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Bariatric Surgery in San Diego

A Patient's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery in San Diego, California

The popularity of weight loss surgery has skyrocketed over the last few years. Statistics from the National Institutes of Health suggest that well over 100,000 people undergo weight loss surgery in the United States each year. The number of surgeries performed each year continues to rise, as well.

Why are there so many more bariatric surgery procedures today than a few years ago? Several reasons, really:

• Increased Options - For one thing, there is a wider variety of bariatric surgical procedures today than there were ten years ago. In the past, weight loss surgery basically meant a gastric bypass, with few other options. But today, patients considering a bariatric surgery in San Diego have more options available to them, such as the increasingly popular gastric banding procedures (discussed below).
• Increased Publicity - Increased media coverage has also fueled the growth of bariatric weight-loss surgery in San Diego, California (and elsewhere in the country). There are even spokespersons for bariatric surgery today, which is not something we saw in the past. For example, Muhammad Ali's daughter Khalia Ali represents the LAP-BAND ® System of weight loss surgery. As a result of all this media coverage, the American public is much more aware of weight loss surgery options.
• Increased Need - The third reason bariatric surgery is so popular in San Diego and across the country simply has to do with the number of obese people in this country. It is estimated that 30% of the American population is obese, a much higher percentage than ten years ago. Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have likely contributed to these numbers.

Weight Loss Surgery - A Careful Consideration

For all of the reasons outlined above, bariatric surgery is much more popular as a treatment option today than it was ten years ago. But it's still surgery, and as such it requires careful consideration. So if you're considering weight loss surgery in the San Diego area, we hope you'll view this brief tutorial as a jumping-off point for further research. This article is certainly not a comprehensive education on San Diego bariatric surgery, but it's a great place to start!

And speaking of starting, let's start this lesson properly with a basic definition of bariatric weight-loss surgery:

What Is Bariatric Surgery?

Anyone considering bariatric surgery in San Diego, California should start with the basics, by learning what this surgery entails, what types of surgical procedures are available, etc. This should take place before one searches of a San Diego surgeon, because some surgeons specialize in certain types of procedures. So it only makes sense to learn about the procedures, choose the best one for the individual patient's needs, and then seek a San Diego surgeon who can best perform that type of surgery.

We will get to the types of bariatric surgery available in San Diego in just a moment. First, let's start with some basic definitions.

Bariatrics is the field of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity. By most medical definitions, obesity refers to people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. The BMI is a widely used measurement to evaluate a person for obesity. BMI estimates body mass by using a mathematical ratio of weight and height.

Now that we have defined bariatrics and obesity, you can more easily understand the various types of surgery associated with it. Bariatric surgery, by extension, is any surgery intended to help obese patients lose weight. This is also commonly referred to as obesity surgery and weight loss surgery. These terms are basically synonymous and interchangeable.

Your Surgery Options in San Diego

In the definition of bariatric surgery above, you'll notice I kept referring to types of surgery, in the plural. That's because there are several types of weight loss surgery available in the San Diego area. With the constant evolution of technology (and the advent of new surgical devices and procedures), patients considering bariatric surgery will have an increasing number of surgery options as time goes on.

But here in the present, the following procedures are the most common forms of weight loss surgery in San Diego, California:

• Gastric Bypass - This type of surgery has been used for quite a long time, which is why most people think of the gastric bypass when they hear the phrase "weight loss surgery." The gastric bypass achieves results by reducing the stomach size and altering the digestive process. A small section of the stomach is stapled off, rendering the larger portion of the stomach unusable. The small intestine is then rerouted to connect with this newly created "pouch." This decreases the patient's stomach capacity (and food consumption levels), which leads to weight loss. [learn more + view diagram]
• Adjustable Gastric Band - Compared with the bypass procedure, gastric banding is a newer form of weight loss surgery available in San Diego. With these procedures, an adjustable band (usually made of silicon) is placed around the upper portion of the stomach. This achieves a similar effect to the stapling concept behind gastric bypass, in that both procedures create a small stomach pouch. But banding procedures are less invasive, performed by laparoscopic means that allow for smaller incisions. [view diagram] Popular forms of gastric banding are the LAP-BAND ® System made by Allergan, and the Realize Band made by a Johnson & Johnson company. Gastric banding has become so popular among patients (especially the Lap-Band) that many San Diego surgeons are now specializing in these procedures.
• Vertical Banded Gastroplasty - This type of bariatric surgery (abbreviated as VBG) combines certain aspects of the two surgeries we just discussed. It uses both stomach staples and banding in order to achieve results. As with other forms of weight loss surgery available in San Diego, the VBG creates a "stomach within a stomach" by segmenting the patient's stomach into a smaller upper portion, as well as a larger lower portion that is rendered unusable. [view diagram]

Choosing a San Diego Bariatric Surgeon

Today, the population of San Diego County is well over 3 million folks. Compared to other counties across the U.S., this is a considerable population. As a result of the large population, there are many bariatric surgeons to choose from in the San Diego area. So you will certainly have no trouble finding a specialist in gastric banding, gastric bypass, or any form of weight loss surgery in San Diego, California.

With that being said, it's crucial that you choose a highly qualified bariatric surgeon to perform your surgical procedure. After all, this is your health and wellbeing we are talking about. Here are some considerations to keep in mind when choosing a bariatric / weight loss surgeon in the San Diego area:

• Surgery Experience -- From a patient's perspective, surgical skill is the most important criteria when choosing a surgeon. And surgical skill comes mainly from direct experience. Key questions to ask: "How long have you been performing weight loss surgery, and how many surgeries have you done to date?"
• Patient Success Rate -- Also keep in mind that surgery success rates are more important than the sheer number of surgeries performed. In other words, quality is more important than quantity. In this context, success can be defined in terms of weight loss after surgery, general recovery times, minimizing complications, etc. These are things to inquire about as well.
• Bedside Manner -- You will be interacting with your chosen surgeon quite a bit — several times before your surgery, and for several follow-up visits afterward. So it certainly helps if you get along with the surgeon, and that you feel he or she truly cares about your health and wellbeing. These "bedside manner" factors are important when choosing your San Diego surgeon.

Continue Your Education

In the introduction to this tutorial, I mentioned that this is the beginning of your weight loss surgery education — not the end of it. All surgeries require careful consideration and research, and this includes bariatric procedures as well. So before you make any decisions regarding bariatric surgery, you owe it to yourself to do some further research into the matter. Here are some helpful resources to get you started

• MedlinePlus: Weight Loss Surgery
• American Society of Bariatric Surgery
• Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity

I sincerely hope that this guide to San Diego bariatric surgery has helped you in some way, and I wish you well on your journey to better health.

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