Losing weight can be an uphill battle. Even when you manage to lose some weight over time, keeping it off is difficult still. This is why bariatric endoscopy surgery is such a lifesaver. In some cases, literally. 

Bariatric endoscopy surgery is a minimally invasive procedure wherein doctors will use an endoscope to alter your gastrointestinal system, resulting in no scars on your belly and fast recovery. This alteration involves shrinking the stomach’s capacity, making the patient eat less. One method involves inserting a balloon into the stomach to take up space. Another is known as the accordion method, in which the doctor uses the endoscope to suture the stomach and make it smaller. 

How does bariatric endoscopy surgery save lives, though? Well, patients who struggle with weight issues and obesity are prone to very serious chronic health conditions. Some of these conditions can reduce their quality of life, or worse, lead to death. 

Here are some of the conditions that could be resolved with this quick procedure.

Sleep Apnea

If you find yourself feeling exhausted even after a long night’s sleep, you may have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder where your breathing is disturbed while you’re asleep. The soft tissue in your throat regularly obstructs your breathing tube, meaning you stop breathing during certain periods. 

This isn’t just robbing you of a decent night’s sleep. It increases your blood pressure and your risk of getting a stroke or a heart attack increases. 

Speaking of which…

Coronary Heart Disease

659,000 Americans die from heart disease annually. It’s the leading cause of death in the United States, except for February of 2021, when it was overtaken by COVID-19. Obese patients are more prone to having high blood pressure and fatal heart attacks. By undergoing bariatric endoscopy surgery, obese patients can drastically reduce their risk of dying from heart failure.

Diabetes

Diabetes is when your body can’t regulate the sugar levels in your blood. The excess sugar in your bloodstream damages your pancreas. The pancreas is the organ that produces insulin, the hormone that lets your body break down sugars. 

While it is possible to thrive with diabetes, it is a difficult and expensive disease to live with. Prevention is better than cure. Bariatric endoscopy surgery can help prevent a patient from developing diabetes in the first place. High sugar levels in your blood also hurt your blood vessels, which can lead to kidney failure, heart attacks, blindness, strokes, impaired healing, and more. 

Cancer

Cancer can happen to anyone, but obese patients are at higher risk than the average person—specifically, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, uterine cancer, and endometrial cancer. A study published by the British Journal of Surgery in July of 2018 says that bariatric surgery could reduce your risk of getting these types of cancer.

Cancer isn’t always fatal, but it is a possibility. Before COVID-19, cancer was the second leading cause of death in the United States. Now it’s the third, having killed 606,520 people in 2020.

Conclusion

Many health risks come with living with obesity. Thankfully there are new and less invasive medical procedures like bariatric endoscopy surgery that can help patients. Procedures like these are game-changers as well as lifesavers.

Are you trying to find a reliable gastroenterologist in NJ? Reach out to Dr. Michael Kahaleh today! He’s an expert on bariatric practices and can’t wait to help you resolve your issues.