Can anyone give me the straight dope on this? A friend of mine is thinking of getting one of those extreme stomach surgery things where they reduce the size of your stomach so that you are forced to eat less. This seems pretty damn dangerous to me. I asked him why he doesn’t just get liposuction and he said he doesn’t know that much about it…so I thought I’d come here.
How effective is liposuction in removing something like excessive belly fat? How dangerous is the procedure? How long does it last? Who all does this surgery (I assume its some kind of specialty surgery) and how do you find a doctor that will perform it? Whats the difference between liposuction and a tummy tuck…or are they the same thing? How expensive is it (my guess is…lots less than major surgery on your stomach)?
What are his goals in getting the stomach surgery–I am assuming he is morbidly obese and wants to lose a lot of weight? Liposuction, which is performed by a plastic surgeon, removes only a limited amount of fat from a given area, or in a given session. A tummy tuck would involve removing a panel of skin and pulling the rest up to take away the belly, probably with liposuction included as part of the procedure.
The plastic surgeries would reshape what is there now but wouldn’t do anything for longer-term shape. The stomach surgery would actually deter future weight gain because it reduces how much he can eat and how much is digested. He and his docs should know better what his goals are.
He recently got a divorce and while I wouldn’t say he’s morbidly obese, he is certainly overweight. He’s 6’5" (which is pretty tall) but he weighs 350 lbs. His goals are to get down to 245 or so…but I think his main problem is that most of the weight is in his belly. I was just thinking that maybe liposuction (along with diet and exercise afterward) would be a lot better than what sounds to me like major, dangerous surgery.
Has he heard of that supposedly less drastic “lapband” surgery, where they install an adjustable band around the stomach that is supposed to accomplish the same thing?
Thats what I suggested. He doesn’t want to do that. C’est la vie. He’s going to do what he’s going to do…I’m only looking for some alternatives to what looks to me to be a pretty dangerous procedure.
Even less invasive then a lapband is a stomach balloon. I had one. It has a relative low percentage satisfied patients, (under 50 %, I believe) but doesn’t require surgery. The balloon is brought in and filled through the mouth. The patient is nauseaus for a few days, but after that settles dwon the balloon is a powerful tool in dieting.
If stomachfat is his main, or even onl problem, he might benefit from liposuction. I had it too. The doctor can only take away four litres of fat maximum per operation, though. But based on what you say here, I’d say liposuction might be a good option for your friend.
