Frequently Asked Questions
Treatment of obesity is mostly achieved by decreasing excessive calorie intake or increasing burning calories with diet, sports, and a change of lifestyle. If insistent efforts do not result in weight loss, obesity surgery is considered since it is the most efficient and proven treatment.
According to long-term scientific research, the success rate of reaching the ideal weight and losing excess weight and keeping this weight for a long time through diet, sports, and lifestyle changes is 2-8%. In other words, there is a 92-98% risk of regaining weight, which is also called recurrence.
After a comprehensive examination during the Doctor visit, your current situation is evaluated in detail by blood tests, ECG, respiratory function tests, ultrasonography, endoscopy. Plus, opinions of other physicians (Cardiology, endocrinology, anesthesiology, etc.) are taken. All these examinations are completed in 1 day.
Although patients’ demands are considered, a decision for a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or a bypass surgery procedure, or another procedure is given after examining additional diseases and further evaluations.
The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy takes approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour, and RNY Gastric bypass takes 1.5-2 hours.
The examination for leakage between the suture lines in the stomach made with special devices (staples) is called leakage test. This examination is performed either by an air-liquid test or with a blue dye (methylene blue). If leakage is detected, the risk is reduced by strengthening the area with sutures.
Living as obese for a long time leads up to many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory arrest during sleep, joint diseases and some types of cancer…
Obesity Surgery is generally performed in patients between 18-65 years old. However, in the 15-18 age range, these operations can be performed with parental permission and the recommendation of a paediatrician.
This is a question that should be kept in mind after every surgery. We usually perform obesity surgeries with the laparoscopic method. In other words, obesity surgeries are much, much less painful compared to open surgeries, since we do it through very small holes and the incisions are not large. Since it is laparoscopic, our patients return to their daily activities earlier. Therefore, obesity surgeries are not unbearably painful surgeries.
Generally, the average is two to three days stay in the hospital after bariatric surgery. However, the condition may change depending on the weight of the patient undergoing surgery and the presence of co-morbidities. Today, there are countries where you can go home in the evening, and in our country, you usually stay in the hospital for an average of two days. Very rarely they can stay for the third day.
The most commonly performed surgeries today are sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgeries. However, after these surgeries, the person should adapt to the anatomical changes made intellectually. With the change of both eating habits and physical activity habits, weight loss is achieved. If people return to their old eating habits in the long term and do not do physical activity, there is a certain amount of weight gain. This rate is approximately twenty to twenty-five percent in sleeve gastrectomy surgeries, and approximately ten to fifteen percent in gastric bypass surgeries.
Nowadays, with the developing technology, the development of laparoscopic systems, the increase in our experience, the increasing number of surgeries and the development of imaging systems, the risk of obesity surgeries is similar to other surgeries with general surgery, like gallbladder or appendicitis surgery. Rather than the risk of obesity surgeries, obesity itself has now become more risky than the surgery itself. Therefore, we can also say, obesity surgeries can now be performed with acceptable risks.
Obesity surgeries are the surgeries we perform for individuals who have gained excessive weight to return to their normal weight. These skin sagging can be prevented by the amount of pre-operative weight, skin structure, genetic factors, protein and fluid intake in the postoperative period, applying physical activity, muscle strengthening and increasing the volume of the muscle. We can see skin sagging in some of our patients with high weight onset. However, these skin sagging can be minimized with the fluid intake, protein and physical activity as I mentioned.
The yoyo effect defines repeated cycles of losing weight, gaining back the lost weight after ending the diet, and then dieting again.
