Obesity is the excessive amount of fat in your body. People suffering from obesity are more likely of developing a range of serious medical issues…
What is Metabolic Surgery?
The term Metabolic or sometimes Diabetes Surgery is used to describe the usage of surgical procedures to treat metabolic diseases, especially type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In contrast to bariatric surgery, metabolic surgery goal is to specifically address metabolic diseases (like T2DM) rather than obesity per se. Whereas bariatric surgery is generally performed in patients with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40kg/m2, metabolic surgery could be performed in patients with type 2 diabetes with BMIs as low as 27 kg/m2 . Given the important and distinct implications for patient care, using standard, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to treat type 2 diabetes in patients with BMI above 30 kg/m2 should be considered “metabolic/diabetes surgery” not “bariatric surgery”.
Losing weight is never easy and it takes much more than diet and exercise alone. The truth is that our bodies are genetically designed to gain weight, not to loose it. Losing weight is not something that depends exclusively on willpower, there are several factors that predispose us to fail at losing weight. Obviously there are some people who are able to achieve significant weight loss by dieting and exercising alone, but the second truth is that the majority of use will fail. For people who fall under the second category the adequate choice is: Weight Loss Surgery. Joining a gym and going on a six-week diet may work for people who are simply overweight. But when an obese person has reached a certain size, they are often unable of losing enough pounds through dieting alone, and sudden exercise could present a health risk. In such cases, weight loss surgery can be the best option. Weight Loss Surgery is something that should not be decided impulsively. Considering it (Weight Loss Surgery) as a New Year Resolution can be the perfect way to approach it.
From November 21-23, My New Body Obesity Center co-founders and surgeons, Mónica Valencia MD and Alberto Carlos, MD, attended the 1st International Congress of Bariatric Surgery at the Grand Hotel Tijuana. It was an action-packed few days of meetings, events and seminars. Dr. Valencia and Dr. Carlos reflected on some highlights from the congress below.
Despite the fact that obesity affects men and women evenly, women are much more likely than men to undergo weigh loss surgery. In fact, 87% of My New Body’s Obesity Center patients are women. Unfortunately this happens with several health related problems. The main reason I found among my patients is cultural. Sexist culture significantly affects the approach we men have about health. We (men) are less concerned about our health until we get older and face more serious problems and this is a serious problem. Men die on average 6 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. Women seem to be more aware of their health and are willing to take action earlier in their lives. When talking about Weight Loss Surgery they (women) are much more willing to look at surgical weight loss earlier in life, whereas men tend to wait until they have more co-morbidities (adverse health conditions). Men are always reluctant to seek professional help to treat health related problems.
The 2019 International Congress of General Surgery (held at Leon, Guanajuato, México) organized and hosted by the Asociación Mexicana de Cirugía General, included talks on Safe Surgical Procedures and had several events in adjacent conference rooms. Most of them were workshops and precongress courses on Surgical Topics. My New Body Obesity Center Lead Surgeon Alberto Carlos MD, attended the congress and took the course on endoscopic procedures.
Many patients are not well informed about weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery, and they may have unrealistic weight loss expecations and misunderstand the significance of postsurgical weight regain after bariatric surgery. Any Multidisciplinary Bariatric Surgery team must educate their patients regarding weight loss outcomes and establish perfectly clear goals and realistic expectations. It is not possible to accurately predict how much weight a patient will lose after Weight Loss Surgery; the ultimate goal is to achieve a healthier weight while ensuring adequate nutrition.
Affordable. Affordable is not the same as cheap. The cost of living in Mexico contrasts with the costs of our Californian neighbors, but the quality…
When performing a Gastric Sleeve Surgery we remove a part of your stomach (around 80%) leaving the remaining of the stomach in a tube shape (or sleeve shape). To calibrate the size of the stomach we use a calibration tube commonly known as: Bougie.
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), commonly referred to as Lap Band, because of the brand name of the most popular version, used to be one of the most popular bariatric procedures worldwide. Nowadays is not a recommended procedure because several studies have shown that LAGB is not an effective bariatric procedure in long term observation, and often lead to medical complications. Still, 6% of All Bariatric procedures in the world still involve Gastric Bands. That is too many, this is why is important to explore why Lap Band Surgery has been outdated.