Medical & Surgical Weight Loss What’s The Difference?
Dr. Nilesh A Patel MD
A lot of times people ask me what the best method of weight loss is for them and I think this information might help a little.
There are many differences between the two but the main one is that surgical weight loss falls into a category we call Bariatrics.
Bariatric surgery is recommended to patients that are dangerously obese suffer from comorbidities or diseases brought on by another condition. Many people who are obese deal with type 2 diabetes which is often brought on by obesity. Other conditions that stem from obesity include sleep apnea which can not only ruin your health but some employers won’t even hire a potential employee with sleep apnea. Aside from all of these painful diseases many women dreaming of starting a family cannot give birth safely because of the effects obesity has on the labor process and the expecting mother.
Bariatric Surgery is the surgical procedure that reduces the stomach size allowing the patient to feel full reaching healthy levels of food intake. It is also the only known procedure to completely cure type 2 diabetes, cure sleep apnea, and allow women who might not have been able to give birth the chance to.
Many of our patients have tried multiple diets, gone through personal trainers, and purchased multiple bestselling books only to come out short of their goals by no lack of effort on their part.
Medical Weight loss requires that a patient be on a low calorie diet and meet up with their doctor regularly to assess their progress and look at various ways of improvement. Bariatric patients are the same in that there is a lifetime commitment to healthy living and regular physical activity once they undergo the procedure.
The deciding factor between the two is going to depend on the patient’s history, and current health. I’m about finding the shoe that best fits the patient and allows them to overcome what might’ve been a lifetime of obstacles. I often hear patients thank me for giving their life back and my life is giving theirs back.
If you have any questions feel free to schedule and appointment, I’ll gladly answer them.