Hey there! Welcome to life noggin! Believe it or not, you don’t actually need
your stomach. Though it does help during pizza bagel eating
contests. Stomach removal is used to treat a variety
of medical conditions, such as life-threatening obesity, stomach ulcers, and cancer. For these cases, either just a part of the
stomach or - as in some stomach cancer cases - the whole stomach is removed and the patient
goes on to lead a pretty normal life, aside from some obvious dietary restrictions., While stomach, or gastric, cancer is is not
very common in the United States, worldwide, it was the sixth most common cancer in 2018.,,
Sadly, gastric cancer is also the third most common cause of death from cancer, with a
survival rate at five years around only 30 percent., Once diagnosed, treatment options are similar
to other types of cancer - chemotherapy, radiation, targeted and immunotherapies, and surgery. A complete stomach removal, called total gastrectomy,
is often performed on patients with a tumor in the top two-thirds of the stomach or when
tumors are located throughout the stomach. The mechanics of the surgery are relatively
simple: after the stomach and nearby lymph nodes are removed, the esophagus is reconnected
to the small intestines, allowing patients to eat, swallow and even digest their food., A study of 238 total gastrectomy patients
at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City looked at patient outcome
for 90 days after their surgery. They found that 3% of patients died within
that time period, mostly due to sepsis after the procedure. But the majority of patients, 37%, didn’t
have a single adverse event, which is an unexpected medical problem. After the recovery period, the biggest change
- besides having one less organ - is their diet. Without a stomach, which is where food is
stored and gradually broken down, patients need to eat much smaller amounts of food several
times a day to not overwhelm their intestines and avoid a condition called dumping syndrome,
which is common among these patients., This condition is caused by rapid entry of food
into the small intestines and can cause nausea, vomiting, pain, and diarrhea. It can also result from a rapid rise and fall
of blood sugar, leading to a fast heart rate, weakness, and confusion. While chewing thoroughly, eating slowly, and
drinking an hour before eating can all help with digestion and prevent these individuals
from getting too full, there may be some types of foods - like sweets, fats, and dairy products
- that they won’t be able to tolerate. But it is really important that these patients
keep eating or use high-calorie supplements in order to minimize rapid weight loss, which
can lead to gallstones and osteoporosis., And because the stomach also helps to absorb
vitamins, some patients will need to rely on supplements to avoid vitamin deficiencies.,, Due to the success rate and chance for living
cancer free, some individuals who test positive for a genetic mutation related to a hereditary
and aggressive gastric cancer are choosing to have their stomach removed as a method
of cancer prevention called prophylactic surgery.,, In a small study of 20 patients with this
gene mutation who chose to have the surgery, 45% said their quality of life was now better
than they expected. These results may provide hope for others
at risk of or with gastric cancer that life without a stomach is in fact possible. So are there any other medical conditions
that you want me to talk about next? Let me know if the comment sections below. I'm taking suggestions for future videos. Curious to know what would happen if you only
drank milk? Check out this video! Large amounts of calcium can cause numerous
health issues. It can wreak havoc on your kidneys, resulting
in kidney stones forming from calcium deposits or milk-alkali syndrome from an acid imbalance
resulting in loss of kidney function as always my name is blocko, this has been
life noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking!
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