If you have acid reflux disease, you probably know it already and don’t need a doctor to diagnose it. It’s more than just the occasional case of indigestion most people will experience every so often. The symptoms suffered by people with acid reflux disease can include stomach upset, nausea, pain in the chest and regurgitation of food. If you are overweight, then you should know that being overweight can exacerbate your symptoms, which is why weight loss surgery can act as an effective acid reflux treatment.
Acid Reflux and Weight Gain
Acid reflux disease is also known as gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) when it becomes very severe. When a doctor diagnoses a patient with GERD, it means that there might be damage to the esophagus because of the stomach acid that is frequently regurgitated.
The stomach bile that the stomach uses to digest food can be harsh to the lining of the esophagus and surgery might be necessary to stave off the damage. However, this is not the only reason metabolic surgery might be necessary for acid reflux treatment. When a person with acid reflux disease or GERD is even slightly overweight, it can increase pressure in the stomach area and make regurgitation even more frequent. This worsens the symptoms of acid reflux disease, and this makes things worse the more overweight a sufferer of this disease is.
Metabolic surgery can lessen the chances of damaging the esophagus as well as reduce the severity of acid reflux or GERD symptoms and act as acid reflux treatment.
Kinds of Metabolic Surgery for Acid Reflux Treatment
There are two kinds of metabolic surgery that can be performed for acid reflux treatment. These are gastric bypass surgery and sleeve gastrectomy. The choice of surgery depends on the general health condition of the patient as well as how severe the acid reflux disease or GERD has become.
Gastric bypass surgery is performed to decrease the size of the stomach and to redirect the flow of food so the patient consumes less calories and loses weight. The stomach is divided into two sections with a medical staple. These two sections will include an upper and lower part and the food will go into the upper part known as the pouch. Then the surgeon will connect a part of the small intestine to a small hole in the pouch. The food the patient consumes will then travel from the pouch into the small intestine, causing the patient to eat less and lose weight.
Sleeve gastrectomy surgery is a more decisive form of weight loss surgery. It involves removing about 75 percent of the stomach permanently, causing the stomach to take the shape of a ‘sleeve’. Much less food is consumed and weight loss can occur very quickly. This procedure is restricted to those individuals who are obese and need a permanent solution to being overweight.
Either of these two kinds of metabolic surgery can effectively act as acid reflux treatment. If you think that you are a good candidate for metabolic surgery at The Center for Metabolic and Obesity Surgery in Maitland, our doctors can confirm that for you. Contact us today to schedule your consultation!
