Category: Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery is an excellent way to help patients lose weight. In most cases, patients recover well and go on to live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Occasionally, patients may not see the results they expected.

This can be due to a number of reasons. Some patients gradually resume their old eating habits. Others may have a medical reason why they are gaining weight.

Fortunately, our doctors in Tijuana, MX can perform bariatric surgery revision after regaining weight. Today, we will discuss bariatric surgery revision and explore options for patients considering this treatment.

The Emotional Aspect of Bariatric Surgery Revision

Many patients who are considering revision surgery feel ashamed of their weight gain. It is important to understand that obesity is a disease that is not cured simply because you had surgery.

At Tijuana Bariatrics, we are here to provide support for you. We do not believe that weight regain indicates failure. Weight loss is a journey, and we are here to help.

Preparing for Bariatric Surgery Revision

Before undergoing your revision surgery, we recommend that you begin adapting your lifestyle. Plan healthy meals, and eat a well-balanced diet every day. Incorporate an exercise routine, as well. When it comes to activity, frequency is more important than intensity.

It is also important to tend to your emotional needs during this time. Many of our patients find support groups invaluable to their progress. It is a good idea to have a trusted circle of people in place before you undergo your surgery.

Your Revision Options

When it comes to choosing a revision option, the appropriate treatment will depend on your specific situation. During a consultation, our doctors can help you determine which procedure will be most beneficial for you. The most common revision options are:

• Lap Band to Sleeve: During this procedure, the original band and port are removed along with any existing scar tissue. The gastric sleeve will then be performed. This will involve removing more than half of the stomach. The remaining portion will be approximately the size of a banana, helping you feel fuller much faster and lose weight successfully.
• Sleeve to Bypass: In this procedure, the stomach will be downsized to a smaller pouch so that you can feel fuller faster. The small intestines will be rearranged in order to bypass part of the digestive system. As a result, you will not absorb as many calories or nutrients as you did before, resulting in weight loss.
• Bypass to Duodenal Switch: During this procedure, even more of the intestine is bypassed. This will result in fewer calories and nutrients absorbed, and should aid in further weight loss.

How Do I Know if Revision Surgery Is an Option for Me?

No matter what previous procedures you have undergone in the past, or which surgeon performed your treatment, we are happy to talk with you about your options for revision surgery.

Because each patient is unique, treatments can vary. After a consultation with our doctors, they can design a fully personalized plan that will give you the best chance at reaching your weight loss goals.

Learn More about Bariatric Surgery Revision

If you are interested in learning more about revision surgery, schedule a consultation with us. You can call us toll-free at (800) 308-3607 or contact us online anytime.

Obesity is a condition that can have a serious impact on a person’s overall health. Those who are significantly overweight have been shown to be at higher risk for health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately, despite health warnings, many obese individuals find it hard to lose weight on their own. It is often difficult to make the significant diet changes that are necessary to lose weight. In addition, excess weight can compromise physical activities, which makes exercising difficult.

Bariatric surgery alters the size of the stomach, and, depending on the surgical technique, reroutes the digestive system to limit the amount of food and nutrients the body can take in. Bariatric surgery assists patients in losing a significant amount of weight in a fairly short amount of time. The weight loss triggered by bariatric surgery can lead to great improvement in physical health.

Here, we discuss the potential impact of bariatric surgery on insulin resistance. Contact our Tijuana, Mexico practice to find out if you may benefit from this procedure.

Insulin Sensitivity and Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin is the hormone in the body that is primarily responsible for taking glucose from the blood stream and transferring it to the muscles and fat tissues in the body. Insulin sensitivity refers to how quickly the body is able to get glucose out of the blood and into those tissues.

Individuals with good insulin sensitivity will have ideal blood sugar levels. Those with poor insulin sensitivity will have high blood sugar levels because the glucose will stay in the blood longer than necessary. Poor insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes is particularly common in people who are obese.

Effects of Bariatric Surgery

A recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology has looked into how bariatric surgery affects patients with insulin sensitivity.

To conduct the study, doctors took samples of fat and thigh muscle tissues from obese patients with blood sugar levels within the normal range and those with type 2 diabetes. After undergoing bariatric surgery, samples were taken from each patient once again.

The collected data showed that, in all cases, patients lost weight and insulin levels improved. This improvement is thought to be largely associated with increased levels of insulin-controlled proteins in the fat and muscle tissues.

However, it should be noted that these changes took place only after the patients had lost a significant amount of weight.

Benefits of Bariatric Surgery

What this study has shown is that the benefits of bariatric surgery go well beyond the aesthetic effect of weight loss. There are also significant health benefits of this procedure.

By helping patients lose excess weight that has put their health at risk, bariatric surgery can decrease the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions.

Learn More

If you are struggling to lose weight and improve your health, you may be an ideal candidate for bariatric surgery. To learn more about this procedure and how it can benefit your physical and emotional well-being, contact us at your earliest convenience.

Bariatric surgery is an effective option to address obesity and morbid obesity in countless people. That said, there are times when people do not achieve the results they wanted from their surgical weight loss procedure. Some patients find that their weight loss plateaus, and they never approach their target weight. Other patients wind up regaining most of the weight they lost. When this happens, our Tijuana bariatric surgeons and weight loss surgery experts can help.

The most ideal solution for these problems is bariatric surgery revision to address complications and weight loss issues. The Tijuana Bariatrics team would like to go over these problems with weight loss and how revising a previous bariatric procedure or converting one weight loss procedure into another one can help.

Issues with Limited Weight Loss

Most estimates suggest that surgical weight loss treatments help people shed up to 70 percent of their excess weight. This means that if a person is 100 pounds over their ideal weight range, the bariatric procedure will help them lose about 70 pounds. As you can imagine, this number is much higher for people who further exceed their ideal weight.

We mentioned issues with a weight loss plateau. In these cases, patients only lose about 40 percent of their excess weight or less. This can still leave patients obese, and while there are benefits to some weight loss, this is clearly not enough.

Can People Regain Weight After Bariatric Surgery?

Yes.

All bariatric surgery patients will hit a peak level of weight loss after about a year or two years. As their body adjusts to their new diet and lifestyle, some weight will be regained. If a patient regains too much weight after bariatric surgery, it can undo the health benefits of the procedure.

How Revision Bariatric Surgery Works

A revision bariatric surgery involves tweaking the existing procedure performed or converting the existing procedure into another weight loss procedure. This could mean converting a gastric band surgery into a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass; or it may mean converting a gastric sleeve into a gastric bypass or duodenal switch. By altering the nature of the bariatric procedure, we can help facilitate further weight loss.

Whenever possible, we will limit scarring during the revision surgery by working through incision sites made during the previous procedure.

Determining the Right Bariatric Procedure for the Revision

There are numerous ways to go about revision and conversion of a bariatric procedure. The right option varies, though it’s determined by the patient’s current weight and rate of weight loss, as well as their overall suitability for a procedure.

During a consultation here at Tijuana Bariatrics, we can go over your weight loss goals and struggles and develop the ideal treatment plan for your needs. We’ll answer any of your questions and concerns during this process.

How Successful Is Bariatric Surgery Revision?

Many patients who undergo bariatric surgery revision experience improved weight loss and are able to reach their health targets. This can make all the difference in successfully addressing various comorbidities associated with obesity.

Our focus when designing the revision procedure will be to ensure the patient gets close to their ideal weight within a year or two after the procedure, and that they develop good habits that allow the weight to remain off for years to come.

Contact Our Bariatric Surgeons

To learn more about revision bariatric surgery and your many other options for ensuring proper weight loss, be sure to contact our team of skilled weight loss surgeons.