Why Consider Weight Loss Surgery?
Obesity increases your risk of potentially life-threatening, weight-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. These diseases make normal daily activities difficult, and are expensive to treat and significantly decrease life expectancy.
Weight loss surgery is the most effective method for helping people who have been unsuccessful at losing weight using diet and exercise alone. Bariatric surgery enables patients to lose a significant amount of weight and maintain that loss over the long term.
Is Bariatric Surgery the Right Choice for You?
Undergoing weight loss surgery is a major decision that will permanently alter your life. To be successful, you must be prepared to make permanent changes to many of your present behaviors. People who make these lifestyle changes achieve significant weight loss and experience increased health, greater mobility and improved self-esteem and self-confidence.
How Much Weight Can You Expect to Lose?
Your final weight loss depends on multiple factors including your starting weight, the current state of your health and your ability to adhere to lifestyle changes. The more effort you put in, the more successful you will be at achieving and maintaining optimal weight loss.
Your Surgical Options
Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG)
Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty, or ESG, is a newer, non-surgical procedure that promotes permanent weight loss. ESG is performed without incisions – the surgeon uses a small camera that passes down your throat, through your esophagus and into your stomach. The surgeon then uses a small suturing device to reduce the size of your stomach, which can help you feel full faster, leading to weight loss over time.
Vertical “Sleeve” Gastrectomy
The laparoscopic vertical “sleeve” gastrectomy is the newest of the weight loss procedures. At present, it is performed by a very limited number of surgeons in the United States. We initially began offering the procedure as part of a two-stage surgical approach to our super-obese patients (BMI > 60). However, because our patients are experienced excellent weight loss results, we have expanded this procedure to our general weight loss patients.
Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass
The gastric bypass is presently the most common operation in the United States. This operation was initially developed using an open technique (making an incision where tissues and organs are fully exposed). However, since the mid-1990s, this procedure has been performed using a minimally invasive laparoscopic technique in which the surgery is performed through a series of small incisions. In the last 10 years there have been many modifications made to the procedure as new technologies have evolved.
Duodenal Switch
The Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery procedure is performed by only a minority of bariatric surgeons. Duodenal Switch is a more involved weight loss surgery procedure do to the significant malabsorptive and metabolic components. This is accomplished with the intestinal bypass effect of the Duodenal Switch. As a result, Duodenal Switch patients are able to engage in relatively normal and free eating while also adopting a metabolism similar to that of a lean individual.
Intragastric Balloon Procedure
The intragastric balloon procedure is a non-invasive weight loss alternative to traditional surgical weight loss procedures and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is designed to help patients lose and maintain weight and is intended for patients with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 to 40 who have not been able to lose weight with more conservative weight loss methods.
