Bariatric Procedures
If surgery is the right solution for your weight-loss goals, we want to make sure you get the procedure that's best for you and your needs. At Mount Carmel, our surgeons recommend the vertical sleeve gastrectomy or the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Both have proven safe and effective in providing long-term significant weight loss. Our surgeons also specialize in bariatric surgery revisions and conversions. The Mount Carmel Bariatric Center is also the only location in central Ohio to offer robotic bariatric surgery options.
During a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (or VSG surgery), approximately 80 percent of the stomach is removed, leaving it in the shape of a tube or “sleeve.” Since it’s a laparoscopic surgery, it requires several small incisions rather than one large one. It may also be performed using robotic techniques. The weight loss most patients can achieve through this gastric sleeve procedure is typically greater than with gastric banding but less than gastric bypass. And if you and your surgeon feel the weight loss you achieve with this approach is inadequate, you can have a second procedure to convert your vertical sleeve gastrectomy to a gastric bypass.
Gastric bypass surgery is a permanent solution during which our surgeons make the stomach smaller and allow food to bypass part of the small intestine. As a result, you’ll feel full more quickly than when the stomach was its original size, which reduces the amount of calories you can consume. Gastric bypass can be performed using open, laparoscopic and robotic techniques, is a more established procedure, and can result in faster weight loss even though the recovery takes a little longer.
If you've previously had bariatric surgery but have experienced complications, didn't achieve the lasting weight loss you were hoping for, or simply need maintenance and guidance, Mount Carmel would be happy to evaluate your case and recommend appropriate treatment, including a possible revision or conversion.
A revision is a way to modify an original bariatric procedure, while a conversion replaces a previously unsatisfactory procedure with a different one. Both can be performed laparoscopically and are usually successful in resolving problems and even promoting further weight loss. While results do vary depending on the original procedure and the reason for the revision or conversion, weight loss following supplemental procedures like these can be substantial over time.