How Do I Choose the Right Surgical Weight Loss Technique?

Weight loss surgery may be the treatment you need when you have an excessive amount of fat to lose to reach an ideal body weight but can’t achieve this through diet and exercise. You may also benefit from the weight loss services at OakBend Medical Group when your weight puts your health at risk.

Our experienced weight loss surgeons Christopher Reilly, MD, FACS, Steven M. Thomas, MD, FACS, and Genna Lubrano, MD, provide comprehensive weight loss services, including several types of bariatric surgeries to support safe, healthy weight loss.

Our team can also help you determine which type of surgery is right for you by considering all factors that will influence your surgical results. 

When to consider bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery is typically a last-resort treatment option for people who can’t lose weight through lifestyle and diet changes.

Weight loss can become increasingly difficult as you get older because of limitations in mobility. You may also struggle to lose weight on your own if you have underlying medical issues or genetic conditions that affect your metabolism.

Our providers offer comprehensive health evaluations to ensure you can tolerate bariatric surgery. We also discuss your expectations for results and make sure that you can commit to the diet and lifestyle changes required in the months and years after surgery.

If you’re a candidate for surgery, we review the types of surgery we offer to identify which technique is the best fit for your needs and weight loss goals.

Exploring your options for bariatric surgery

At OakBend Medical Group, we offer several advanced surgical techniques to support weight loss. Our surgeons can recommend one of two approaches to meet your needs, including:

Malabsorptive surgery

Malabsorptive surgery affects how many calories you can ingest by limiting how much of the food you eat that gets absorbed by your body.

Gastric bypass surgery is a type of malabsorptive surgery. This procedure involves rerouting your intestines, so the foods you eat bypass the organ. This limits the amount of calories and nutrients your body absorbs, so you can steadily lose weight.

Restrictive surgery

Restrictive surgery limits how much food you can eat by reducing the size of your stomach. A smaller stomach size means you can only eat small amounts of food to prevent overeating and excess calorie consumption.  You also feel fuller faster and for longer after eating small meals.

The types of restrictive surgeries we offer include the Lap-Band® procedure, which uses a gastric band placed around the top of your stomach to reduce its size. We also offer gastric sleeve surgery, a technique to remove a large part of your stomach to permanently decrease its size.

For those interested in nonsurgical weight loss solutions, we may recommend the Orbera® intragastric balloon. During this procedure, our surgeons insert a special scope in through your mouth and down into your stomach. The scope holds a small balloon that our team positions in place and fills with air to restrict the size of your stomach.

The type of weight loss surgery you need depends on many factors, including your current weight, existing health issues, and your weight loss goals. During your consultation, we can help you identify the procedure that will produce the most effective results.

Call OakBend Medical Group in Richmond, Texas, to schedule a bariatric surgery consultation or book an appointment online today.