Gastric bypass is an intensive procedure to restrict the body’s food absorption. It works by sealing off a portion of the stomach and connecting the rest of it to the lower part of the small intestine. This means the upper part of the small intestine is bypassed, and the stomach is also smaller. The net result: the body cannot absorb as much food.
This is a very intensive surgery, not to be taken lightly. But for someone who qualifies for it, it can be life-saving. It can lead to rapid weight loss. This can mean that weight-related diseases are reduced or eliminated.
The key is to keep the weight off in the long term. But this is easier said than done. For anyone who has lost a great deal of weight, it can come back.
How Can Body Contouring Help?
Body contouring can play an important role in keeping weight off after a gastric bypass surgery. A recent study confirms it. But more on that in a minute. First: what is body contouring?
Body contouring is a procedure to remove excess skin (and some fat as well). It can be done in many areas, such as under the arms or in the abs region. This can be necessary after extreme weight loss because the skin is not always elastic enough to regain its former firmness on its own. Once the skin has been stretched over time, it slowly loses the ability to go back to the original shape. Extreme weight gain over time can cause the skin to stretch significantly. In some cases, the skin cannot go back to the way it was before. In other cases, the skin has lost elasticity due to aging or other factors like sun exposure, smoking, or nutrition. Either way, body contouring can help.
Now, back to that study. The results of the study were published recently in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). This study showed that body contouring helps gastric bypass patients keep the weight off for longer.
Here’s how they did the study:
They looked at the total weight loss for two gastric bypass patient groups. In one group, body contouring was done as well. The other group did not. The two groups were made up of people with similar characteristics. Both groups lost an average of 100 pounds within two years of the surgery. But the group that did not have body contouring gained back about four times as much weight over the next few years. At seven years after the surgery, the group that did not have the body contouring gained back more than 30 more pounds on average than the other group.
This is important because keeping the weight off is key to getting the health benefits from the surgery. As such, the researchers have suggested that body contouring be considered to be an integral part of the gastric bypass process. It should be thought of as essential rather than cosmetic. Since the goal is to achieve long-term weight loss, this appears to be a crucial step to achieving that goal. They also argue that insurance should cover the body contouring for the same reasons.
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