Best Docs Network Magazine Summer 2013 | Page 7

Real Docs Answer Your Questions

QHow soon

after bariatric surgery can I expect to see my diabetes go away ?

A

People often ask how quickly their diabetes will improve with either a bypass or a sleeve . The answer is , it ’ s going to be improved faster with a bypass and if they don ’ t have severe diabetes , they may leave the hospital throwing away their meds . With a sleeve it may take longer . It may take a few months to both have a little weight loss and have accumulative effects of the metabolic changes from the sleeve to resolve their diabetes so my recommendation is if somebody wants to resolve their diabetes as fast as possible you ’ re probably better off to have a bypass .

QWhy do I keep

having to take medicine for reflux ?

A

Reflux is when acid in food and enzyme gets out of the stomach , past the valve at the end of the esophagus and then irritates the lining of the esophagus or really burns it . When you take an acid medication , it reduces the acid component but doesn ’ t take care of the digestive enzyme or the fluid that ’ s in the esophagus . The only way to treat the reflux itself is to fix the anatomy . If we reconstruct the valve at the end of the esophagus then we can stop fluids and food in the stomach from getting back into the esophagus .
JAMes DAVIDsoN , MD bariatric surgeon
GLeNN IHDe , MD general surgeon

QIf I do liposuction , will I gain more weight in other areas ?

A

Liposuction is permanent removal of fat cells , but you ’ re not removing all the fat cells in the area that you treat . So , what liposuction does is give you a relative reduction of fat in an area relative to anyplace else . Let ’ s just say that I have 100 fat cells in my tummy and 100 fat cells in my thigh and I ’ ve taken away 50 of them through liposuction of my tummy . I have a new ratio . Instead of 1 to 1 , it ’ s now . 5 to 1 or it ’ s twice as likely that I ’ m going to gain fat in the thighs as opposed to the tummy . So if you take in more calories where is that weight going to be displaced or where is that fat going to go ? It ’ s going to go preferentially to the thigh than to the tummy . Liposuction itself is not the reason that you ’ re gaining weight or fat in one area , it ’ s because you ’ re taking in more calories .
rIcHArD HA , MD plastic surgeon
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Summer 2013 Best Docs Network
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