Explore Advanced Surgical Solutions
Discover the possibilities offered by weight loss surgery, each tailored to meet your unique needs. From gastric bypass to gastric sleeve and innovative robotic surgery, we provide comprehensive options to help you reclaim control over your health.
Who Is Weight Loss Surgery For?
Weight loss surgery serves as a great option for individuals grappling with obesity, particularly those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or higher. If conventional weight loss approaches have yielded limited success, surgical solutions can serve as a helpful pathway toward achieving substantial and lasting weight loss.
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Surgery is suitable for individuals who face challenges in managing their weight through diet and exercise alone. If you've struggled to attain a healthier BMI, weight loss surgery offers a comprehensive and life-altering solution that goes beyond conventional methods.
It's an option designed to help individuals overcome the barriers that excessive weight poses to their overall well-being.
Surgical Options
Gastric Bypass
This proven surgical technique involves creating a smaller stomach pouch, rerouting the digestive system to promote weight loss. Gastric bypass restricts food intake and alters how your body absorbs nutrients, leading to effective weight loss.
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Gastric Sleeve
A sleeve gastrectomy involves removing a portion of the stomach, resulting in a smaller, banana-shaped stomach.
This reduces the amount of food you can eat, contributing to weight loss and promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Duodenal Switch
This procedure helps with weight loss by reducing stomach volume and limiting the absorption of fat calories through intestinal bypass. While it offers significant weight loss, its complexity leads to a higher risk of complications compared to other weight loss procedures.
Gastric Bypass
Gastric Bypass is hailed as the gold standard in obesity surgery, offering long-term weight control. It achieves weight loss through two methods: restricting food intake volume and modest malabsorption.
Gastric bypass patients experience reduced hunger due to decreased ghrelin, the hunger hormone.
Ideal candidates, especially with a BMI of 35+, benefit from rapid and lasting weight loss, addressing co-morbidities like diabetes and high blood pressure.
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Results: Patients achieve an average 75% excess weight loss by one year after surgery. Active participation in a comprehensive aftercare program, like ours at Nashville Weight Loss Solutions, enhances success rates.
At Nashville Weight Loss Solutions, the laparoscopic Gastric Bypass is a minimally invasive procedure performed by skilled surgeons. Using small incisions and specialized instruments, the surgery creates an upper small gastric pouch, limiting food intake. The small intestines connect to this pouch through an anastomosis, promoting early satiety and fullness. Typically lasting 1.5 hours, the procedure allows patients to stay in the hospital for two nights and return to work within two weeks, thanks to its minimally invasive nature.
Advantages
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Laparoscopic procedure for faster healing.
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Sugar sensitivity minimizes unwanted side effects.
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Reduced hunger hormone (ghrelin).
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No foreign device, less management.
Disadvantages
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Stomach stapling poses a risk of leakage.
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Major surgery with potential complications.
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Permanent re-routing of GI tract with malabsorption risks.
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Gastric Sleeve
The Gastric Sleeve is a minimally invasive weight loss procedure that involves shaping the stomach into a sleeve by removing about 80% of its volume. This procedure restricts food intake, aiding weight loss through both restriction and a reduction in the "hunger hormone" ghrelin.
Ideal candidates for the gastric sleeve typically have a BMI of 35 or higher and co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, or joint pain. It is a preferred choice for those desiring significant weight loss without the GI tract re-routing required by gastric bypass.
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Results: On average, patients can expect to lose around 65% of excess body weight.
During this laparoscopic surgery, very small incisions allow the removal of about 80% of the stomach, creating a “sleeve” that reduces its size and limits food intake. The new stomach can only hold about 3-4 ounces of solid food at one time, leading to a significant reduction in meal size. Sleeve gastrectomy preserves the stomach’s pyloric valve, allowing for normal stomach emptying and a prolonged feeling of fullness with small bites. The remainder of the stomach is removed, an irreversible aspect of the procedure. The surgery, lasting about one hour, typically requires patients to stay in the hospital for two nights, with a return to work in two weeks.
Advantages
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Performed laparoscopically, leading to faster healing and reduced pain.
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Restrictive weight loss procedure with minimal malabsorption compared to gastric bypass.
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Less hunger due to the reduction of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin.
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No re-routing of the GI tract and no foreign device, lowering risks of certain complications.
Disadvantages
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Risk of stomach stapling complications, such as leakage.
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Considered a major surgery, carrying risks of bleeding, blood clots, wound infection, pneumonia, and death.
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Permanent reduction of the stomach.
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Potential for heartburn due to the amount of restriction the sleeve affords some patients
Duodenal Switch Surgery
The Duodenal Switch (DS) procedure combines stomach volume reduction and fat calorie absorption limitation through intestinal bypass, resulting in substantial weight loss and significant improvement in conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
However, its complexity also comes with a higher risk of complications compared to other weight loss procedures.
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The duodenal switch procedure may be more appropriate for people with very high BMIs of 55 or greater. A study found that the duodenal switch produced more weight loss than the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in patients with a BMI of at least 50.
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Results: Significant weight loss occurs during the initial 12 to 18 months post-Duodenal Switch, with an expected loss of around 80% of excess weight or 35-40% of BMI.*
This is a laparoscopic procedure, that ensures reduced pain and quicker recovery with small incisions. Taking about 3 hours, the surgery involves a 3-night hospital stay, and patients often return to work within 2 weeks.
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In the initial phase, we vertically divide and remove approximately 70% of the stomach, irreversibly reducing its volume. The remaining stomach, resembling a medium banana, can only hold 4-5 ounces of solid food. The Duodenal Switch focuses on preserving stomach function while reducing volume, in contrast to traditional gastric bypass.
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Subsequently, we rearrange and divide the intestines, creating malabsorption to limit calorie and nutrient absorption. The extensive separation prevents full absorption of consumed fat calories. Comparatively, the Duodenal Switch ensures minimal malabsorption.
Advantages
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Performed laparoscopically, leading to faster healing and reduced pain.
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Results in the highest amount of weight loss compared to other procedures and minimizes the chance of weight regain.
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Effectively reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin.
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Allows larger meals with no dumping syndrome.
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Greatest resolution of co-morbidities.
Disadvantages
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Potential risk of leakage and complications directly related to stomach stapling.
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Inherent risks include bleeding, blood clots, intestinal obstruction, wound infection, pneumonia, and, in extreme cases, death.
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Risks of malabsorption of vitamins and minerals, protein malnutrition, chronic diarrhea, foul-smelling stools, and gas.
Nashville Weight Loss Solutions currently does not offer lap band surgery and ESG (Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty) for specific reasons related to safety, efficacy, and evolving medical practices.
Are you ready to reclaim your health?
Booking a consultation with Nashville Weight Loss Solutions is your gateway to a new you and our expert team is dedicated to guiding you on your life-changing journey. Take your first step today and book today!