| Dr. Bipan Chand is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Here the doctor has answered some of the common questions Bizymoms visitors have about Bariatric Surgery.
Q. What is depression and how is it affected by bariatric surgery?
A. As part of the process for evaluation for both medical and surgical options for weight loss, patients undergo a comprehensive evaluation by medical physicians, nutritionists, psychologists as well as a surgical group. Patients that have other medical conditions that may be affected by overweight are addressed and appropriately treated prior to any surgical weight loss therapy.
Q. How successful is bariatric surgery?
A. Bariatric surgery is successful for the vast majority of patients. Patients not only have weight loss, but more importantly have a significant improvement in their medical co-morbidities as well as an increased life expectancy.
Q. How does the Predominantly Restrictive Procedure work?
A. There are various operations that are employed to help weight loss. This include restrictive procedures as well as operations that affect hormonal influence when patients eat. Restrictive procedures work by limiting the amount of food consumption at one time.
Q. How important is Patient Attitude towards the Success of Bariatric Surgery?
A. The patient’s attitude towards surgery is a significant predictor of long-term success with any of the bariatric procedures. The patients clearly have an active role in not only the evaluation phase, but also the surgical and perioperative recovery phase. In order for long-term success the patients should have a substantial amount of education as well as restructuring of their eating habits as well as their exercise habits.
Q. How do you do the Panniculectomy procedure for your patients after the surgery?
A. The patients may require additional procedures after surgery including removal of excessive skin. This is recommended once stability of weight loss is achieved and it is usually not encouraged until approximately 18-24 months after surgery. This is most often done by our group of plastic surgeons who specialize in body contouring after weight loss operations.
Q. Do you recommend any alternatives to bariatric surgery?
A. The patients are also followed up in our program for medical weight loss. The patients may benefit from surgery as well as from medical therapy. Medical therapy includes evaluation by a nutritionist as well as our specialists in the field of bariatric medicine.
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