Division of Bariatric Surgery

Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) in Boston is home to 1 of New England's leading bariatric surgery programs. Our Bariatric Surgeons perform virtually all surgical options laparoscopically through several very small incisions of one inch or less. When healed, these incisions are often nearly invisible. Minimally invasive surgery has many other benefits, including less wound discomfort, quicker recovery from surgery, lower risk of wound infections and better cosmetic results. 

Weight loss surgery involves substantial and permanent changes in the patient's stomach and other gastrointestinal physiology. Bariatric surgery is only offered to patients whose BMI is high enough that the medical risk of continued obesity outweighs the risk of surgery. Prospective patients should have exhausted all other reasonable avenues of weight loss before selecting surgery. 

Surgical options for weight loss include:    

• Gastric Bypass Surgery – During this operation, the surgeon separates the stomach into 2 sections with a special stapling device, creating a small working section on top called a pouch. This pouch will become the new stomach and has the capacity of 1-2 oz. of food. 
• Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy – A new restrictive procedure that limits the amount of food you can eat by reducing the stomach size.
• Gastric Band Surgery – This procedure involves placing a saline-filled band around the stomach, dividing the stomach into a small pouch on top of the band and leaving the larger portion of the stomach below the band. The band is adjustable and makes eating large amounts of food more difficult. 
• Abdominoplasty Surgery – This technique addresses excess skin after significant weight loss. 

Surgical Weight Loss Options