Bariatric Surgery

Otherwise known as “weight-loss surgery”, Bariatric Surgery includes several operations performed for patients who are morbidly obese and have failed to achieve adequate and lasting weight loss by non-surgical methods. These methods include diet, exercise, drug therapy and combination therapy. Many of these patients have multiple severe medical problems (“comorbidities”) related to their weight. Only surgery has been shown to promote significant and sustained weight loss for these individuals and, in doing so, improve or eliminate most of these comorbidities.

Bariatric Surgery can help patients achieve weight loss by either restricting the amount of food they can eat or by inducing a degree of malabsorption so that not all of the food eaten gets utilized. At our Center for Advanced Bariatric Surgery, we offer patients those procedures which are proven to be safe and effective.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass is a procedure in which the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch by dividing the stomach with a stapling device. The small intestine is also divided, then connected to the pouch and rerouted to reduce the amount of food the body can absorb. This combination of restriction and malabsorption produces quick and sustained weight loss.

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band (“Lap-Band”) surgery is a less complicated procedure which involves placement of an adjustable silastic collar around the upper stomach, thus creating a small pouch. The collar is connected by tubing to a port which is placed under the skin of the abdominal wall. As patients loose weight, the stomach and surrounding fat gets smaller. The Lap-Band can be adjusted, by simple saline injections into the port, to compensate for this and allow the patient to continue to loose weight until the goal is reached. With the expert patient management provided by our Centers, the weight loss rivals that of the Bypass.

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is an operation which removes a large portion of the stomach, leaving it in the shape of a sleeve (or banana). In doing so, it restricts the amount of food a patient can eat. The portion of the stomach which is removed produces a hormone that increases appetite. By removing this portion, appetite is reduced. This combination of restriction and appetite control fosters significant weight loss.

To learn more about our approach to Bariatric Surgery, please visit our dedicated sites:
Center for Advanced Bariatric Surgery
Montclair Surgical at Skylands
Stafford Surgical Specialists
Monmouth Surgical Specialists