Weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery is one of the safest, most-effective, and best studied methods for long-term weight loss for people struggling with obesity. Being overweight is not a lack of discipline. It’s the result of a combination of many different factors including a person’s genetics and environment.
Many people struggle with losing weight despite trying their best to diet and exercise. The good news is that you are not alone!
Over 200,000 individuals in the United States undergo bariatric surgery each year to help with weight loss. Each procedure works to either decrease the amount of food you can eat (restriction) or how much of the food you eat you actually absorb (malabsorption) or both. Patients undergoing surgery can expect to lose anywhere between 60-80% of their extra body weight. Not only does surgery help people lose weight, but it also improves many other medical problems that are associated with being overweight including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint pain, and sleep apnea.
Weight loss procedures performed at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull include:
- Sleeve Gastrectomy – reduces your stomach volume to the size of a banana to help you feel full after eating a small amount of food.
- Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) – reduces your stomach to the size of a tangerine and attaches a part of your small intestine to your new stomach
- Single Anastomosis Duodeno-Ileostomy (SADI) – this procedure combines a sleeve gastrectomy and attaches the very bottom of the sleeve to a part of your small intestine
- Gastric Banding – places a silicone band around the top of your stomach to reduce hunger and food consumption.
- Revisional Bariatric Surgery – offered to patients that have already undergone bariatric surgery but either failed to lose the weight that they were hoping to do so, had the weight come back, or experienced any long-term side-effects.
To Qualify for Bariatric Surgery
At Woodhull, we follow the established recommendations as put forth by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery for adult patients (> 18 years of age).
They include:
- Any patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 OR
- Any patient with a body mass index between 30 and 34.9 with one or more related medical issues including:
- Type 2 diabetes (DM)
- High blood pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
- Fatty Liver Disease
- Osteoarthritis
Any patient being considered for surgery must also have tried to lose weight by trying other forms of weight loss including diet programs and exercise regimens with minimal to no success.
Benefits of Bariatric Surgery
Many patients that undergo weight-loss surgery experience many positive changes in their lives. These include:
- Significant weight loss
- More energy
- Higher self-esteem
- A desire to pursue new hobbies/interests
- Resolution of medical problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea
- Relief of joint pain
- Improved fertility
- An overall improvement in quality of life
- Decreased risk of certain cancers associated with obesity
- A longer, healthier life
At Woodhull, we offer:
- Bariatric Surgery and Medical Weight Management
- Nutritional/Diet Counseling
- Pre-operative psychological evaluation and post-operative follow-up
- Bariatric Support Groups
