Weight loss surgery

We offer comprehensive bariatric surgery care and help managing your weight loss after surgery. In addition to surgical services, we provide every patient a personalized treatment plan that includes:

• Access to an accredited bariatric hospital with advanced surgical equipment
• Supportive, caring doctors, nurses and support staff members
• Pre- and post-operative nutritional support
• Pre-operative education classes to help prepare for weight loss surgery and post-op care
• Personalized treatment plans to ensure the best patient outcome
• Long-term follow-up care post-procedure

We offer the following surgical services for the treatment of obesity:

Gastric balloon

This low-risk weight loss procedure involves placing small gastric balloon in the stomach, taking up room and creating a feeling of fullness more quickly when you eat. While under mild sedation, your surgeon will insert a balloon through your mouth using an endoscope, a very thin tube with a small camera on it. Once the balloon is in your stomach, they'll fill it with saline (salt water) and expand it into a predetermined shape that is right for your specific body structure.

This procedure is likely a good choice if your body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 40 and you have not been successful losing weight through diet and exercise. The procedure is temporary, and we generally remove the balloon after six months. Patients who use this procedure can expect to lose 20-30% of their excess body weight within six months.

Gastric banding

The gastric banding procedure involves a band being placed around the outside of the upper stomach. This creates a smaller pouch for food and a narrow passage for the rest of the stomach, slowing food digestion and creating a longer feeling of fullness.

Gastric bands require continual adjustment, as the tightness of the band will gradually loosen as you lose weight. We can adjust the band in our office without sedation. The adjustment involves pumping a saline solution into the band via a port in your abdomen we'll create during your initial surgery. Tightening your band will help you feel full sooner after eating, stay feeling full and help you maintain your weight loss.

Gastric bypass

This procedure, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is the oldest and most commonly performed weight loss procedure. Your surgeon will "close off" part of your stomach, creating a smaller pouch that holds less food, while also rerouting the small intestine to the pouch. This pouch acts like a smaller stomach, restricting the amount of food that you can eat at once, and the changes made to the small intestine cause fewer calories to be absorbed.

More than half of patients will lose 70% or more of their excess body weight within the first year and then will begin the process of maintaining their weight loss. For long-term weight loss success, learning how and what to eat is key, so we include nutrition counseling from dietitians who will give you the education and support you need to make the proper food choices.

If you should start to regain weight after your initial success from gastric bypass, a gastric bypass revision can be an option for you. Over time, you may find the small pouch and outlet that connects the small intestine has stretched out, allowing you to take in more food and calories. Our team offers a safe and effective endoscopic procedure that can reduce your enlarged pouch and outlet to their post-procedure size.

Gastric sleeve

This type of surgery, also known as vertical sleeve gastrectomy, is another procedure designed to restrict the volume of food you can eat. This is done by removing up to 85% of the stomach and leaving a sleeve-shaped, cylindrical stomach approximately the size of a banana. We preserve the function of the stomach, the outlet valve and nerves. This is an optimal surgery for obese patients with lower BMI or those with underlying conditions, such as anemia or Crohn's disease.

We can perform this surgery in a fully open procedure or laparoscopically, a less invasive approach using smaller incisions. Your surgeon will determine which is right for you.

You can expect to lose 65-75% of your excess weight in the first year after surgery. And, since clinical studies have shown this procedure can help improve conditions such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, your overall health and quality of life should get better after surgery.

Duodenal switch
Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (DS) surgery is the most involved and complex weight loss surgical procedure. Rarely done, duodenal switch surgery is a combination of the gastric sleeve and gastric bypass and is nonreversible.
Very similar to but more complex than sleeve gastrectomy, this surgery includes creating a small, tubular pouch by removing a portion of the stomach. Then we bypass (shut off) a large portion of the small intestine from the stomach. Finally, we connect the distal (last) portion of the small intestine to an outlet of the newly made stomach. After surgery, any food you eat will filter through this new stomach pouch and empty directly into the last segment of the small intestine. This procedure restricts calorie intake, helps to reduce the absorption of fats and reduces overall hunger.
Most patients can expect to lose 80-100% of their excess body weight in the first year after surgery.

Our team will work you to determine which option is most suitable to meet your health needs and weight loss goals.

For all weight loss surgical options, your post-operative experience may include:

• A varied rate and amount of excess body weight
• Imaging studies for evaluation of your weight loss and surgical outcome
• Regular laboratory testing to ensure proper nutritional intake, including iron, B12 levels and blood count
• Restricting pregnancy for a minimum of 12 months post-procedure
• Strong encouragement to attend a weight management support group
• Monitoring of medication dosages, including oral contraceptives, as malabsorption may affect how effective they are
• A lifelong need for vitamin and mineral supplements
• Avoidance of certain medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), due to increased risk of ulcers or stricture (narrowing of the area between the stomach and intestine)

One of the most important parts of a successful weight loss journey is having good support. We offer support groups to help you every step of the way with education and encouragement. Our support groups are free and open to those interested in learning about weight loss surgery and those who have already undergone surgery, as well as family members and friends interested in learning how to help you be successful in your treatment.

Our weight loss surgery support group meetings are held at our Martinez office, located at 3830 Washington Road, Suite 17. For more information, call us at (706) 922-0440.