Weight Regain & Slow Weight Loss After Revision Surgery
Obesity is a medical condition that has become a global public health issue. Due to the worldwide obesity epidemic, bariatric surgery has become the optimal treatment option for people who want to achieve sustained weight loss.
When it is about the human body, nothing can be guaranteed. Everything works according to body type and mechanism. Sometimes bariatric surgery doesn’t work. This is where revision bariatric surgery is required due to the undesirable results of the first weight loss surgery.
If you experience slow weight loss or weight regain after bariatric surgery, revision surgery can be the solution. Even after revision surgery, you may go through several issues like slow weight loss after revision surgery. If you follow up regularly with your surgeon, you can correct it.
Here is a brief description of what is bariatric revision surgery, and what are the potential risks involved?
What Is Bariatric Revision Surgery?
The term bariatric surgery refers to changes made to the digestive system to help you lose weight by holding less food in the stomach. Many patients have long-term benefits with this procedure and do not require revision surgery, but some may develop issues.
Bariatric surgery no doubt feels appealing, but sometimes it does not work. Can we get bariatric surgery twice? — Many people wonder. So yes, it is the solution! If you previously had surgery, that wasn’t successful for you, and you put the weight back on afterward. You are qualified to have bariatric revision surgery. It would be beneficial to remove the complications from the prior surgery that prevented weight loss.
There may be gradual weight gain after a few years of surgery. It could be due to many reasons depending upon the type of surgery. Here, revision surgery can help you to achieve your weight loss goals. Here is a quick review of revision surgeries.
Gastric Sleeve Revision Surgery
If you already underwent this procedure and revisions are required— it is done using the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty ESG method. With endoscopy, the stomach is operated through the throat. Without making any incisions, the stomach size is reduced by sutures. On the surgeon’s recommendation— a patient can return home within a few hours.
Gastric Bypass Revision Surgery
It is known as a transoral gastric outlet reduction. If you previously had gastric bypass surgery and need to undergo it again. During the procedure, the stomach’s connection to the small bowel is reconfigured.
Sometimes surgeon inserts sutures to the stomach via endoscope without any incisions made. After doing this, the patient quickly feels full and stops overeating, this causes weight reduction. The patient can go home the same day.
Signs of a Failed Bariatric Surgery
Every patient’s body is different and can have these or related symptoms. It is normal to regain weight after initial success of the procedure.
If you are experiencing any below-mentioned issues, start maintaining a routine culture of your diet and workout. Call your surgeon or dietician and tell them about your routine. Let them conclude where you are wrong and why the procedure has failed. Do what he advises you after the acknowledgment.
Vertical Banded Gastroplasty Failure Signs
- Frequent vomiting after every meal.
- Solid food intolerance.
- Chronic reflux
- Non-healing ulcers
- Chronic epigastric pain in the middle of the chest
- Increased food intake
Laparoscopic Adjustable Bands Failure Signs
- Increased food capacity
- Vomiting after eating food
- Issues in digesting solid foods like meat, salad, or beans
- Chronic reflux
- Non-healing ulcers
- Chronic epigastric pain
Gastric Bypass Failure Signs
- Frequent vomiting
- Nauseated
- Eating food in high capacity
- Uncontrollable stool passing
- Refractory strictures
- Premature plateau
Following a failed operation, the patient may suffer from some of these symptoms. It is essential to stay in touch with the bariatric surgeon since further complications might arise. Do not miss your follow-ups. If you miss any, show your reports to another surgeon immediately.
If you are experiencing these issues after the surgery— ask your surgeon to do a thorough post-procedure medical examination. Also, do not hesitate to ask questions about your surgery and issues. Even if you have a mild problem like a gastric issue— tell your doctor about it.
Gaining Weight Following Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery patients notice heavy weight loss in the first few months after the procedure. It is because the patient’s stomach size is reduced during the surgery, and the body heals post surgery. During this time, patient is on a strict diet advised by the doctor.
The human body works on the adaption policy according to the circumstances. If a patient does not follow a proper diet and starts consuming large portions, it may stretch the stomach to its regular size. If they continue to do so, the surgery goes ineffective.
These issues lead to weight regain or prevent the patient from losing weight.
How Dangerous Is the Weight Reduction Surgery Revision?
Bariatric revision surgeries are more complex and possess a higher risk than bariatric procedures. Experts say that revision surgeries are an effective way for corrections, but it comes with potential risks.
Long-term issues associated with bariatric revision surgery that can be mild to severe are:
- Bowel obstruction
- Peritonitis (inflammation in the abdominal portion)
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Malnutrition
- Low blood sugar
- Vomiting
- Damage to organs
- Weight gain Ulcers
- Hernias
- Leakage
- Skin separation
- Gallstones
- Dumping syndrome (that causes food to move quickly from stomach to intestine)
What Causes Some Weight Loss Surgical Procedures To Fail?
Following may be the reasons for failed weight loss surgical procedures.
- The patient does not follow the routine chart recommended by the doctor and reverses his old habits.
- There may be some mechanical issues like— pouch stretching, fistulas, or slipped bands that may reverse weight.
- Sometimes failure may occur due to the natural history of the procedure, but that is rare.
When these weight loss procedures fail, it affects the patient physically and mentally. People may be emotionally devastated due to failed operation. Every patient who had a miscarried surgery goes through emotional trauma. It is because they have tried hard to lose weight for years with diet and exercise, but could not do so.
How Long Is Bariatric Revision Surgery?
The time of bariatric revision surgery depends on the type of conversion made. For example, conversion of the gastric sleeve to gastric bypass may take about 2.5 hours. But if the gastric sleeve failure needs repairing, it will take about 30 minutes to an hour under mild sedation.
How Much Weight Do You Lose After Revision?
Patients lose weight at different body rates. People who had revision surgery stated that they lose weight slower after revision surgery. A patient can lose up to 60 percent of their excess weight after the revision.
How Successful Are Bariatric Revisions?
It is seen that the outcome of bariatric revisions is usually positive, and patients see a decrease in other medical conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. All the health problems were due to obesity, which go over time under a doctor’s supervision.
Many patients have lost about 60 pounds every year. The excess weight they wanted to lose for so many years has gone, and they are living a healthy life.
Why Is My Weight Loss So Slow After Gastric Bypass?
The recovery time for gastric bypass revision surgery may be slow as explained by doctors. With the revision surgery problems, like a fistula or failed operation are fixed, but as the body has undergone operation before, the rate of losing weight decreases.
People who have already undergone gastric bypass, eat a balanced diet, and exercise to set everything in place. Getting under seizures again has no point. You may lose weight initially due to surgery, but it may bounce. So, it is better to check what you eat and how you spend your day.
What Happens After Weight Loss Revision Surgery?
After the procedure, you can go home, but you should rest for a minimum of two to three days, or as per the doctor’s instructions. You can go back to work after consulting with your doctor. To lose weight and keep it off in the long run, get a food plan and an exercise schedule, and stick to the advice.
Conclusion
It is not always necessary that you need bariatric revision surgery. You will need it only if your previous surgery fails. The revision surgery helps you in long-term weight loss.
The doctor advises that if you are doing well and have started achieving slow weight loss results, stick to your diet and daily regime and skip revision surgery. Opt only if you have any complications.
Revision bariatric surgery does help in losing weight, but it may be slower than bariatric surgery. You can improve results via a proper diet and exercise and maintain a better digestive system. For this, you can also try Gut Health Formula.
