Surgical Options

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery describes three basic approaches that weight loss surgery takes to achieve sustained weight loss.

At Solutions Surgical Weight Loss Center, we offer these types of weight loss surgery treatments for our patients that allow them to build healthier lives based on the weight loss surgery treatment available from our facility that best fits their lifestyle.

Restrictive procedures that make the stomach smaller to limit food intake:
      Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB)  
      Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG)

Combined restrictive and malabsorptive procedures that combine restriction of stomach capacity with a mild degree of malabsorption:
       Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RNYGB)

Malabsorptive procedures that alter digestion, thus causing the food to be poorly digested and incompletely absorbed so that it is eliminated in the stool:

Laparoscopic or Minimally Invasive Surgery

Laparoscopy has become the predominant technique in some areas of surgery and has been used for weight loss surgery for several years. When a laparoscopic operation is performed, a small video camera is inserted into the abdomen. The surgeon views the procedure on a separate video monitor. Most laparoscopic surgeons believe this gives them better visualization and access to key anatomical structures.

The camera and surgical instruments are inserted through small incisions made in the abdominal wall. This approach is considered less invasive because it replaces the need for one long incision to open the abdomen. A recent study shows that patients having had laparoscopic weight loss surgery experience less pain after surgery resulting in easier breathing and lung function and higher overall oxygen levels. Other realized benefits with laparoscopy have been fewer wound complications such as infection or hernia, and patients returning more quickly to pre-surgical levels of activity.

Laparoscopic procedures for weight loss surgery employ the same principles as “open” procedures and produce similar excess weight loss. Not all patients are candidates for the laparoscopic approach, just as all bariatric surgeons are not trained in the advanced techniques required to perform this less invasive method. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery recommends that laparoscopic weight loss surgery should only be performed by surgeons who are experienced in both laparoscopic and open bariatric procedures.

SOURCE: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Johnson & Johnson