that 97 million people in the United States are either overweight or obese, which is approximately 50% of the total population. Of these, as many as 11 million are classed as severely obese, and that number is predicted to rise.
There are a range of elements that are believed to contribute towards the growing obesity problem, including:
- Busier lifestyles
- Increased reliance on convenience food
- Greater choice of convenience food
- Rising cost of healthier food
- More sedentary lifestyles
For many people, it is a combination of the above factors that cause them to put on weight. However, in rarer cases, obesity may be caused by genetic or medical conditions, or taking specific medications.
Why addressing obesity is so important
Obesity has been proven to be a leading cause in a wide range of serious health conditions, including:
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Respiratory problems
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Joint problems
- Cancer
Why choose laparoscopic surgery for weight loss?
While many people adjust their diet and exercise and are successful in losing weight, in many cases the results are only temporary. People who tend to struggle with their weight often find that they lapse back into bad habits and studies have shown that nearly 65% of dieters return to their pre-dieting weight within three years.
Although it may seem extreme, weight loss surgery has been found to aid sustainable weight loss for the majority of the patients who choose it. There are many different types of weight loss surgery, and which one is right for you will need to be determined by your surgeon.
Today, in addition to conventional surgical weight loss procedures, it is now possible for patients to have their weight loss surgery performed laparoscopically.
What is laparoscopic weight loss surgery?
There are several different types of laparoscopic weight loss surgery, but they all have one thing in common – they are performed through a keyhole-sized incision in the stomach.
This is opposed to conventional weight loss surgery which requires a large part of the stomach to be cut open to enable the surgeon to both view and access the areas to be operated on.
Some of the laparoscopic weight loss procedures that we can offer include:
- Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band
- Laparoscopic Roux-enY gastric bypass
- Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy
- Laparoscopic Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch
- Two-staged weight loss operations
- Revisional weight loss surgery
Advantages of laparoscopic weight loss surgery
An increasing number of patients are turning to laparoscopic weight loss surgery because of the range of benefits that it offers. These include:
Smaller incisions, meaning smaller wounds to heal.
- Less scarring as a result of the smaller incisions.
- Fewer complications.
- Reduced risk of infection due to the wound being smaller and there being less internal tissue exposed to the air.
- Fewer days spent in hospital after the procedure.
- Reduced risk of developing a hernia after the surgery.
- Faster overall recovery.
- Less pain, meaning a better psychological recovery from your procedure.
If you are obese and are struggling to lose weight the conventional way, or have regained previous weight loss, laparoscopic surgery may be able to help you. Contact our friendly team today and arrange an appointment at our comfortable New York office at 646-859-1400.
