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The surgery unit of the Weight and Wellness Center is one of the few obesity treatment programs in New England which does virtually all its surgeries laparoscopically (using minimally invasive surgical techniques). Procedures are routinely performed in about half the time required by most other hospitals  because of our surgeons' considerable experience because we have the most advanced laparoscopic operating suites in the United States.
Surgery is performed through several very small incisions of one inch or less. When healed, these incisions are often nearly invisible. Minimally invasive surgery has many benefits including less wound discomfort, quicker recovery from surgery, lower risk of wound infections, and better cosmetic results. Of course, patients also enjoy a shorter overall recovery with less time in the hospital and a quicker return to work or a regular routine.
Patients who have this serious surgery must be prepared to make significant changes in eating and lifestyle patterns that will last a lifetime. Bypass surgery provides the extra help most people with extreme obesity need. The surgery gives your body a new way of digesting food, which becomes part of a comprehensive health plan that also includes regular exercise, healthy food choices, and close, ongoing contact with members of your health care team.
The operations employed for morbid obesity are not to be confused with plastic surgery. Weight loss surgery involves substantial and permanent changes in the patient's stomach and other gastrointestinal physiology. Real risk comes with each surgical procedure, and surgery is only offered to those whose weight is high enough that the medical risk of continued obesity outweighs the risk of surgery. Prospective patients should also be thoroughly convinced that they have exhausted all other reasonable avenues of weight loss before selecting surgery.
There are three primary procedures we perform:
Gastric ByPass Surgery -- reduces the functional capacity of the stomach by changing the way foods passes through the stomach and intestines. Gastric bypass surgery is done to help treat 'severe' obesity. Its goal is to help you lose weight by limiting the stomach's ability to store large amounts of food.
Gastric Band Surgery -- an alternative procedure using an implantable device that creates a bottleneck near the top of the stomach making it hard for a patient to overeat. It is adjustable and it is reversible.
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy -- or the “sleeve” for short is a newer operation that is currently endorsed by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American Medical Association. The surgery is performed laparoscopically through small incisions and involves the permanent removal of the outer aspect of the stomach known as the fundus (roughly 2/3rds), turning the remaining stomach into a banana shaped tube. It is non-reversible.
The surgical program has several components you should know about: nutrition, medicine, behavioral psychology, physical activity and surgery to help produce medically significant weight loss. We evaluate each individual's needs to create specific treatment options for them in our program.
Click here for information about other related surgeries.
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