The Expert's Guide to Weight-Loss Surgery: Is it right for me? What happens during surgery? How do I keep the weight off? [Bargain Price] (Hardcover) Review

Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) can be a confusing thing. Am I a candidate? Do I qualify? Do I even *want* to do it? It's like a maze that needs to be navigated through to the end. If you're lucky, you have a terrific support - but that doesn't change the fact that it can be a long and exhausting process...just to get TO the surgery! Then the aftermath begins a whole new confusing time.

Garth Davis is a doctor who primarily does WLS in his practice, along with his father. Apparently (I didn't know this before I bought the book), their practice is featured on the TLC show "Big Medicine".He has taken his extensive knowledge and research and written this book, in an attempt to help potential WLS patients answer the many questions that exist.

The Expert's Guide to Weight-Loss Surgery is an excellent resource, both for anyone contemplating the surgery and/or for anyone who has questions following a friend/family member's surgery. He lays out everything in detail, and in chapters that make sense in their organization. And he manages to do it in a language that is not overly technical, but rather like the conversation you might have if your next-door neighbor were a surgeon...friendly and full of information.

Dr. Davis starts out immediately in the introduction, explaining why he chose to write the book. He says that as someone who has become in the public eye, he is frequently stopped by people with questions. This took is his attempt at answering all those questions. He is also VERY clear - WLS is *not* a magic cure-all. It takes a lot of thought, a lot of preparation and a ton of commitment to change the destructive behaviors that have gotten most patients where they are.

These are the remaining chapters:
One - The Costs of Obesity : He discusses the official definitions of obesity, BMI , and the economic, social and physical costs of obesity. He covers many of the co-morbidities and their associated effects on the body.

Two - How We Got Here - and Why What We're Doing Now Isn't Working: He discusses some of the newest research into why WLS can be so incredibly successful for patients, including the chemicals and hormones (such as ghrelin) that affect the body in obese patients. There is some absolutely fascinating information here - such as the nugget that a surgical body in Europe recently had a convention to discuss whether or not WLS can/should be done on patients with diabetes. This is one of the best chapters in the book.

From there, the other chapters go into the different kinds of WLS, and their associated benefits and risks. He makes no bones about being a bigger believer in the bypass than the band and explains why, but he is very thorough in giving information for both. How to find a doctor, navigating insurance and preparing for surgery (another excellent chapter) precede chapter Nine, called The Big Day. He goes through every step of the process, including what your loved ones should expect. He is also VERY careful to explain that your surgeon's recommendations should ALWAYS come first.

Then comes everything after the surgery - the basics, diet schedule, the "honeymoon" period, exercise, emotions, excess skin, negotiating pitfalls and then the conclusion...all in their own chapters. There are also 7 terrific appendixes, including one that is a letter his practice often uses with insurance companies.

Now, if you've read this far, I commend you. This was longer than I intended it to be, but to shorten the review would not do the book justice. There is simply *so* much information, presented incredibly well and in the least confusing way possible. If you (or a loved one) are thinking about having this surgery, then I highly recommend that you make this book part of your research reading. It will hold your hand along the way and become one of the reference materials that you will come back to again and again.

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Product Description:
From the star of TLC's Big Medicine, the complete guide to weight loss surgery

Today, an estimated forty-four million Americans suffer from obesity. For most, the traditional prescription of 'eat less, exercise more' simply doesn't work. Thankfully, there is another option- a proven path to reclaiming quality of life, to curing diabetes and other weight-related diseases, and to living without the constant emotional and physical struggles that being obese entails.

This option is weight loss surgery. Having performed more than one thousand weight loss surgeries in his career, Dr. Garth Davis-star of the hit TLC series Big Medicine-knows, firsthand, the surgery's ability to transform lives. In The Expert's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery, Dr. Davis combines cutting-edge medical advice and compassionate guidance into what promises to be the definitive handbook on the topic.

The book features a user-friendly breakdown of the various types of weight loss surgeries available today (gastric bypass vs. adjustable gastric banding vs. sleeve gastrectomy); a no-nonsense guide to finding the right doctor; and words of wisdom from dozens of patients who have undergone WLS. Most important, because weight loss surgery alters the digestive tract's size and structure, Dr. Davis lays out a complete diet and exercise plan to help ensure that readers' success is long term. This book should be required reading for anyone seeking a permanent obesity cure.

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