DO NOT ever mistake this word with “barber.” It is not. However, if you look at the word carelessly, you will. How did I know? I did, once. The correct spelling registered in my consciousness only some seconds later. The word is “bar—iatric.” “Bariatric” refers to a special kind of surgery.
Liposuction is popular in the Philippines. In fact, we’ve heard of many “disasters” when it is not done well. However, bariatric surgery is not liposuction.
Instead, bariatric surgery is, although like liposuction, is a last ditch option in reducing body weight when the usual exercise and dietary options fail. In the August 2014 issue of Obesity Surgery, Dr. Henry Buchwald of the University of Minnesota defined it as a manipulation of a bodily organ, using the proverbial surgeon’s “scalpel,” to reduce weight.
Three types of these surgeries are performed in the United States.
First is the so-called “laparoscopic adjustable gastric band.” Using laparoscopy to guide the surgeon, a small inflatable pouch is placed inside your stomach with a “ring” attached on the surface of your stomach skin. The idea is to add a saline solution into the pouch through the ring in order to fool your stomach into believing that you are full even if you have eaten only little food. The salt solution can be removed from the pouch later.
The second type is called “gastric sleeve surgery.” In this procedure, most of your stomach is removed, leaving only the banana-shaped portion of your stomach. A far smaller stomach makes you feel full faster because your stomach is, in fact, already full. The message is, if you cannot stop eating more food than your body needs, then removing most of your stomach is your better option. It is also indirectly saying that, if you are eating too much, you can be certain that you have a larger stomach than most.
The third type is “gastric bypass.” By its name alone, you will think that it means cutting your stomach. Actually, your stomach is not cut. Instead, a part of your stomach is “stapled” at the upper portion to reduce its size. After that, the upper part of your small intestine is cut to shorten it and then attaching the lower part to the small intestine to your reduced stomach. The idea is to prevent your small intestine to absorb many calories.
Which do you think is a better option than getting a good exercise and eating less?
Well, if you were me and you are not, the idea of cutting your stomach or small intestine alone is already causing my taste buds to detest any food.