Bariatric Surgery: Look and Feel Your Best

You can choose minimally invasive options instead of traditional weight loss surgery. We perform these innovative surgeries robotically and laparoscopically. This means we use smaller incisions (cuts) so there's less risk of damage to the soft tissues around your stomach.

Benefits of minimally invasive weight loss surgery include:

• Faster healing.
• Less pain.
• Lower risk of infection.
• Minimal scarring.

This popular procedure is sometimes called “the sleeve.” Because it’s a shorter procedure, it can be a good option for those who have medical risk conditions.

During a sleeve gastrectomy, about 80% of the stomach is removed to create a new, smaller stomach that holds considerably less food and liquid. This reduces the amount of food and calories that are consumed. The procedure also decreases the hunger hormone. By decreasing hunger and increasing fullness, it helps the body maintain a healthy weight, as well as good blood sugar control.

For patients with severe obesity, a gastric sleeve procedure can sometimes be used first as a bridge to another procedure, called the duodenal switch.

This long-standing procedure has been performed for more than 50 years. It’s still one of the most common operations performed for weight loss, and it’s extremely effective at treating obesity and its related diseases. This procedure may be called “the bypass.”

There are two parts to the bypass. First, the stomach is divided into a smaller pouch that is about the size of an egg. Then, a section of the intestine is brought up to connect to the new pouch. Next, there’s another connection made downstream, where all the digestive enzymes mix with the food.

The bypass procedure changes the route that food takes once you eat it. By doing this, it also changes how the nutrients are used once food is taken in. The smaller stomach, increased feelings of fullness, and new route for food have a profound effect on maintaining healthy weight loss and addressing diabetes, due to the metabolic changes.

Also called the “duodenal switch,” this procedure was endorsed by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in 2019. It is a modified version of the older duodenal switch, meant to minimize some of the side effects.

During the procedure, a sleeve gastrectomy is performed to create a small stomach. Then, the intestine is brought up and a connection is made between the duodenum and the small intestine. When food is eaten, it moves from the new small stomach directly into the lower portion of the small intestine. With a smaller stomach and shorter length of intestine for absorption, less food is eaten and fewer calories are absorbed.

A duodenal switch combines the advantages of the sleeve gastrectomy with the metabolic advantages of rerouting nutrients through the intestine. Because of these metabolic changes, it is often successful at putting type 2 diabetes into remission. A duodenal switch can also be performed on patients who previously had a sleeve gastrectomy and need further weight loss.

Bariatric Revision Surgery is a procedure that corrects or improves prior weight loss surgery. Most of the time, bariatric surgery is successful. However, it may be recommended for you if you've experienced:

• Inadequate weight loss.
• Weight re-gain.
• Ruptured or displaced gastric bands.
• Displaced gastric band ports.
• Disrupted staples.
• Enlarged gastric pouch.
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
• Problems swallowing.

Insurers all have different requirements, but they generally cover revisions to the sleeve or bypass to address weight regain, if you meet these criteria: If your BMI is greater than 40, or if you have a BMI of 35 along with a medical problem related to obesity.

At ProMedica Weight Loss Surgery, we use the latest minimally invasive technology, including robotic assisted surgery, to perform bariatric revision surgery. We offer several revision procedures, including Roux-en-Y gastric bypass revision and gastric sleeve resection.

All surgeries come with risks. If you’re thinking about having weight loss surgery, be sure to talk with your doctor about these risks:

• Blood clots.
• Gallstones or gallbladder disease.
• Hernias.
• Infection.
• Intestinal disorders.
• Vitamin deficiencies.

The first step in our program is to see if weight loss surgery is the right choice for you. We want all of our patients to achieve lifelong health, which is why we'll only recommend surgery if we believe you're a good candidate.

We look at a variety of factors, including your:

• Age. You must be between the ages of 18 and 67.
• Lifestyle and health: You must stop smoking at least three months before your weight loss surgery and agree not to smoke after surgery. You should also commit to exercising and eating a healthy diet after surgery. These are essential to help keep the weight off for good.
• Personality: You must be motivated to make a real change in your health. The ideal candidate for weight loss surgery is willing to face the physical, emotional and social changes that come with weight loss.
• Weight: You must have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more (about 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight). Or have a BMI of 35 to 39.9 with serious medical conditions related to obesity that would improve with weight loss.

Part of the bariatric surgery journey is your commitment to healthier lifestyle changes. These include your diet and eating habits. This will be one of the biggest changes you'll need to make after surgery.

Our bariatric dietitians will help you understand the dietary and nutritional changes to expect in the days and weeks after your weight loss surgery. We'll support you through every step and guide you through meal options, food choices and more.

Right after surgery, your digestive system will need to rest and heal for a couple of days. You'll begin a liquid diet of light broths and beverages while you're still in the hospital.

After a few days of the liquid diet, you'll move to pureed foods like lean meats, beans, yogurt and egg whites. You'll eat pureed foods for a few weeks when you go home.

Once your body is comfortable with pureed foods, you'll begin eating soft, solid foods like ground meats, soft fruits and cooked vegetables. You'll continue to get support and menu ideas from your dietitian and bariatric care team for two to three months.

Eventually, your doctor will transition you back to enjoying solid, healthy foods.

After surgery, your body doesn't absorb nutrients the way it used to. That's why it's important to take nutritional supplements. Supplements help make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need. You can get supplements specially made for weight-loss surgery patients.

On-going post-surgical support helps patients adjust to their new lifestyle and reach the greatest level of success. Being with people who share your situation can help you maintain the long-term lifestyle changes required after surgery. ProMedica Weight Loss Surgery offers multiple days and times for their support groups.