Altered Sense Of Taste And Smell After Sleeve Gastrectomy
Bariatric surgery is the most effective method in the fight against obesity today. Among the bariatric surgical methods, the most applied method is sleeve gastrectomy. Gastric sleeve surgery has a rate of 60% among all obesity surgeries worldwide.
It is a known fact that changes in the sense of taste and smell or increase in sensitivity after sleeve gastrectomy surgery. This situation is explained by most patients, especially in the early period after sleeve gastrectomy surgery.
This situation has many benefits for patients. Studies show that patients who develop taste and smell sensitivity lose weight better than others.
In a recent study conducted on 103 patients, it was determined that after sleeve gastrectomy surgery, taste sensitivity increased in 73% of patients and smell sensitivity in 50% of patients. The greatest increase in taste sensitivity is against sweet and sour foods. Some people are so sensitive to sweets that they cannot even drink the protein shakes they should drink after the surgery. For these people, tasteless protein contents are an alternative and should be used when necessary. Because, adequate protein intake is very important for people, especially in the first 6 months after sleeve gastrectomy surgery. The goal is simply to lose weight, muscle loss is undesirable.
People who develop sensitivity in the sense of taste and smell, especially after gastric reduction surgery, stay away from sweet foods and may even be disgusted with these foods. This new situation is actually an advantage for these people who are addicted to sweets and carbohydrates before surgery. This may be why these people lose weight better than others.
The exact reason for the increase in sensitivity in the sense of taste and smell after sleeve gastrectomy is not known. However, we know that sleeve gastrectomy surgery is also an operation with hormonal effects. The effects of changes in the hormones secreted from the gut on the nervous system may be a reason for the changes in the sense of smell and taste.
The neural messages transmitted from the intestines to the brain determine the eating habits and hunger and satiety status of people. When 80% of the stomach is removed after sleeve gastrectomy, the messages sent from the intestines to these centers in the brain also change. The reason why people do not feel hungry for a long time after surgery is the decrease in the level of ghrelin hormone secreted from the stomach. This situation provides people with the opportunity to lose weight comfortably without exceeding a long time after sleeve gastrectomy surgery. Another hormone affected by stomach reduction surgery is LEPTIN HORMONE. This hormone, secreted from fat cells in the messaging between the intestines and the brain, is the satiety hormone. It is also a hormone that determines how fat is stored.
As a result, the increase in sensitivity in the messaging that goes back and forth between the intestines and the brain after tube stomach not only sharpens the sense of taste and smell, but also ensures that you feel full and feel full for a long time by eating a little. I wish this effect would last for many years, but it is not.
