Band vs. Bypass
How to Choose
When weighing different choices to assist with weight loss, keep in mind that you always have the option to do nothing. Zero treatment, however, tends to have zero results. Another option is to continue diet and exercise or begin a medical weight loss program. An important part of any medical weight loss program is to screen for disorders that may be contributing to obesity such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease. At Synchrony Health we screen for proven causes of obesity and other medical disorders before offering surgical intervention. We also understand that many people suffering from obesity have abnormal appetite mechanisms and their bodies are very efficient at storing calories. Skinny people do not have this physiology. We all know skinny people who don’t eat right and don’t exercise but they don’t become obese.
It has been shown that if you are more than one hundred pounds overweight, many patients regain all lost weight and often more over the long-term. Dieting can be associated with depression, anxiety, irritability, weakness and preoccupation with food. Many patients will repeatedly lose and regain weight (yo-yo), which is actually not healthy for your body.
Some people find success with medical weight loss programs. Some people find their success with surgical weight loss. Synchrony Health offers both so one place is all you need to achieve success at a healthy weight.
Typically patients who consider surgery are tired of losing and regaining weight and just can’t face another diet program. They want a powerful tool to help them succeed. Most people have tried everything by the time they consider surgery.
On the surgery side, there are many important distinctions between gastric band and gastric bypass surgery. Synchrony Health does not offer gastric bypass. If you look at the common complications of weight loss surgery, the gastric band is much safer. Many complications related to the gastric bypass do not exist with the gastric band. Gastric bypass complications are common, severe and can result in death or long-term disability. Band complications are rare, minor and easily fixed as an outpatient procedure in most cases.
When surgeons and healthcare workers have bariatric surgery themselves, most of them choose gastric banding over the bypass. Most have professional knowledge of the risks associated with gastric bypass. Often after witnessing patients die or have serious complications from gastric bypass, they tend to steer away from the procedure and choose gastric banding instead. This speaks to the differences in the risks between the two procedures.
When one of our patients struggled with the decision between band and bypass, we advised her to go to the support groups and talk to patients who had actually had the procedures. She came back from that experience and decided to have a band. When asked why, she told us that the bypass patients looked ill. She didn’t like the way their skin and hair looked. She said the band patients looked healthy and happy. Many of our patients say they would rather stay obese than risk having a gastric bypass. When band patients reach their healthy weight, they are healthy. When bypass patients reach their healthy weight, they still have a chronic disease called malabsorption.
When weighing different choices to assist with weight loss, keep in mind that you always have the option to do nothing. Zero treatment, however, tends to have zero results. Another option is to continue diet and exercise or begin a medical weight loss program. An important part of any medical weight loss program is to screen for disorders that may be contributing to obesity such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease. At Synchrony Health we screen for proven causes of obesity and other medical disorders before offering surgical intervention. We also understand that many people suffering from obesity have abnormal appetite mechanisms and their bodies are very efficient at storing calories. Skinny people do not have this physiology. We all know skinny people who don’t eat right and don’t exercise but they don’t become obese.
It has been shown that if you are more than one hundred pounds overweight, many patients regain all lost weight and often more over the long-term. Dieting can be associated with depression, anxiety, irritability, weakness and preoccupation with food. Many patients will repeatedly lose and regain weight (yo-yo), which is actually not healthy for your body.
Some people find success with medical weight loss programs. Some people find their success with surgical weight loss. Synchrony Health offers both so one place is all you need to achieve success at a healthy weight.
Typically patients who consider surgery are tired of losing and regaining weight and just can’t face another diet program. They want a powerful tool to help them succeed. Most people have tried everything by the time they consider surgery.
On the surgery side, there are many important distinctions between gastric band and gastric bypass surgery. Synchrony Health does not offer gastric bypass. If you look at the common complications of weight loss surgery, the gastric band is much safer. Many complications related to the gastric bypass do not exist with the gastric band. Gastric bypass complications are common, severe and can result in death or long-term disability. Band complications are rare, minor and easily fixed as an outpatient procedure in most cases.
When surgeons and healthcare workers have bariatric surgery themselves, most of them choose gastric banding over the bypass. Most have professional knowledge of the risks associated with gastric bypass. Often after witnessing patients die or have serious complications from gastric bypass, they tend to steer away from the procedure and choose gastric banding instead. This speaks to the differences in the risks between the two procedures.
When one of our patients struggled with the decision between band and bypass, we advised her to go to the support groups and talk to patients who had actually had the procedures. She came back from that experience and decided to have a band. When asked why, she told us that the bypass patients looked ill. She didn’t like the way their skin and hair looked. She said the band patients looked healthy and happy. Many of our patients say they would rather stay obese than risk having a gastric bypass. When band patients reach their healthy weight, they are healthy. When bypass patients reach their healthy weight, they still have a chronic disease called malabsorption.