Weight Loss Surgery vs. diets and exercise

Many people often think that losing weight through surgery is cheating.  

For almost all people, this is far from true.  Many have tried endless diets and exercise plans before they try weight loss surgery.  Also all of the health quality guidelines recommend that surgery should only be considered after everything else has been tried.

So how exactly does weight loss surgery compare to diets and exercise?

Well, let's look at dieting first.

The best evidence from low calorie diets and behavioural therapy shows that, if successful, you could lose between 5-10% of your weight.  So if you weigh 20 stone, you may lose about 2 stones.  That's quite a good weight loss, but  one of the big issues with diets generally is that most people eventually regain the weight they lost initially.

For weight loss surgery, it really depends on which type you choose, but overall the range of weight loss is from about 10% to 33%.  So, if successful, and you weigh 20 stone, you could lose nearly 7 stone.  Also, most of the long term studies have shown that almost everyone is able to keep off the weight.

Weight loss surgery may not be for everyone, but if done professionally it can be life changing and significantly more successful than many diet programmes.

For more information, try www.theprivatesurgeon.com

Weight Loss Surgery, why do I need to see so many people?

My surgeon, dietician, psychologist,  anaesthetist, nurse. 

Do I really need to see all these people?  Why can't I just meet my surgeon and then just let them help me?

That's a great and very important question.  Weight loss surgery is quite a big thing to do, so at The Private Surgeon we need to make sure that you are aware of all of the implications and also we need to make sure that you are absolutely ready, so let's look at who does what.

Your Surgeon: they will work with you to find out the best possible option.  There are many alternatives so it's all about what suits your lifestyle, eating behaviour and wallet

Your Dietician: they will firstly make sure that you don't have any nutritional problems and will importantly advise you of what changes you will need to make running up to your surgery and immediately afterwards

Your Psychologist: they will speak to you about the impact that surgery might have on you and how best you can manage it.  People who have weight loss surgery often lose lots of weight quite quickly so it's important that you understand what this might mean to you as a person

Your Nurse: They will be checking your blood tests and preparing you for surgery as well as looking after you following the operation.

Your Anaesthetist: weight significantly affects general anaesthetic.  This is why it's important for them to make sure they know all about you and your health.

The main objective of seeing so many people is that we find the best solution for YOU and that you are aware of all the implications.

At The Private Surgeon, we never cut corners and we always make sure that you are completely happy with everything and that we can give you the best possible service.

For more information try www.theprivatesurgeon.com

Weight loss with a Gastric Band, what is it?

Most people have heard of the gastric band.  Not surprising when the media use it as a phrase to describe all types of weight loss surgery and many celebrities have used them so we thought we'd let you know what's involved.

How do they work?

Important concept to remember - when your stomach stretches it sends messages to your brain to stop eating.

Imagine an old balloon left over from a party, slightly deflated and looking a little sad, this is supposed to represent your stomach.  Now imagine putting an elastic band around the top of the balloon so you basically make two balloons, one small one at the top and the bigger one at the bottom.

Now, when you eat something, the food goes first into the smaller bit.  The stomach wall stretches and when it does that it sends joyous messages to your brain to say WE ARE FULL!  So your brain says, STOP EATING!

And it's as simple as that.  It's all done with keyhole surgery, so there is minimal scarring and the great thing about gastric bands is that they are adjustable and removable.  So if it's not working as well as you want, or maybe working too well then your surgeon can adjust the 'elastic band' from the outside.  

No more surgery needed.

And in the future if you don't want it any more, just ask and it can be taken out.

How much do they cost?

Gastric bands start at under £7,000 and you can expect to lose about 20% of your weight.  So if you weigh 20 stone, you could lose 4 stone.  Not a bad deal really.

What are the side effects?

As with most types of weight loss surgery, if it's done well, there should be few side effects.  Your Private Surgeon will always discuss these with you first though.  Possibly the biggest problem with gastric bands is that some people, who have a compulsive eating trait, can find ways to overcome the surgery (no clues!).

A very important thing to remember: there is a growing trend in 'health tourism' where people go abroad for very cheap bands.  These may seem like bargains and from the prices we have seen, they are certainly cheaper, but the important thing to remember is that like every operation, everyone is different and once your band has been fitted, you will need to have it adjusted to suit your needs.  If your surgeon is 1,000 miles away, that may not always be easy...just a thought.

For all of weight loss surgery options, try www.theprivatesurgeon.com.

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Weight Loss with a Gastric Bypass, what is it?

This continues our series on weight loss surgery and the different types available.

Our digestive system is very easy to understand visually.  

It's basically a long tube from your mouth to, well, the other end...  It's wider in some parts, narrower in others and has your stomach about 18 inches down from your mouth, in total, it's about 30 feet long .

The important areas for weight loss and appetite, however are the stomach and the first part of the intestine just after the stomach.

So, enter the surgical boffins, who thought that if we bypass part of the stomach and that sensitive part of the intestine just after the stomach, that could help people to reduce their appetite and lose weight.  Guess what, it worked!  The Gastric Bypass was born and is now the gold standard for all weight loss surgery.

It's all done using keyhole surgery so any scarring is minimal and this also means that the risk of infection is minimised.

How does it work?

Imagine a road (from your mouth to your stomach) with lots of traffic (your food) going into a small village (your stomach).  There is always a traffic jam in the small village.  So, the planners block the entry to the village for through traffic and then divert it around the village (stomach) back onto the main road (intestine) on the other side.  The villagers (stomach contents) can still get out but the busy traffic (food) bypasses most of the village.   Everyone is happy.

How much weight will I lose?

Great question and the simple answer is a lot.  Everyone has different responses, but if it works well you could lose up to 1/3 of your weight.  So if you weigh 21 stone, you could lose up to 7 stone, or you could go from 150kg to less than 100kg.

How much does it cost?

The usual prices start from less than £11,000.  As a single figure that may look like a lot, but it's in the region of £200 per kilo lost.  And remember, most people who have this type of intervention are able to keep that weight off.

What are the side effects?

In most cases, there are very few side effects and your Private Surgeon will discuss these with you before you make a decision.  One important thing to remember is that you will need to take lifelong multi-vitamins and you should also have regular blood checks to see if you need any other supplements.

In the short term, you'll only be able to take liquid foods - probably for about 4 weeks, but we'll have you back at work within 4-6 weeks.

For more information or to get in touch with us try www.theprivatesurgeon.com

Weight loss with a Gastric Balloon, what is it?

In the first of a series, we're looking at all types of weight loss surgery.  The first is the Gastric Balloon.  Sounds odd doesn't it?

Before we show you how it works, here's the science.  When your stomach starts to get full with food or drink, it sends messages to the brain to STOP EATING!  

This doesn't always work, but for most people it does.  So the boffins thought, why don't we partially fill the stomach with something else, so that people feel fuller sooner?

And so the gastric balloon was born.

There are a number of different types and the newest kid on the block, Obalon, is almost as simple as swallowing a pill.  They all work the same way though.

The great thing about gastric balloons is that it's all done through your mouth, so there is no real surgery (and no scarring either).  You can probably expect between 5-15% weight loss, which is quite a lot.  So if you weigh 200lb, you may lose as much as 30lb (or 14 stone to 12 stone, or 90kg to 85kg).

What are the side effects?

The only main problem that some people get is feeling a little nauseous for a few days.  That's it really.

How much does it cost?

Great question and the answer is simple, it's a lot less expensive and more effective than many diets and slimming plans out there.  A standard balloon costs from £3,995 and remember, you could lose up to 15% of your weight.  If you want the newest balloon, Obalon, we can give you a quote straight away, just give us a call.  

All the details are here:  www.theprivatesurgeon.com

Stay tuned for more ways to lose weight with weight loss surgery.

Weight loss surgery. What are the options?

Over the next few weeks we'll be showing you all of the options for weight loss surgery and explaining what they mean.

There are lots of different procedures and each one is designed to help with your particular situation.  It could be that you snack a lot, it could be that you eat most of your food in one sitting.  Your lifestyle may be hectic or subdued and also you may have other conditions which will impact on the best choice.

For a full list, you can always visit www.theprivatesurgeon.com but in the meantime, here is a simple list of options.  Stay tuned for more details on each of the operations.

Gastric Balloon: simple really, a balloon is placed in your stomach and filled with fluid.  This makes you less able to eat lots and makes you feel fuller sooner

Gastric Band: this is a simple adjustable band which is placed very near the top of the stomach to make a mini-stomach and you'll feel full much faster

Sleeve gastrectomy: this is a little like Spanx for your stomach.  It reshapes your stomach so there is just a sleeve left.  It has a great effect on reducing appetite.

Gastric Bypass: this is rather like a traffic diversion.  Part of your upper, small bowel is diverted up toward the top of your stomach.  It has great weight loss effects.

Duodenal switch: simply put it's sort of a combination between the sleeve gastrectomy and the gastric bypass.  So it's like a diversion with single lane traffic.

There are a few more techniques, but we'll be covering them all in detail over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, for more information, try www.theprivatesurgeon.com