| Dr. Patrick Chiasson 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. After the surgery, what support will a patient receive in adjusting to new daily habits?
A. Our program functions in compliance with the COE guidelines. We have for the patients an extensive pre-op educational process in the form of an education seminar with the surgeon, a pre-op education seminar with our bariatric coordinator, a nutritional evaluation and education session, and require attendance at support group. In the post-op period, we utilize the hospital bariatric coordinator for the initial daily contacts and then transfer the follow up role to our in-house bariatric post-op coordinator. In addition, the patient has frequent follow-up visits with the surgeon. We are in the process of commencing a 6-8 week post-op weekly education series that addresses all aspects of the post-op experience.
Q. How long is the recovery period?
A. All bariatric surgical procedures are performed utilizing laparoscopic techniques. My conversion rate is 0. Typically, patients are in the hospital for 1-2 days and back to work in 1-2 weeks.
Q. What types of bariatric surgeries are there?
A. I perform three different primary bariatric surgery procedures. These include the Gastric Bypass (GBP) procedure, the Adjustible Gastric Band (AGB) procedure, and the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) procedure.
The VSG is the newest procedure and in my view it will become the predominant procedure that is performed within the next few years.
The VSG procedure involves removing the lateral aspect of the stomach (approximately 85% of the stomach) thereby creating a long narrow gastric tube that markedly limits the volume that one can eat. The stomach that is removed is responsible for making a hormone called Grehlin that typically stimulates your appetite. Therefore, the Grehlin levels are markedly diminished and the patient loses their appetite. The combination of these two features of this operation results in excellent weight loss.
Q. What in your view is the best weight loss surgery option today?
A. The VSG operation is superior to both the GBP and the AGB because:
It is as safe to perform as the AGB. It offers the patient much better and more predictable weight loss than the AGB and Similar weight loss to the GBP.
Unlike the AGB with its 10-20% lifetime re-operation rate for complications and the GBP with its 5-10 lifetime re-operation rate for complications, the VSG does not have any significant long-term complications associated with it. Thus all the patient has to worry about is whether or not they will lose sufficient weight.
Q. What is the average level of weight loss of each type of surgery?
A. Average % excess weight loss: VSG 60-80%, GBP 60-80%, AGB 40-50%.
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