Am I a Good Candidate for Weight Loss Surgery?

Living with extra pounds or receiving a diagnosis of obesity from your doctor is discouraging and may make you wonder why you can’t make weight loss stick. You may also worry about your long-term health and fret about what options remain after exhausting countless diets, eating plans, and often unsustainable workout regimens. 

Perhaps you’ve considered weight loss surgery but are uncertain about how safe and effective it is or if you’d even be a candidate for such a procedure. 

The team at Advanced Surgeons — with offices in Valhalla, Carmel, and Poughkeepsie, New York — possesses great expertise in helping patients achieve successful weight loss as well as a true interest in your health and well-being. Our surgeons are eager to provide you with safe, healthy, and permanent weight loss, offering a variety of surgical options. 

What is weight loss surgery? 

This umbrella term describes an array of procedures that help patients finally achieve significant, sometimes life-saving weight loss. Your surgeon makes this happen by altering your digestive system, which causes you to lose weight. Weight loss surgery is also known as bariatric surgery or metabolic surgery.

Could I be a candidate for weight loss surgery? 

Bariatric surgery is a figurative and literal lifesaver for the over 42% of Americans who live with obesity — those whose body mass index (BMI) exceeds 30. The BMI is a screening tool that uses an individual's weight and height to determine whether they’re underweight, overweight, or obese.

Obesity puts you at higher risk for serious health conditions, including:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Stroke 
• Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis
• Multiple types of cancers

If you’ve endured years of diets and exercise and had only short-lived or no success, it’s time to discuss weight loss surgery with your doctor. You’re likely a good candidate if you’ve either struggled with your weight for years to no avail or you or your doctor are concerned about your risk of certain health conditions. Perhaps you’ve already been diagnosed with one.

At Advanced Physicians, we listen to your story of struggling with weight loss, carefully assess whether your situation makes surgery a viable option, and stand by you from before your surgery to your post-surgical recovery and transition.

It’s important to know, though, that surgery isn’t a quick, risk-free fix. You also must commit to eating well and maintaining an exercise program. 

What are the different types of weight loss surgery?

Each weight loss surgical procedure falls under the category of malabsorptive or restrictive. Malabsorptive options limit your ability to absorb nutrients and calories from your food, while restrictive procedures cause weight loss through limiting how much food can fit in your stomach. 

Our surgeons offer several types of bariatric surgery that transform our patients’ lives and health: 

Gastric sleeve/sleeve gastrectomy

In this popular procedure, your surgeon removes about 80% of your stomach, sealing up what remains with surgical staples. This restricts how much food your stomach can accommodate.

Gastric bypass, or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery

Your surgeon creates a small stomach pouch and attaches it to your small intestine. What you eat bypasses your stomach and a portion of your small intestine, affecting how many calories your body absorbs.  

Duodenal switch

Your surgeon removes 60%-70% of your stomach and reroutes food to a lower part of your small intestine. 

Biliopancreatic diversion

Another method where your surgeon removes a portion of your stomach so it can’t hold as much food, and your GI tract is diverted so you absorb fewer calories.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding

Your surgeon places an adjustable band around the top portion of your stomach, creating a much smaller stomach pouch, so the amount you can comfortably eat is very limited.

Revisional bariatric surgery

A corrective procedure that rights earlier, inferior surgery. 

Life-changing, life-saving surgery

We perform the latest surgical techniques, including minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, where your surgeon makes several small incisions and uses specially designed tools to complete your procedure. Laparoscopic surgery is associated with quicker healing and recovery and reduced pain, bleeding, and scarring. 

Schedule a consultation with us at the office nearest you to learn whether weight loss surgery is a good option for you. You can call our friendly staff or request an appointment via our website.