Weight Loss

The most popular bariatric procedure is vertical sleeve gastrectomy. It’s a minimally invasive procedure that uses a laparoscopic camera and five small incisions (cuts) in the abdomen. It takes less than an hour to perform and usually only requires an overnight stay in the hospital.

During the procedure, the surgeon removes a large portion of your stomach. The new, smaller stomach is about the size of a banana, which limits the amount of food you can eat at once and helps you feel fuller after smaller meals.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is popular because it’s very safe and produces excellent results.

Like vertical sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y bypass surgery is performed laparoscopically. But it’s slightly more complicated and takes about two hours to complete. The typical recovery time is two days in the hospital.

During Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, a small part of the stomach is used to create a new stomach pouch roughly the size of an orange. This new, smaller stomach bypasses part of the small intestine. This causes you to feel fuller faster and you won’t be able to eat as much food at one time.

The benefits of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery are clear: You’ll lose more weight and have a better chance of resolving comorbidities such as diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, there are risks — specifically, an increased risk of complications from surgery that do not exist with the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. These may include internal hernias, gastric ulcers, and vitamin deficiencies.

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch is a high-risk surgery that may be appropriate for people who are extremely obese (BMI of 50 or higher) and haven’t been able to lose weight any other way.

This procedure is essentially a combination of a gastric bypass and a sleeve gastrectomy. It changes the normal digestion process by making the stomach much smaller and allowing food to bypass part of the small intestine. With this diversion, you absorb fewer calories and macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fats from the foods you eat, helping you lose even more weight than with gastric bypass alone.

The procedure generally takes two-to-three hours to complete and requires five to six incisions (cuts) in the abdomen. The typical recovery time is two nights in the hospital. It’s a highly effective weight loss method when you commit to a healthy diet and active lifestyle after surgery. However, because of its complexity, the procedure is associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications.

Sometimes, bariatric surgery isn’t successful, for one reason or another. If this is your experience, you may be a candidate for a bariatric revision.

We specialize in revision surgeries for weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy and after gastric bypass. Because these procedures aren’t one-size-fits-all, it’s best to meet with our bariatric team to discuss the best treatment option and approach for you.

In this less invasive, temporary procedure, a silicone balloon filled with saline is placed in your stomach and left in place for six months, creating the sensation that you’re full. After six months, the balloon is removed.

This isn’t a permanent solution. Surgeons are still learning the long-term weight loss associated with these procedures, but it is an option available at East Jefferson to discuss with your doctor.