Bariatric procedures
Dr. Acuña, a specialist in bariatric surgery, performs high quality surgical procedures and is endorsed by the American Association for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASBMS). What is bariatric surgery? This medical specialty focuses on the surgical treatment of obesity, offering effective and lasting solutions for weight loss.
Among the most common bariatric surgery procedures performed by Dr. Acuña are gastric sleeve, gastric bypass and also revisional surgeries. These interventions are recognized for their efficacy in the management of severe obesity and their contribution to improving the quality of life of patients.
Gastric Sleeve
It is a procedure that consists of the resection of approximately 80% of the size of the stomach. As a result, gastric capacity is reduced and therefore the amount of food to be ingested is reduced.
On the other hand, it decreases the anxiety to eat since it dries the part of the stomach called gastric fundus, which is responsible for producing a substance called ghrelin (hunger hormone); by drying the gastric fundus, ghrelin and therefore hunger decreases.
It is a surgery that is performed under general anesthesia, laparoscopically, takes approximately one hour and requires in most cases only one day of hospitalization.
As it is a minimally invasive surgery, it is not very painful, its recovery is fast and it has excellent aesthetic results.
Gastric bypass
The gastric bypass in “Y de roux” is a type of Bariatric Surgery with a mixed mechanism: restrictive and hypoabsorptive. On the one hand, it restricts the amount of food and on the other, it decreases the absorption of the few foods eaten.
In this surgery, the stomach is not resected, it is only divided into two: a small part and a large part. The small stomach is connected to a small intestine; Thus, the little food that fits in the small stomach reaches the small intestine without coming into contact with more than two meters of intestine, for which the absorption levels decrease.
It is practiced under general anesthesia, laparoscopically, lasts almost two hours and has a fast recovery. It is the preferred type of surgery in patients with grade III obesity, diabetics and/or gastroesophageal reflux.
Gastric bypass
The gastric bypass in “Y de roux” is a type of Bariatric Surgery with a mixed mechanism: restrictive and hypoabsorptive. On the one hand, it restricts the amount of food and on the other, it decreases the absorption of the few foods eaten.
In this surgery, the stomach is not resected, it is only divided into two: a small part and a large part. The small stomach is connected to a small intestine; Thus, the little food that fits in the small stomach reaches the small intestine without coming into contact with more than two meters of intestine, for which the absorption levels decrease.
It is practiced under general anesthesia, laparoscopically, lasts almost two hours and has a fast recovery. It is the preferred type of surgery in patients with grade III obesity, diabetics and/or gastroesophageal reflux.
Conversion from gastric sleeve to gastric bypass
Patients who have undergone gastric sleeve surgery and years later have significant weight gain and/or difficult-to-manage gastroesophageal reflux may benefit from conversion from gastric sleeve to gastric bypass. This surgery is performed under general anesthesia, laparoscopically, with a duration of two hours and rapid recovery.
Allurion Program
The program starts with the implantation of an intragastric balloon that is placed without anesthesia, without endoscopy and without surgery, only a pill is taken with a glass of water.
The pill contains a balloon that is filled when it is inside the stomach with 550 cc of a water-based solution. The balloon insertion takes less than 20 minutes and the patient leaves the clinic immediately.
This implant remains in the stomach for approximately four months. Once its useful life is over, a valve is disintegrated, the liquid is emptied and the balloon is eliminated naturally by intestinal transit, with no need for endoscopy or anesthesia for its removal. With this method an approximate reduction of 10 kilos is sought.
Allurion is a very effective and safe program proven by more than 25,000 patients worldwide.
Allurion Program
The program starts with the implantation of an intragastric balloon that is placed without anesthesia, without endoscopy and without surgery, only a pill is taken with a glass of water.
The pill contains a balloon that is filled when it is inside the stomach with 550 cc of a water-based solution. The balloon insertion takes less than 20 minutes and the patient leaves the clinic immediately.
This implant remains in the stomach for approximately four months. Once its useful life is over, a valve is disintegrated, the liquid is emptied and the balloon is eliminated naturally by intestinal transit, with no need for endoscopy or anesthesia for its removal. With this method an approximate reduction of 10 kilos is sought.
Allurion is a very effective and safe program proven by more than 25,000 patients worldwide.
Am I a candidate for bariatric surgery?
Find out if you are a candidate, calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) in our page and know the requirements.
Fill out the form in the contact tab to start the process.
Schedule an appointment for an in-person or virtual consultation. There we will be able to finally determine if you are a candidate for surgery based on your current health status, as well as any history of previous illnesses or surgeries.
The planning of the surgery is done and preoperative studies are requested to determine if the patient’s physical health is adequate to perform the surgical procedure.
According to the above, additional assessments are scheduled by the multidisciplinary team; internal medicine, psychology and nutrition. In the nutrition consultation, a segmental determination of your body will be made to determine the distribution of muscle, fat, water, etc.
You will be evaluated by anesthesiology to determine if it is safe to perform the anesthetic procedure.
Do you want to know what the surgical and post-surgical process is like?
If the patient lives outside the country, he/she should arrive two days before the surgery.
The day before the surgery, the pre-surgical studies established in the protocol are performed.
You will be evaluated by anesthesiology and will receive all the pre-surgical recommendations.
The surgical procedure is performed and after a few hours the patient will be able to walk inside the clinic room.
Generally, the patient is discharged from the clinic the day after surgery after tolerating the liquid diet.
On the fifth day, the patient is evaluated in the bariatric surgeon’s office and will then be able to travel or return to his or her daily activities.
The patient is admitted to the post-surgery follow-up program where he/she will be permanently monitored by nutrition, surgery and a physical reconditioner.
How the process works with us
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You will be assisted in person or virtually with Dr. Javier Acuña and the procedure that best suits your needs will be chosen.
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If you meet criteria. Are you ready to start the change of your life. If you want you can!