Weighing Up Your Weight Loss Surgery Options

I'll be brutally honest, weight loss surgery is - in my opinion - one of the most absurd and intelligent and free-thinking human experiences. It sounds loud, but it's true. All the dangerous surgeries and major surgeries especially. Given this, unless there is a very urgent medical reason, why would anyone voluntarily put themselves through such a trial?

Weight loss makes plastic surgery very rich, as it is very expensive. It also completely fails to address the underlying problem of why you lost weight in the first place, which means that you might eventually lose weight (or have to live with multiple devices permanently attached to your inner). And it kills! Perhaps the highest profile example of this is Mrs. Donda West, the mother of Hip Hop artist Kanye West, who passed away in November 2007 shortly after suffering a joint breast reduction, abdominal procedure and liposuction.

But despite all these obvious dangers, the obesity crisis has made many more desperate people turn to this solution as a way to solve their obesity problem. So, if you really insist on going down this path, what are your options? Here are some:

Weight Loss Options

Gastric bypass surgery: This is the type of surgery that is becoming more and more popular and has been selected by well-known golfers John Daly, veteran Hollywood actors Brian Dennehy and Sharon Osbourne. There are many types of surgeries (including adjustable bowel surgery and vertical gastroplasty), all of which involve the use of various techniques or devices to bypass the stomach or intestinal tract to reduce the amount of food that can be digested or processed at one time.

The complications with these surgeries are numerous and varied - the gastric band will slip in 30% of cases and vomiting is common with this procedure. Biliopancreatic diversions (where the abdominal area is removed) lead to diarrhea and 10% will experience edema, hair loss, ulcers, or protein deficiency. Patients who successfully undergo this procedure require a lifetime nutritional supplement to avoid nutritional deficiencies. But they are the lucky ones - about 2% of patients die during the procedure!

2. Intragastric balloons: Balloons are placed in the stomach. The surgeon expands so that the patient always feels full. The balloon can only last for 6 months where it can leak or explode.

3. Jaw wiring: Jaws are linked together to make eating difficult - but people are looking for ways to get their calories in sweet, liquid form. Jaw wiring as a method of weight control has now disappeared from fashion.

4. Liposuction: As the name implies, this is a surgical procedure in which the suction is used to remove subcutaneous fat. This procedure is very useful for regenerating the face, hips, breast, or stomach, but it has little or no effect on insulin sensitivity, cholesterol, blood pressure, or even weight, as the amount of fat released is relatively small. Complications include damage to the skin or nerves and damage to vital organs.

Here is a brief overview of some of the obesity options available. But behind the glossy marketing and inspirational "before and after" images, weight loss surgery is very dangerous and often fatal. And the irony is that the fatter you are, the more likely you are to have complications during and after surgery, so you have two high-risk people who choose the higher risk procedure. CRAZY!

Want some good advice? Forget about weight loss surgery! Find out the real reasons why you gain or lose weight, deal with the problem, then start losing weight correctly and regularly by taking more exercise and eating wisely. Whatever your reason for weight loss or obesity, weight loss surgery may be the answer, but it's not the ONLY answer.

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