Obesity is quickly taking over our nation, affecting not only our self-esteem but our health as well. According to new data, more than 45% of the female population is now obese. Despite many attempts to remedy the problem, the issue of obesity is constantly on the rise. Unhealthy foods are often the center of social gatherings and celebrations to the point where eating has become a national pastime. As a result, there is a growing population of women with a BMI in excess of 30. However, the good news is that Lap Band surgery for women has emerged as a safe and effective tool to combat obesity.
Along with obesity comes a myriad of health problems. Obese women are at a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. The risk of diabetes rises significantly, as does the risk of cancer. Many obese women experience breathing issues, such as sleep apnea and asthma. Among the health issues that obese adults, particularly women, find themselves with are gallbladder disease and gallstones.
While the solution, losing weight, may seem simple, we all know how difficult it truly is. Many places that we look promise significant weight loss in a short period of time. Magazine covers in the supermarket checkout aisle guarantee you to lose 10 lbs per week by following a fad diet, while television commercials advertise programs where you can eat anything you want and still lose weight. The major problem with these solutions is that they are not lifestyle changes. They are temporary solutions, and while there may be some weight loss, that weight is more often than not regained. Let’s face it, a woman is not going to follow a fad diet every day for the rest of her life! In order to help achieve and maintain your weight loss goals, procedures like Lap Band surgery for women are a great option.
Non-Surgical Treatment For Obesity
Before deciding to go forward with weight loss surgery, it’s important to consider all of your options, including non-surgical weight loss. In order to lose weight and maintain the weight loss, an overweight person must make lifestyle changes and stick to them. They must change their unhealthy eating habits and adopt an exercise routine that they will do three to seven times per week. A reduced calorie diet combined with exercise can produce weight loss over the long term. Sometimes these changes are not enough.
When dietary changes and exercise are not effective, many overweight or obese people turn to Pharmacotherapy. However, patients must realize that weight loss drugs are not magic pills! They must be used in combination with the reduced calorie diet and exercise described above. Although a moderate amount of weight can be lost over the course of six to twelve months, this weight is also often regained when the patient stops using the medication. The unfortunate truth is that it is easy to go back to unhealthy habits when we no longer have access to weight loss drugs.
Surgical Treatment For Obesity
When someone has not had success with lifestyle changes and medication, they often consider turning to Bariatric Surgery. There are eligibility requirements for these types of procedures, including a BMI greater than 40 with or without comorbidity, or a BMI greater than 35 with a comorbidity.
There are three options for surgical weight loss:
- Gastric restriction
- Intestinal malabsorption
- A combination of both
In gastric restriction, a small pouch is created in the stomach so the patient consumes less food. It also allows the food to be digested slower, so the patient will not get hungry soon after eating. Simply put, a smaller stomach allows someone to eat much less, resulting in weight loss.
It used to be that vertical gastric banding and small-pouch gastric bypass were the only options available in this category until laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding became available. While these procedures allow a patient to feel full on a smaller quantity of food, eating healthy is still key!
The other two options are malabsorptive procedures. These options bypass part of the small intestine so that less food is absorbed, and weight loss occurs.
Lap Band Surgery For Women
Gastric Banding, also known as Lap Band Surgery, places an adjustable band around the top portion of the stomach, with the first adjustment happening 5-7 weeks after surgery. The size of the stomach is reduced, and a patient feels fuller after eating only a small portion of food. Approved by the FDA in June 2001, over 80,000 patients have been treated with the procedure. Dr. David Davtyan was the first surgeon in California to perform a Lap Band surgery in an outpatient surgery center.
Lap Band surgery for women has been gaining popularity every year since it was introduced. Most people lose approximately 40-50% of excess body weight after lap band surgery, and the patient receives follow up for as long as the device stays in place, which would easily be 10 or more years. While patients tend to lose weight more rapidly with gastric bypass, some of this weight is often regained.
Benefits Of Lap Band Surgery For Women
Women who are candidates for Lap Band surgery often think beforehand about the benefits. Other than the obvious, which is weight loss, benefits include remission or reversal of diabetes, as well as prevention of diabetes. Women have a decreased risk of breathing issues after the surgery, and gastroesophageal reflux often disappears. One of the greatest benefits is a resolution to fertility problems. Many obese women experience difficulty in child conception, and the surgery allows their dreams to become reality. Another great benefit of Lap Band Surgery for women is the improved quality of life. Women who have had success with the surgery look and feel more beautiful. They find themselves pursuing relationships, and overall, they enjoy life more.
As the least invasive surgical weight loss procedure, Lap Band Surgery for women is a safe and effective way to achieve a significant loss in excess body weight. It also has the lowest rate of complications as compared with other weight loss surgeries. Lap Band surgery for women has the potential to become a significant factor in reducing the problem of female obesity with its long-term success.
If you would like to lose weight, improve your quality of life, and are interesting in pursuing bariatric surgery, our bariatric surgeon Dr. Davtyan and his caring staff are here for you! There are four convenient locations in Beverly Hills, Glendale, Rancho Cucamonga and Fountain Valley. For more information contact us today!
Posted on behalf of Dr. David G. Davtyan MD, FACS, FICS
