At Yuma Regional Medical Center, we offer several types of weight loss surgeries. Each of these laparoscopic (minimally invasive) procedures use smaller incisions than traditional surgery, leading to increased safety, less scarring, a decreased hospital stay and faster recovery.
You and your doctor will work together to decide which of these options is best for you:
Sleeve Gastrectomy (Gastric Sleeve)
This procedure permanently reshapes the stomach into a long, thin pouch that limits the amount of food that you can eat at one time. This means that you will feel full sooner and stay full longer. As you eat less food, your body will stop storing excess calories and start using its fat supply for energy. With this procedure, food passes through the digestive tract in the usual manner, allowing it to be fully absorbed into your body.
Gastric Bypass
During this procedure, the surgeon creates a small pouch on the top of the stomach. This will affect how your body weight is regulated in two ways. First, it will cause you to be satisfied with very small meal portions. Secondly, you will absorb less calories from food due to the bypassed portion of intestine.
Endoscopic Surgery
Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is a newer safe, effective option for patients who do not wish to undergo a surgical procedure. It is similar to a sleeve gastrectomy which reshapes the stomach to limit the amount of food the patient can eat. However, with an endoscopic procedure, no incisions are made. Instead, the surgeon inserts a small, flexible device called an endoscope through the patient’s mouth and uses the device to reduce the size of the stomach.
Panniculectomy
The massive weight loss that occurs after bariatric surgery can create significant changes in the abdomen, including excess loose skin, stretch marks, rashes or open wounds. Having excess loose skin can also interfere with a patient’s hygiene and movement. A panniculectomy is a procedure that removes the overhanging “apron” of skin that develops in the lower abdomen as a result of weight loss after bariatric surgery. This surgery is reserved for those who have lost a significant amount of weight through weight loss surgery and have a BMI less than 30.
Weight Loss Revisions
Endoscopic Bariatric Revision
There are times when patients who have previously undergone gastric sleeve or bypass surgery find themselves gaining weight once again. If you are looking to re-initiate weight loss after undergoing weight loss surgery, bariatric endosurgery may be a solution for you. This minimally invasive surgical technique allows your surgeon to reduce an enlarged stomach pouch, gastric stoma or sleeve to its original post-operative size. To perform this procedure, the surgeon inserts a small, flexible device called an endoscope, through the patient’s mouth, which enables the surgeon to correct stoma or sleeve dilation or enlargement without the risk of open surgery. As a result, patients will experience less pain and scarring and recover much faster than traditional gastric bypass surgery.
Lap Band Removal/Conversion
The Lap Band, also known as an adjustable gastric band, was once the most popular bariatric procedure performed in the United States. However, some patients developed an intolerance to this band, resulting in problems such as excessive nausea and vomiting, difficulty swallowing and pain after eating, so use of the Lap Band has decreased.
If you have developed these issues, the bariatric surgery team at Yuma Regional Medical Center can remove your band. However, without another bariatric procedure, you are likely to regain weight. Yuma Regional Medical Center offers gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy surgery six months after band removal.
In order to receive one of these procedures, you must complete the Yuma Regional Medical Center Bariatric Program. The first step is to attend one of our free Weight Loss Surgery Seminars that are offered twice a month.
If you have any questions about weight loss surgery at Yuma Regional Medical Center, please call us as 928-336-5483 (LITE) or email us at yumalite@yumaregional.org and a member of our team will be glad to assist you.