This minimally invasive bariatric (weight loss) surgery is performed with the help of a laparoscope, which is thin, lighted tube with a video camera. It is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen and enables our bariatric surgeons to see inside the body. Along with the laparoscope, our doctors insert specialized tools through other small incisions to perform the weight-loss surgery while viewing the procedure by video.

The benefits of laparoscopic surgery over traditional open surgery are less scarring, less blood loss and pain, fewer complications and faster recovery.

Robotic bariatric (weight-loss) surgery offers our surgeons a high level of precision and control. The surgery, which is performed through small incisions, minimizes pain and usually requires just one overnight stay in the hospital. You can expect to return to normal activities within one to two weeks. After surgery, you will need to follow specific eating guidelines.

Robotic surgery also provides the potential for less blood loss, less pain, less scarring and fewer complications.

A duodenal switch limits food intake and the calories the body can be absorb. On average, you can expect to lose 70% to 80% of your excess body weight after the surgery and keep it off with excellent maintenance and a healthy lifestyle. A duodenal switch operation helps you lose weight, in part, because it bypasses part of your small intestine, causing much of the food you eat to pass through the body and not be absorbed (malabsorption).

The procedure is performed in a hospital or a surgery center and uses general anesthesia. It creates a moderately sized stomach pouch and bypasses part of the small intestine. Most patients who choose this type of surgery end up with lasting results. Other benefits include: 

• Lifestyle changes are not as crucial as they are with other types of bariatric surgery. 
• Patients are able to eat much larger portions than those who have other types of restrictive weight-loss surgeries. This allows for greater patient satisfaction. 
• More than 95% of patients have their diabetes resolved.

However, patients who choose this type of surgery are at much higher risk for nutritional deficiencies. For the rest of the patient’s life, nutritional supplements, including vitamins and minerals, will be needed.

Our experienced doctors specialize in revising and converting previous weight loss surgeries. They may recommend a revision or conversion if a previous bariatric surgery did not achieve lasting weight loss or led to complications. 

• Revision – Retains and modifies your original procedure.
• Conversion – Replaces an unsatisfactory procedure with a different one. 

Often, both can be performed laparoscopically or minimally invasively. If you are having trouble with any previous bariatric surgery, ask our doctors whether a revision or conversion could help.

Below are a few of the revision and conversion procedures our physicians perform.

• Weight gain after gastric bypass – If a patient starts to gain more than 25% of lost weight and continues to gain weight, this is considered failure and requires investigation. 
• Failed gastric band procedure – Gastric band procedures have high failure rates and complications. They sometimes require patients to have revision surgery and convert them to gastric bypass procedures.
• Failed sleeve gastrectomy – Some patients may gain more than 25% of their weight lost after sleeve gastrectomy. This requires surgical revision to allow them to start losing weight again. Some gastric sleeve patients may also develop severe reflux that can’t be medically managed. It requires conversion to gastric bypass to help address reflux complications.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is one of the most common and successful combined weight-loss procedures in the United States. Our surgeons create a small stomach pouch that is attached to the small intestine. It bypasses the lower stomach and reduces calorie and nutrient absorption.

Eighty-five percent of patients lose at least half of their excess body weight and 80% of patients have their diabetes resolve. Gastric bypass surgery has a low complication rate and is performed laparoscopically, which minimizes pain and recovery time.

The time it takes to chew foods thoroughly and the limited space in the stomach pouch reduce the amount of food you are able to consume during a meal. This will cut down on the calories you take in at a given meal and help with weight loss.

The gastric sleeve, or sleeve gastrectomy, is a restrictive weight loss surgery that restricts food intake, which leads to weight loss. During the surgery, about 85% of the stomach is removed. It leaves a cylindrical or sleeve-shaped stomach with a capacity that will hold about one-half to one cup of food at one time.

The procedure generates weight loss solely through reducing the stomach volume and decreasing the appetite. It is a part of the procedure that cannot be reversed. The nerves to the stomach and the outlet valve (pylorus) remain intact. This preserves the functions of the stomach while drastically reducing the volume it can hold.

The average weight loss for the procedure is reported to be 50% to 60% of the excess weight loss over two years. So, if you are 100 pounds above your ideal body weight, you would expect on average to lose 50 to 60 pounds. The procedure also cures about 80% of patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes. 

Your weight loss will vary based on how well you follow the post-operative guidelines.