Frequently Asked Questions About The Obesity;

Obesity may especially cause type II Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia; knee, waist and neck pains and cancer in scope of many tissues (breast, column, etc.). In addition to such structural diseases, it can also cause many psychological and social problems.

If your BMI is above 35 and your age is between 18-65, you are suitable for bariatric surgery.

Your metabolic condition (diabetes, hypertension, vascular etc. diseases caused by obesity) and the tests before the surgery will determine if “sleeve gastrectomy“ or  “ Gastric By-Pass “ is more suitable for you.

Especially when the excess weights are lost after the surgery, the need for medication reduces at important degrees for the patients who require medications because of diabetes and hypertension.  Many pathological conditions caused by obesity disappear after the surgery.

The surgeries are carried out laparoscopically and under general anaesthesia. Extensive blood tests, abdomen ultrasound, stomach endoscopy and required consultations are always carried out before the surgery and many precautions are taken to solve any problem that may occur before, during and after the surgery. These preparations take 1 day.

You will stay at the hospital 1 day before the surgery and 3 days after the surgery, in total 4 days. The surgery takes approximately 1 – 1.5 hour. Rarely and depending on the medical condition of the patient, the patient can be taken to the intensive care unit to make observations after the surgery. This takes approximately 1 day, too.

You can return to your country on the 7. day after the surgery, when your examinations are completed.

After the surgery, the patients are made to stand up 6 hours after they arrive at their rooms. They are walked within the room and continue to make small walks on the same day with 3 hours of intervals. On the 1. day of surgery, these walks are repeated per hour. On the 2. day of the surgery, after the leakage test is made, the patient is given water and milk to start nourishment. If the patient tolerates the nourishment, on the 3. day after the surgery the diet and medications to be used after the surgery are planned and the patient is discharged after being called for 7. day checks.

The nourishment begins with aqueous food including water, milk and ayran during the first 2 weeks after the surgery. Meat and chicken broth are added after the 2. week. After the 1. month, transition is made to the soft foods (soup, yoghurt, vegetable mash, cheese etc.). After the 3. month, normal foods can be started to be consumed, but with small amounts.

These requirements are determined during the blood tests carried out during the 1. ,3., 6. and 12 months following the surgery and the supplements are planned with a dietician.

The lost weight is approximately 80% of the excess fat. This level is expected to be reached after the end of a year. The weight is lost quickly during the first 3 months and slowly during the following months when compared to the first three months.

You can begin the exercises after the 15. day following the surgery, with slow paced walks. An exercise program is determined after the 2. month with a trainer, depending on your medical and metabolic condition.

The obesity surgeries have the same risks with all intra-abdominal surgeries. There is no extra risk. Post-surgical major risks are:

• Leakage: There might be leakages from the stomach or stomach-intestine intersection during the surgery. This rate is around 1%. The early diagnosis after leakage occurrence is very important.
• Bleeding: There might be bleeding after the operation, from the stomach cutting line into the stomach or the abdominal cavity. The bleeding rate after the surgery is below 1%. 90% of such bleeding cases stop on their own while 10% of them may require another surgery.
• Narrowness : Narrowness may develop at the stomach section which is turned into a tube after the “Sleeve Gastrectomy” surgery. The risk of occurrence is 1-2% and the treatment can be successfully carried out endoscopically, without a surgery.
• Embolism : The small clot pieces joining the circulation from the deep leg veins, accumulated during the inaction period during the surgery, which especially occurs in the case of obese patients, may cause embolism at the other organs of the body. Blood thinners are administered to the patients to avoid this risk, before and after the surgery.