What happens when a patient loses weight after a bariatric procedure only to begin to gain it back? If that’s the case, there is hope.
While weight loss surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity, your original procedure might not have resulted in optimal weight loss. It’s also possible you started to gain back some weight as time went by — usually if you went back to your old eating habits.
In occasional cases, the bariatric procedure may warrant a revision due to complications. Such conditions include band slippage or blockage, or a new onset of heartburn and reflux among others.
Depending on your unique needs, a revision might be recommended, which modifies your original procedure. A conversion may also be suggested, which replaces your original procedure with a new solution.
Restoring a Bariatric Procedure so it Will Remain Effective
In some situations, the bariatric procedure that a patient undergoes was not the ideal fit from the start. This has been the case with the LAP-BAND, or gastric band, procedure. The gastric band limits the amount of food a patient can eat but has little effect on hormones to make a person want to eat less and consume healthier foods.
Different procedures need different corrections. After a sleeve gastrectomy, sometimes the stomach pouch has become enlarged, making a revision to reduce the size of the sleeve to restore restriction is necessary.
A sleeve can also be converted to a Gastric Bypass or a SADI(Single Anastomosis Duodenal Interposition), which is a combination of a sleeve gastrectomy and a gastric bypass. SADI works by using both a restrictive and a malabsorptive procedure to experience weight loss and resolution of medical problems. SADI is a great procedure for those who have had a sleeve gastrectomy in the past and require a revision for weight or medical comorbidities.
While patients who previously had a gastric bypass cannot have another one, there are certain surgical options that can be done such as making the stomach pouch smaller if it’s too big or lengthening the intestinal limbs. Converting to a duodenal switch is another option. As always, consult with your bariatric surgeon to discuss which options are right for you.
Gastric Band Removal
Placing a laparoscopic gastric band around the stomach was once the standard method for weight loss, but complications have occurred. Complications can involve:
- Band slippage
- Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus)
- Failure to lose significant weight
- Gastric erosion (where the stomach tissue is damaged because of the band pressure)
- Infection
- Positioning issues
- Pouch dilation (spreading of the stomach behind the band restriction)
Additionally, the lap band procedure doesn’t have a metabolic effect. That means it doesn’t properly treat the disease of obesity. Up to half of gastric band operations are estimated to have some form of complication, many of which require surgical intervention, and the weight loss failure rate in the U.S. can be anywhere from 16 to 50%.
Surgeons at AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery can remove the LAP-BAND and perform a new bariatric procedure such as a sleeve gastrectomy or a gastric bypass. This approach is called a “conversion” because the surgeon converts the LAP-BAND into another bariatric procedure.
After removing the gastric band, most patients’ stomachs return to their normal, pre-operative size. If you’ve developed healthy diet, you exercise regularly and can maintain these habits following removal of your band, you should be able to keep the weight off long term.
Revision Surgery Won’t Fix a Poor Diet
While the surgeons at AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery can correct many bariatric procedures, it’s crucial to point out that having more surgery won’t change a patient’s diet choices.
Patients often need help to get their diets on track, which AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery offers through its comprehensive care continuum.
Setting Expectations for What Bariatric Surgery Revision Can Accomplish
Weight loss is not as dramatic after a revision as the original weight loss; initial bariatric surgery changes a patient’s hormones that influence appetite and fat storage in ways that can’t fully be benefited from again when a patient regains weight.
If patients can lose up to 75 percent of their excess weight after their initial bypass procedures, a revision may enable them to lose only up to 35 percent of that weight. However, the weight lost may still prove significant and improve a person’s whole health and quality of life.
A Regional Hotspot for Revision Surgery
Our team at AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery are some of the only bariatric surgeons in the area willing to fix patients’ bariatric procedures.
Revisions are involved surgeries. They take longer than the initial bariatric procedure and are more complicated. Because prior surgery was performed in the same area in the body, patients go into the revision operation with tissues already scarred, which makes it more difficult for surgeons to work with.
However, the bariatric surgeons at AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery expertly complete revision procedures. They are experienced in performing them safely with low complication rates and high success rates. They’re happy to help patients get back on track to better health.
If you’ve had bariatric surgery and regained weight, or are experiencing other health issues like acid reflux, and you’re interested in knowing more about bariatric revision surgery, meet with a surgeon at AdventHealth Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery.
Schedule your consultation today and learn more at AdventHealthWeightLoss.com.
