Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
The purpose of VBG is the treatment of morbid (unhealthy) obesity. It is one of the first successful procedures in bariatric surgery. VBG was developed in its present form in 1982 by Dr. Edward E. Mason, a professor of surgery at the University of Iowa.
Bariatric surgery in general is important in the management of severe obesity because it is the only one as of 2003 that has demonstrated long-term success in the majority of patients. Weight reduction diets, exercise programs, and appetite suppressant medications have had a very low long-term success rate in managing morbid obesity. Most people who try to lose weight on reduced-calorie diets regain two-thirds of the weight lost within one year; within five years, they have gained more weight in addition to all the weight they had lost previously. Appetite suppressants often have undesirable or harmful side effects as well as having a low rate of long-term effectiveness; in 1997 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of fenfluramine and phentermine ("fen-phen") when they were discovered to cause damage to heart valves.
Obesity is a major health problem not only because it is widespread in the American population—as of 2003, 33% of adults in the United States meet the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria for obesity—but because it greatly increases a person's risk of developing potentially life-threatening disorders. Obesity is associated with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, hypertension, abnormal blood cholesterol levels, liver disease, coronary artery disease, sleep apnea syndrome, and certain types of cancer. In addition to these disorders, obesity is a factor in what have been called lifestyle-limiting conditions. These conditions are not life-threatening, but they can have a great impact on a people's day-to-day lives, particularly in their relationships and in the working world. Lifestyle-limiting conditions related to obesity include osteoarthritis and gout; urinary stress incontinence; heartburn; skin disorders caused by heavy perspiration accumulating in folds of skin; leg swelling and varicose veins; gallstones; and abdominal hernias. Obese women frequently suffer from irregular menstrual periods and infertility. Finally, societal prejudice against obese people is widespread and frequently mentioned as a source of acute psychological distress. Surgical treatment of obesity has been demonstrated to relieve emotional pain as well as to reduce risks to the patient's physical health.
Advertisement
The animation describes gastric bypass surgery, gastric band surgery, and sleeve gastrectomy. As explained in the video, these procedures use either restrictive or malabsorptive approaches to weight loss, or both.
Other Information
Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), also known as stomach stapling, is a restrictive operation for weight control. Both a band and staples are used to create a small stomach pouch. In the bottom of the pouch is an approximately one-centimeter hole through which the pouch contents can flow into the remainder of the stomach and thence onto the remainder of the gastrointestinal tract.
Stomach stapling is a restrictive technique for managing obesity. The pouch limits the amount of food a patient can eat at one time and slows passage of the food. Stomach stapling is more effective when combined with a malabsorptive technique, in which part of the digestive tract is bypassed, reducing the absorption of calories and nutrients. Combined restrictive and malabsorptive techniques are called gastric bypass techniques, of which Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RGB) is the most common. In this technique, staples are used to form a pouch that is connected to the small intestine, bypassing the lower stomach, the duodenum, and the first portion of the jejunum.
This type of weight loss surgery is losing favor as more doctors begin using the adjustable gastric band. The newer adjustable band does not require cutting into the stomach and does not use any staple lines, thus making it a much safer alternative.
VBG is known in the medical community as a very serious and dangerous procedure. It has been classified by the AMA as a "severely dangerous" operation.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_banded_gastroplasty_surgery
Other Information
The average Bariatric Surgery patient is a woman in her late 30s who weighs approximately 300 pounds in 2004.
From: Bariatric-Surgery.info
Find a Qualified Specialist
Looking for a specialist?
Please enter your zip code.
