Roux-en-Y, or gastric bypass surgery, is the most common procedure for weight loss. With gastric bypass, your surgeon creates a smaller stomach by stapling across the top part of your stomach to create a small pouch about 2-3 ounces in size. The rest of your stomach is completely separated from the pouch but not removed from your body. Your surgeon bypasses parts of your intestine, which results in fewer calories and nutrients being absorbed, changes gut hormones that promote satiety, suppresses hunger, and thereby results in weight loss and in some cases reverses Type 2 diabetes.

Most often, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass uses a minimally invasive laparoscopic technique; however, a traditional open surgery may be necessary based on your past medical or surgical history.

Benefits
There are many benefits to sleeve gastrectomy as a surgical weight loss option:

• Hormonal changes suppress hunger and reduce appetite
• Restricts the amount of food that can be consumed
• May lead to conditions that increase energy expenditure
• Typical maintenance of > 50% excess weight loss

Sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive procedure that removes 80% percent of the stomach. The new stomach is a tubular banana-size pouch that holds much less food than the normal stomach and helps to significantly reduce the amount of food (and thus calories) that can be consumed. Although this surgery drastically reduces the size of the stomach, it will still function normally afterward.

Since sleeve gastrectomy does not involve any bypass of the intestinal tract, it can be performed using a minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgical technique.

Sleeve gastrectomy or gastric sleeve refers to a procedure in which the stomach is divided vertically allowing relatively normal processing of food and nutrients. This procedure is the most commonly performed bariatric surgery and allows you to decrease portion sizes as you feel full sooner and stay full longer.  There is significant resolution of comorbid obesity-related diseases post-operatively, like diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, etc.

Benefits
There are many benefits to sleeve gastric bypass as a surgical weight loss option:

• Limits the amount of food your stomach can take in, but does not affect how your stomach functions.
• It reduces how much food you can eat after surgery, but places fewer restrictions on what types of food you can eat, unlike the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
• Requires no bypass or re-routing of the food stream.
• Usually involves only an overnight stay in the hospital
• Induces hormonal changes that suppress hunger and reduce appetite.

Duodenal Switch (DS) and SADI-S are powerful bariatric surgeries that combine stomach reduction with intestinal rerouting to limit food intake and calorie absorption, leading to significant weight loss and improved health. However, they carry risks like nutrient deficiencies and require lifelong vitamin supplementation and strict adherence to a specific diet. These procedures are typically reserved for individuals with severe obesity and related health issues who haven't found success with other methods.

Key Differences between DS and SADI-S:

• DS: Involves two connections (anastomoses) - one between the stomach and duodenum, and another between the bypassed intestinal limb and the ileum.
• SADI-S: Involves only one connection (anastomosis) - between the stomach and the ileum. The bypassed intestinal limb is connected to the ileum at the same point. This simplifies the procedure and potentially reduces complications.

Benefits of Duodenal Switch Procedures:

• Significant and Sustained Weight Loss: Generally leads to greater weight loss compared to other bariatric procedures.
• Improved Metabolic Health: Highly effective in resolving or improving type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea.
• Hormonal Changes: Affects gut hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.

Gastric band removal is a surgical procedure to remove a previously implanted adjustable gastric band. This band, placed around the upper part of the stomach to restrict food intake, may be removed for various reasons.

Gastric band removal is typically performed laparoscopically (using small incisions and a camera). The surgeon:

1. Locates the Band: Identifies the gastric band and surrounding tissues.
2. Releases the Band: Carefully cuts any scar tissue or adhesions that have formed around the band.
3. Removes the Band: Extracts the band, port, and tubing through one of the incisions.
4. Repairs if Necessary: If there is significant erosion or damage to the stomach wall, the surgeon may repair it

Bariatric revision surgery refers to any surgical procedure performed to modify or correct a previous bariatric surgery. It's undertaken when the initial surgery has failed to achieve the desired weight loss, has resulted in complications, or is no longer effective.

The specific revision procedure depends on the initial surgery and the reason for revision.

Minimally invasive bariatric surgery encompasses a range of surgical procedures performed through small incisions, typically using laparoscopic or robot-assisted techniques. This contrasts with traditional "open" surgery, which requires larger incisions.

Compared to traditional open surgery, minimally invasive bariatric surgery offers several advantages:

● Smaller scars: Less noticeable scarring due to the small incisions.

● Reduced pain: Less tissue trauma results in less post-operative pain.

● Faster recovery: Patients typically return to their normal activities sooner.

● Lower risk of infection: Smaller incisions minimize the risk of infection.

● Shorter hospital stay: Many patients can go home sooner after surgery.

● Improved cosmetic outcomes: Less scarring can lead to better cosmetic results.

Yes. Many insurance companies require patients to be on a weight loss program before qualifying for Bariatric surgery.

Many health insurance plans cover weight loss surgery. Talk to your surgeon about health plans in your area that cover bariatric procedures. Insurance plans change periodically. Visit the Insurance Plans page to view the plans currently accepted at Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican hospitals. Participation should be validated by contacting your insurance company.