There are a multiple types of bariatric procedures available for weight loss. One general type is known as restrictive bariatric surgery. This procedure reduces the size of your stomach but does not change your digestive process.

Another category is called malabsorption or malabsorptive procedures. This type of weight loss surgery shrinks the stomach and also bypass the duodenum and sometimes the jejunum. The resulting “malabsorption” means fewer calories are taken in by your body. Fewer calories absorbed = greater weight loss.

Restrictive Bariatric Surgery

Restrictive bariatric surgeries include Adjustable Gastric Banding (AGB) and Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG). These procedures do not alter your digestive system; however they do reduce the amount of food you can ingest. After the surgery, a person can only eat about one cup of food at a sitting.

If you eat more than the recommended amount you will probably throw up and might also stretch your new stomach, causing the surgery to fail. Vertical Banded Gastroplasty is also known as stomach staple surgery.

Adjustable Gastric Banding is familiar to many as the Lap Band. The advantages of the lap banding are fewer complications than other bariatric procedures. The drawbacks to this procedure are slower weight loss and also the fact that you cannot have other health complications present in order to be approved for lap-banding. But the process is less invasive than other surgeries, and the lap band can be removed later if the patient so chooses.

Malabsorptive Bariatric Surgery

Malabsorptive bariatric procedures work by reducing the size of the stomach and effectively bypassing the duodenum and sometimes also the jejunum. Malabsorption weight loss surgery includes Roux-en-Y, commonly called gastric bypass surgery, the Duodenal Switch, the Fobi Pouch, and Biliopancreatic Diversion.

In the Duodenal Switch procedure, the surgeon blocks off part of the stomach, making it smaller. This reduces the amount of food that can be ingested and also limits calorie absorption. However, within a few months, a patient can resume eating the same food as they did before (with certain limitations, of course).

New Bariatric Procedures

The latest bariatric procedures are focused on minimally-invasive techniques. Laparoscopic bariatric surgery was the first of these newer techniques, and the past couple of years have seen the introduction of an improved technique in which endoscopic surgical instruments are inserted through the patient’s mouth.

Known as StomaphyX™, a hose-like surgical device is inserted through the mouth, allowing the bariatric surgeon to grasp the stomach tissue and employ suture anchors. The physician creates several tissue folds in the stomach wall, thereby reducing its capacity to hold food. In most cases, the StomaphyX procedure can be performed as outpatient surgery.

Does Insurance Cover Bariatric Surgery?

Medicare currently reimburses for bariatric procedures on a regional basis and is the primary payer for approximately 20% of all procedures performed. There are procedure reimbursement codes for bariatric surgery with prior authorization.

However, some weight loss surgeries are considered cosmetic and likely won’t be covered by your insurance. Be sure to research and thoroughly understand the insurance issues involved before going ahead with any type of bariatric surgery for weight loss.

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For extremely overweight or morbidly obese individuals who have made many unsuccessful attempts at losing weight, stomach staple surgery may be one of their few remaining weight loss solutions. This is a major operation, during which a bariatric surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach where it meets the esophagus. The procedure is done through the use of staples and a band that is filled with saline which can expand and contract.

The success of weight loss surgery often depends on the willingness of the patient to change his or her eating and exercise habits. There are also significant side effects and risks associated with this surgery, which means that it should only be done after serious consideration of all the potential risks and rewards.

Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG)

In bariatric medicine, stomach stapling – also known as gastric stapling or gastroplasty – is a surgical technique which uses gastric staples to reduce the size of the stomach, creating a “new” stomach pouch. The pouch will typically be big enough to hold one to three ounces of food at a time.

At the lower end of this “new” stomach, an opening of about two centimeters is created. This slows down the passage of food, allowing the individual to feel full sooner. As a result, the individual can only eat just a small quantity of food at a time.

Sometimes stomach staple surgery is done in conjunction with another procedure called a malabsorptive operation, in which food from the stomach is diverted past much of the small intestine. This dramatically limits the ability of the body to absorb calories and nutrients from the food, resulting in quick weight loss.

After Stomach Staple Surgery

After stomach staple surgery, a patient will be forced to change daily eating patterns. It will be necessary to eat food in smaller amounts and to chew thoroughly.

The patient will not be able to eat foods high in sugar or fat, because these foods empty from the stomach more quickly than foods high in protein or complex carbohydrates such as fiber, and thus can cause uncomfortable side effects. This is known as “dumping syndrome,” where food passes through the new stomach opening too rapidly, causing weakness, nausea, dizziness and vomiting.

The patient will also need to take nutritional supplements for the rest of his or her life, because there will not be enough nutrition in the reduced portions of food. Regular physical activity will also be required, despite it not having been a part of the patient’s life prior to the surgery.

Stomach Staple Surgery Cost

How much does stomach staple surgery cost? The price for bariatric stomach stapling averages between $20,000 and $30,000. Stomach stapling is considered major weight loss surgery. To be accepted for bariatric surgery, an individual needs to have a body mass index (BMI) of over 40.

For males, this means being at least 100 pounds overweight for their height. Females must be at least 80 pounds over the healthy weight range for their height. Health insurance may or may not cover the operation, depending on the particular insurance plan.

Does Stomach Staple Surgery work?

Complete weight loss takes anywhere from 12 to 24 months after stomach staple surgery is performed. But long-term success of weight loss surgery ultimately depends on the individual’s motivation to change his or her lifestyle.

Eating and exercise habits must be modified significantly, or there is a chance the weight will come back.

Is Stomach Staple Surgery dangerous?

Between ten and twenty percent of people who undergo the surgery will need to have at least one follow-up procedure due to complications. The band can slip, or sometimes break, releasing saline into the abdomen. The staples may deteriorate and need to be replaced.

In a small number of cases, digestive juices from the stomach can leak  into the abdomen, requiring immediate emergency surgery. In less than one percent of stomach staple surgery cases, infection can lead to death.

Clearly, the risks and rewards of this type of weight loss surgery should be considered very carefully through consultation with a bariatric physician experienced in bariatric gastric bypass before deciding to go ahead.

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