Laparoscopic Weight-loss Surgery

Minimally invasive weight-loss surgery is performed with the help of a laparoscope, a thin, lighted tube with a video camera. It is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen, enabling our bariatric surgeons to see inside your body. In addition to the laparoscope, our doctors insert specialized tools through other small incisions to perform the weight-loss surgery while viewing the procedure by video.

Weight-loss procedures that our surgeons perform laparoscopically include:

• Duodenal switch, which creates a moderately sized stomach pouch and bypasses part of the small intestine
• Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which is the creation of a small stomach pouch that is attached to the small intestine
• Sleeve gastrectomy, which removes about 85% of the stomach, leaving a cylindrical or sleeve shaped stomach
• Revision, done when your bariatric surgery did not achieve lasting weight loss or it led to complications

Both surgeries cause much of the food you eat to pass through your body and not be absorbed.

Benefits of Laparoscopic Weight Loss Surgery

The advantages of laparoscopic weight loss surgery are significant and can include:

• Shorter hospital stay
• Less pain
• Less scarring
• Quicker recovery
• Lower risk of infection
• Fewer complications after surgery
• Less lean tissue loss during the early postoperative period

Who Is a Candidate for Laparoscopic Weight-loss Surgery?

At the Orlando Health Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Institute, most bariatric surgeries are performed as laparoscopic procedures. However, there are times when open (traditional) surgery may be better for some patients, including:

• Those who have significant scar tissue (possibly from another abdominal surgery) that hamper our to access or view the surgical field
• People with health conditions that make laparoscopic weight-loss surgery risky

In rare cases, a laparoscopic weight-loss procedure will be converted to open during surgery for your safety or a better outcome.