Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, reduces how much food you can consume at one sitting by changing how your stomach absorbs calories. Furthermore, weight loss surgery helps manage or cure health conditions associated with obesity such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and sleep apnea.

Most insurance plans cover surgical procedures for those who have a BMI between 35 to 39 with one or more obesity-related medical conditions, so take advantage of a complimentary virtual information session and discover your options.

Lap-Band

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (Lap-Band) surgery is an FDA-approved surgical solution to morbid obesity, proven effective through restricting stomach size to make you feel full with smaller portions of food and offering reduced mortality and early complication risks.

At Lap-Band surgery, your surgeon makes small incisions in your stomach in order to place a silicone band around its upper part, creating a small pouch. After surgical tightening and adjustment for weight loss purposes over time, the Lap-Band can be tightly tightened until desired weight loss goals have been reached.

A tube connects your band to a port located underneath your skin in your abdomen. At office visits, your doctor can administer medically safe fluid into this port to tighten or loosen the band; too loose a fit could allow your stomach to fill too quickly, while too tight may result in vomiting and other side effects.

The Lap-Band can help to promote long-term weight loss and address many associated health conditions associated with your overweight or obese state, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and sleep apnea. Weight loss with this procedure won’t come automatically; rather it requires adopting new eating habits and engaging in physical exercise regularly for best results.

Gastric bypass

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is one of the most popular weight loss surgeries. It alters your digestive system by restricting how much food you can eat at once and changing how your body absorbs nutrients. The surgery starts by surgically stapling part of your stomach to create an egg-sized pouch and connecting this new stomach pouch to lower segment of small intestine. When food enters this new pouch it will pass quickly over most of your stomach and the first part of your small intestine so your body won’t absorb as many calories or nutrients from meals or nutrients from foods eaten previously.

The sleeve gastrectomy is similar to gastric bypass surgery in that surgeons remove more of your stomach than they would for Lap-Band surgery. The sleeve can restrict how large a meal you can consume; similarly to its gastric counterpart, however, it allows for regular feeling full after eating small quantities of food.

All weight loss surgeries alter how your body absorbs nutrients, so eating healthily to prevent nutritional deficiencies is vital to ensure successful surgery results. Your physician may recommend multivitamins and vitamin supplements after your weight loss procedure to ensure you receive all of the essential vitamins. Furthermore, rapid weight loss may compromise the pylorus valve between the stomach and small intestine, increasing your chances of ulcer formation in either stomach or duodenum.

Sleeve gastrectomy

Sleeve Gastrectomy, commonly referred to as Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG), is an invasive surgical weight loss procedure in which about 85% of your stomach is surgically removed via laparoscopy. It reduces stomach size while altering digestive process – helping you lose weight faster while improving health by lowering blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease risk factors as well as helping improve conditions related to obesity such as sleep apnea or high cholesterol levels.

The Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) is a relatively recent surgery that’s quickly become increasingly popular due to its effectiveness and ease of operation. Considered major bariatric surgery, most health insurers cover this procedure which makes for easier performance than two-part gastric bypass operations.

At the time of surgery, your surgeon will make two to five small cuts in your belly and insert a camera equipped with light at its end through one of these holes. After this has happened, harmless gas will be pumped into your abdominal region so your surgeon has room to operate.

After having undergone sleeve gastrectomy surgery, you will need to follow specific dietary instructions. You should eat smaller meals more often while drinking plenty of water and taking vitamin supplements as directed. In the early weeks post-op you will only be allowed liquid foods and then gradually progressing onto soft and solid food diets.

Intragastric balloon system

The balloon system is a minimally invasive weight loss procedure that doesn’t alter your stomach or GI tract like lap-band and gastric bypass do. Your doctor inserts it through an endoscopic procedure while you’re under mild sedation, filling it with saline solution so you’ll feel full after eating smaller meals and can help those with BMIs higher than 30 who are having difficulty losing weight through diet and exercise alone.

Once the balloon is in place, your doctor will remove the endoscope and catheter. As soon as your sedation wears off, you can return home where you will begin following a liquid diet for several weeks before moving on to pureed foods and then soft food diet. Your dietitian and team members will meet regularly in order to help ensure a successful program.

Risks associated with intragastric balloons are low; however, there is always the chance that they could deflate or migrate into your intestines and require another endoscopy to assess for any issues. Less than 3% of patients may experience persistent symptoms that cannot be alleviated with medication and this may necessitate the removal of their balloon.

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