Author: bell

5 Tips to Help Improve Recovery Time for Gastric-Sleeve Surgery

Posted on December 27, 2017

Gastric sleeve surgery, or sleeve gastrectomy, is a medical weight-loss procedure to treat obesity when your body-mass index, or “BMI,” is between 35 and 40, helping to relieve serious, secondary health problems such as diabetes, cardiac disease, high blood pressure or sleep apnea. If you have had little to no success with other weight-loss methods, then gastric-sleeve surgery may be an option.

How Gastric-Sleeve Surgery Works

Sleeve gastrectomy is a minimally invasive procedure that permanently reduces the size of your stomach by 80 to 90 percent, limiting your dietary and caloric intake. The procedure takes less than an hour, performed laparoscopically through several small incisions. Using a small surgical laparoscope affixed with a small camera and light, laparoscopic surgery generally has fewer side effects than traditional open surgery and improves the surgeon’s field of vision and overall accuracy.

What to Do After Gastric-Sleeve Surgery

As with any surgical procedure, the pre-operative process will include detailed instructions from your surgeon about recovery and what you can expect in the few days, weeks and months after your sleeve-gastrectomy surgery is complete. There will be a number of dietary and lifestyle adjustments that you will have to make in order to maintain lasting, healthy weight loss.

  1. Have a Plan
    Even after the procedure, you will have to practice good nutrition and exercise. Working with your medical team to design the diet, nutrition and exercise plan that is best for your lifestyle and medical needs before surgery will make for a smoother and more successful transition.
  1. Follow Doctor’s Orders
    You may feel better sooner than expected, but it is still important to take all of your medication according to the doctor’s prescription and follow the guidelines designed specifically for your recovery.
  1. Prepare Yourself Both Mentally and Emotionally
    Even with all of the research and planning in the world, the surgery will require a major lifestyle overhaul and adjustment. Ask for help when you need it.
  1. Establish a Support System
    From the gym to grocery-shopping buddies, recovery is easier with friends. Don’t go it alone.
  1. Keep Up With the Follow Up
    Ongoing check-ups are essential for keeping your recovery on track and to make any necessary adjustments to your recovery plan to ensure that you look and feel your best in the long run.

Sleeve Gastrectomy in Birmingham, AL

After you’ve tried everything else, minimally invasive gastric-sleeve weight-loss surgery may be the right option for you. For more information — and to take advantage of our deeply discounted pricing from $11,999 down to just $9,999 — contact our office by calling (205) 833-6907 to schedule a consultation today.

Health Risks Tied to Obesity

Posted on December 27, 2017

Obesity has been a big health problem in the U.S. for years, and there’s no sign of it going away soon. In fact, more than one-third of adults in the U.S. are obese, and they face risks of developing serious weight-related conditions.

If your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher, get to know the health risks that come with obesity as well as the options available to help you lose weight.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is just one of the health risks of obesity. It occurs because being obese puts extra stress on the cells, affecting the insulin receptors. Common symptoms of diabetes include extreme thirst, frequent urination, headaches and infections that take a long time to heal.

High Blood Pressure

Having too much body fat means your heart has to work harder to circulate your blood. This puts pressure on the walls of the arteries. High blood pressure usually doesn’t result in obvious symptoms, so you should talk to your doctor if you’re at risk for this condition.

Cholesterol Imbalance and Heart Disease

Obesity can lower the levels of good cholesterol in the body, which in turn can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. These conditions are often life-threatening, so it’s important to get to a healthy weight as soon as possible.

Sleep Apnea

Obesity can also lead to sleep apnea. This is a serious condition that causes you to stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. Sleep apnea not only reduces your quality of sleep, but it can also deprive your brain of oxygen, which can result in life-threatening health problems.

How to Avoid These Conditions

The only way to avoid these and other obesity-related health problems are to lose weight. Of course, that’s easier said than done. If you’re having trouble losing weight with a healthy diet and regular exercise, you can talk to a doctor about other options.

One method of weight loss right for some obese people is surgery. There are several types of weight loss surgery you can look into if you need to lose weight quickly. They include a gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and the Lap-Band, to name the most common options. With these surgeries, the point is to reduce the capacity of the stomach so you do not need to eat much to feel full, which should lead to major weight loss within months.

Of course, the effects of weight loss surgery are meant to be permanent, so talk to a medical professional to make sure you are a good candidate. Once you qualify, you can look forward to enjoying a healthy weight faster than you might imagine.

What Is CoolSculpting®?

Posted on December 27, 2017

It doesn’t matter how strict your diet or how intense your exercise regime is, you just can’t seem to shift stubborn fat from certain areas. We all have those troublesome areas where fat can build up. Common culprits include the thighs, tops of the arms, hips and stomach, and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t target these areas enough.

The good news is that a new procedure could hold the key to eliminating fat from these areas. Cleared by the FDA and developed by renowned specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, CoolSculpting® uses a patented technique that “freezes” fat cells without any downtime and, most importantly, without any surgery. What’s more, the results are noticeable and they last.

How CoolSculpting® Works

Is it really possible to freeze away fat? Well, and here comes the science bit, when fat cells freeze they can be targeted precisely by the CoolSculpting® process. Freezing fat cells triggers them into a natural cell death and the procedure is so precise that no damage will occur to surrounding nerves, skin or tissue.

Once frozen, the fat cells will start to wither and die. The body then naturally eliminates them and leaves behind the perfectly sculpted areas you always dreamed of. From sleeker hips to more svelte thighs, CoolSculpting® can give you the body you want without resorting to drastic diets or injuring yourself through harsh exercise.

Benefits of CoolSculpting®

One of the most notable benefits of CoolSculpting® is that it is non-invasive. That means you can rid yourself of stubborn fat cells without injections or incisions. The procedure is also painless and many people have been known to even fall asleep during their treatment. You can also return to your normal activities right after your treatment — that means no downtime, no time off work and no long wait to see the results.

If you are looking for a procedure that eliminates fat cells permanently, CoolSculpting® is the answer. While exercise and diet can reduce the size of fat cells, these methods can’t remove them from the body completely. CoolSculpting® can, and that is perhaps the biggest benefit of all.

Can Weight Loss Surgery Help Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?

Posted on December 27, 2017

Are you suffering from type 2 diabetes? New research says that weight loss surgeries might just be the solution.

One study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that slightly obese people had a better chance of reversing diabetes if they underwent weight loss surgery. And, it was even shown that the life quality of those patients had improved significantly.

Bariatric Surgery

In the study mentioned above, patients underwent bariatric surgery. Five years later, one-third of those patients experienced a complete remission of their illness. Those who only sought help through counseling, therapy and other forms of medication did not fare so well in comparison.

The weight loss surgery enabled patients to have healthier levels of blood sugar, and they also needed less insulin on a day to day basis. Their BMI was lowered, due to the weight loss, resulting in lower cholesterol and improved quality of life. Type 2 diabetes causes extremely high blood sugar levels, so this was one of the most noticeable changes after surgery.

European Findings

Another Swedish study showed similar results in patients who had weight loss surgery. In the research, 72 percent of patients achieved remission in just two years following the surgery.

Another study followed the history of 2,010 obese patients, 343 of whom suffered from type 2 diabetes. From 1987-2001, many of these patients underwent a number of weight loss surgeries. Besides the impressive weight loss and lower cholesterol levels reported, they experienced a significant deterioration of beta cells (which often cause spikes in blood sugar).

Surgery as Preventative Measures

Although researchers still need to further investigate how weight loss surgery can lead to remission, it is reassuring to see that surgery can be one solution for type 2 diabetes patients. A diabetes epidemic is currently plaguing the country, which means actively seeking help for weight control, even before diabetes is diagnosed, is essential.

If you would like to get a personal consultation for your case, call or schedule an appointment with one of our physicians today. We’re glad to help answer any questions you may have regarding surgery and weight loss.

Why Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Posted on December 27, 2017

Choosing weight loss surgery is never an easy decision. If you’ve struggled with your weight and can’t ever seem to get the scale to move in your favor, weight loss surgery may be for you. Gastric sleeve surgery has become a popular choice for those who choose bariatric surgery. Here are several things you should consider when considering whether gastric sleeve surgery is right for you.

Why Choose Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Are you the clinical definition of morbidly obese? Do you have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 or higher? Or do you have a lower BMI between 35 to 39.9 but have one or more chronic health conditions? If you answered yes to any of these questions, and have consistently tried and failed to lose weight and keep it off, then you may be an excellent candidate for gastric sleeve surgery.

Benefits of Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Outside of saving your life, gastric sleeve surgery can also significantly improve your quality of life. Weight loss surgery can help relieve chronic joint and back pain that occurs because of all the extra weight you’ve been carrying around. It can help alleviate sleep apnea, allowing you to sleep through the night without a CPAP machine. You’ll also see a reversal of chronic health issues such as diabetes, depression, high-blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Eating After Gastric Sleeve Surgery

After bariatric surgery, your entire relationship with food has to change. Not only will you have to eat considerably less after surgery, how you eat will change as well. For example, you will no longer be able to eat and drink at the same time. According to bariatric surgery nurse Karen Schulz, “Patients should drink their fluids at least 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after eating, but it doesn’t take long for most people to adjust.”

Other changes include mainly eating protein, eliminating sweets and learning how to handle your emotions without turning to food. After surgery, you will also need vitamins and supplements to make up for nutritional deficiencies in your new diet.

Dangers of Ignoring Gastric Sleeve Diet

It is crucial that you follow the strict diet given to you by your doctor after having gastric sleeve surgery. If you stray from the diet, you may experience some serious and life-threatening complications. Complications can include vomiting, plugging, a sensation that feels like food is stuck in the upper digestive tract and minimum to no weight-loss. More severe complications include a perforated stomach, which is a leak in your gut, and septic shock, which, if not caught early, can kill you.

Are you a good candidate for weight loss surgery?

Posted on December 27, 2017

If a patient goes through insurance, their qualifications are as follows:

The items below are the minimum necessary for approval of your weight loss surgery. (This is BCBS policy, which is what most insurance companies follow).  However, Medicare is straight forward in their process.  They only go by the BMI specifications listed below.

BMI Specifications

  • Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater OR…
  • BMI 35 or greater with co-morbid conditions, including but not limited to HTN on optimal drug therapy, cardiovascular disease, diabetes (must be treated with insulin or oral agents), pulmonary hypertension or severe obstructive sleep apnea (RDI of 50 or greater).
  • Documentation of participation in a physician-supervised program of nutrition and increased activity including dietitian consultation, low-calorie diet, increased physical activity and behavioral modification. The program must be for six consecutive months and must be within previous 12 months of the request for surgery. Documentation of program participation must appear in the medical record by the attending physician. Records must include comments by the physician regarding patient progress or lack of progress OR acceptable with medical record documentation of medical supervision are; Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, EatRight etc. Not acceptable are self-directed programs such as joining a gym, Atkins diet, calorie counting, low fat, cutting back, internet programs, etc.
  • Active participation and documentation of non-surgical methods of weight loss.
  • Diagnosed as morbidly obese for 3 years or more in medical records. A letter from the PCP and dated photographs will be considered in lieu of recorded heights and weights.
  • 18 years of age
  • Primary Care Physicians Letter (PCP Letter)
  • Consult and Recommendation for a surgeon from a bariatric surgeon.
  • Must stop smoking at least 8 weeks prior to surgery.

BMI Requirements

Some insurance companies vary on criteria.  Some only have a 3-month diet, some have no diet, and some have a 6-month diet.  The main thing is the BMI requirements…35 with a comorbidity and 40 without.  Now with Private Pay is different.  The Comorbidities do not have to be present.

What is the Lap Band Recovery process?

Posted on December 27, 2017

LAP-BAND is usually performed in the Outpatient Surgery Center.  The patient starts a high-protein low carb liquid diet for 1-2 weeks prior to surgery.  The patient is discharged the same day of the procedure and can usually return to work in 3-5 days.

Since there is no cutting, stapling, or stomach re-routing involved in the LAP-BAND System procedure, it is considered the least traumatic of all weight loss surgeries. The laparoscopic approach to the surgery also offers the advantages of reduced post-operative pain, shortened hospital stay and quicker recovery. If for any reason the LAP-BAND System needs to be removed, the stomach generally returns to its original form.

Lap Band Procedure Advantages

Minimal Trauma

  • Least invasive surgical option
  • No intestinal re-routing
  • No cutting or stapling of the stomach wall or bowel
  • Reduced pain, hospital length-of-stay, and recovery period

Fewer Risks and Side Effects

  • Lower mortality risk than other obesity surgery procedures
  • Low risk of nutritional deficiencies associated with gastric bypass
  • Reduced risk of hair loss
  • No “dumping syndrome” related to dietary intake restrictions

Adjustable

  • Allows individualized degree of restriction for ideal, long-term weight loss
  • Adjustments performed without additional surgery
  • Supports pregnancy by allowing stomach outlet size to be opened for increased
  • nutritional needs

Reversible

  • Removable
  • Stomach and other anatomy are generally restored to their original forms and functions

What You Should Know About A Gastric Bypass

Posted on December 27, 2017

weight loss

Gastric bypass surgery is a very effective procedure to help patients lose weight and cure the medical problems that occur when you are morbidly obese. It has excellent long-term success, and patients have a much healthier and happier life.

This surgery involves reducing the stomach size and rearranging your intestines, and as a result, you feel full much sooner after meals. Also, you don’t absorb as many calories as you eat, and you don’t have the same hunger mechanism. These aspects of gastric bypass along with eating a healthy diet and exercising will be the key to a successful weight loss journey.

Before and During the Day of Surgery

It is necessary to undergo a health assessment so that your physician is aware of your medical and surgical history. After meeting with the physician, he will request blood tests, and if necessary, an EKG and a chest X-ray. You will also attend a nutrition and prep class to help you prepare for this surgery.

In order to prepare your body for the surgery, you will need to undergo a special diet for one to two weeks prior to the operation. This pre-op diet is important because it will shrink the size of your liver, which sits on top of your stomach. You will not be allowed to drink or eat anything after midnight before your surgery.

Immediately After Surgery

Expect to stay overnight in the hospital, as you will need to be monitored for any potential complications. Immediately after surgery, it is normal to feel slightly sore, and the nurses will administer the necessary medications to keep the pain to a minimum. You will be expected to walk as soon as possible on the day of surgery. Early ambulation will help prevent blood clots and will speed up the recovery process.

2-3 Days After Surgery

You should be off of the pain medication. Try to stay active, but don’t overdo it. You will need to start slowly increasing your exercise regimen. You will have a dietary guideline that will help you to maintain a low calorie, high protein diet.

2-4 Weeks After Surgery

You should be increasing your exercise regimen. You will have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon and the nutritionist. You will need to start the bariatric supplements as recommend in the pre-op education class.

Gastric Sleeve Recovery

Posted on December 27, 2017

weight loss surgery procedure

Day 1: Surgery Day

After awakening from gastric sleeve surgery, which takes around 45 minutes, you will have some soreness, but the soreness generally isn’t very severe. The nurses will have all of the necessary medications to keep your pain to a minimum. Expect to see 5 incisions. The largest is usually the sorest and will be where your surgeon has removed part of your stomach.

You’ll be attached to an IV, and pain medication can be provided as needed. Anesthesia may make you nauseous, but this feeling should disappear quickly. You will start on a liquid diet once you are transferred to your room on the surgical floor.

Moving may be a little uncomfortable at first, but you have to get up and start moving as soon as possible. The more you move after your surgery, the better you’ll feel tomorrow.

The Day After Surgery

If you are tolerating your liquid diet without problems and ambulating effectively, you will be able to go home on the day after surgery. You will meet with the dietician prior to leaving the hospital. After being discharged, make sure to read the post-operative instructions and have your prescriptions filled for pain and nausea medication.

After Surgery: Week 1

You will continue on the liquid diet for 5 days. After that diet, you will advance your diet according to the guidelines that you learned in the pre-op nutrition class. If there are any questions, always refer back to the book that you received in the meeting.

Make sure to get 60 grams of protein and 64 ounces of fluid daily. Also, you will need to start taking your bariatric supplements as directed in the pre-op prep class.

You need to start establishing a regular exercise regimen and increasing your goals weekly.

Week 2-Month 3

You will start to see rapid weight loss during this time. You may still feel tired but should have more energy than you did before surgery. Your mood could fluctuate, but otherwise, you should be feeling a lot better.

After 30 days, your physical activities are unrestricted. You can start weight lifting or anything else that will increase your calorie consumption.