by Marilyn Wann
What if we saw as many images of stomachs as we see of hearts or brains? Would we identify with this internal organ more? Are you your brain, your heart, your guts, your stomach?
Amid the ongoing terror of stomach amputation — so-called weight-loss surgery — would public opinion about this practice be different if we could see the damage that's done to otherwise healthy internal organs?
Here's hoping a stomach a day keeps the scalpel away...
What if we saw as many images of stomachs as we see of hearts or brains? Would we identify with this internal organ more? Are you your brain, your heart, your guts, your stomach?
Amid the ongoing terror of stomach amputation — so-called weight-loss surgery — would public opinion about this practice be different if we could see the damage that's done to otherwise healthy internal organs?
Here's hoping a stomach a day keeps the scalpel away...
stomach #8 - gastro napolitano [before]
materials: personal pizza margherita, plate, water glass, pepper shaker, fork, knife, red pepper flakes, marble tabletop
photo: Marilyn Wann
materials: personal pizza margherita, plate, water glass, pepper shaker, fork, knife, red pepper flakes, marble tabletop
photo: Marilyn Wann
stomach #8 - gastro napolitano [after]
non-material: The artist recalls attending a day-long conference about so-called weight-loss surgery at the local teaching hospital. The closing act of the day was a talk by a stomach amputator. He was originally from Italy and had an Italian accent. In his talk, he listed the gut rearrangement surgeries that had been tried since stomach amputation started — all the different ways of cutting apart the stomach or intestines and reattaching various parts of them to each other while leaving other parts dangling. He said the surgeries had gotten safer over the years. (A backward way of admitting they can do damage.) Then he attempted a joke. He said that the main danger of current surgeries was to the surgeon, because he would have to lean over a very large person's body and reach down to cut off their stomachs (all except a tiny flap at the end of the esophagus, about the size of a golf ball)...and his back would ache. He paused, anticipating laughter and sympathy for his suffering.
During the Q&A, the artist stood up and said that based on the criteria he listed, her weight alone would "qualify" her for stomach amputation, but that she would never consider doing it. Then she asked him what percentage of the patients he operates on have healthy, normally functioning stomachs. He said, "All of them! Their stomachs have to be healthy for us to do the surgery." Then he realized the import of the question and backtracked, saying, "After the recovery period, the remaining stomach functions normally, it's just much smaller."
The artist ate every morsel of her personal pizza. People who undergo stomach amputation, aka gastric bypass, are not typically able to eat more than a few bites of food. (Although their restricted stomachs may stretch over time.) They may need to drink small amounts of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration. They are strongly encouraged to take vitamins that are specially formulated to be more likely to be absorbed by their abbreviated systems. Even so, surgery survivors can face anemia and other, more serious nutrient deficiencies. They also need to be careful about what they eat, to try to avoid dumping syndrome. It's a bodily reaction to partially digested food entering the intestines and can involve intense cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, sweats, rapid heartbeat, wooziness, and confusion. Foods that contain sugar and simple carbohydrates (like pizza crust) can cause dumping syndrome. If that sounds like a headache for surgery survivors, don't offer them an aspirin or ibuprofen. They shouldn't use NSAIDs. They can cause stomach ulcers and endanger the tiny remaining stomach that people rely on. The artist wonders if that surgeon ever eats a whole pizza margherita. And if he ever chokes on it.
photo: Marilyn Wann
non-material: The artist recalls attending a day-long conference about so-called weight-loss surgery at the local teaching hospital. The closing act of the day was a talk by a stomach amputator. He was originally from Italy and had an Italian accent. In his talk, he listed the gut rearrangement surgeries that had been tried since stomach amputation started — all the different ways of cutting apart the stomach or intestines and reattaching various parts of them to each other while leaving other parts dangling. He said the surgeries had gotten safer over the years. (A backward way of admitting they can do damage.) Then he attempted a joke. He said that the main danger of current surgeries was to the surgeon, because he would have to lean over a very large person's body and reach down to cut off their stomachs (all except a tiny flap at the end of the esophagus, about the size of a golf ball)...and his back would ache. He paused, anticipating laughter and sympathy for his suffering.
During the Q&A, the artist stood up and said that based on the criteria he listed, her weight alone would "qualify" her for stomach amputation, but that she would never consider doing it. Then she asked him what percentage of the patients he operates on have healthy, normally functioning stomachs. He said, "All of them! Their stomachs have to be healthy for us to do the surgery." Then he realized the import of the question and backtracked, saying, "After the recovery period, the remaining stomach functions normally, it's just much smaller."
The artist ate every morsel of her personal pizza. People who undergo stomach amputation, aka gastric bypass, are not typically able to eat more than a few bites of food. (Although their restricted stomachs may stretch over time.) They may need to drink small amounts of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration. They are strongly encouraged to take vitamins that are specially formulated to be more likely to be absorbed by their abbreviated systems. Even so, surgery survivors can face anemia and other, more serious nutrient deficiencies. They also need to be careful about what they eat, to try to avoid dumping syndrome. It's a bodily reaction to partially digested food entering the intestines and can involve intense cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, sweats, rapid heartbeat, wooziness, and confusion. Foods that contain sugar and simple carbohydrates (like pizza crust) can cause dumping syndrome. If that sounds like a headache for surgery survivors, don't offer them an aspirin or ibuprofen. They shouldn't use NSAIDs. They can cause stomach ulcers and endanger the tiny remaining stomach that people rely on. The artist wonders if that surgeon ever eats a whole pizza margherita. And if he ever chokes on it.
photo: Marilyn Wann