When you’ve tried your best and you still can’t lose weight or keep it off, weight loss surgery may be the solution you need. The board-certified team at Surgical Specialists of Greater NY has worked with many obese individuals, helping them achieve their goals and restore their health with weight loss surgery. To learn more about your weight loss options, call one of the three New York City offices in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Astoria area of Queens, and Bayside neighborhood in Flushing, or book an appointment online today.
Weight Loss Surgery
What is weight loss surgery?
Weight loss surgery refers to several minimally invasive procedures that help you lose weight by reducing the size of your stomach. One less common procedure also bypasses part of the small intestine.
A smaller stomach limits the amount of food you can eat in a single sitting. You also feel full after eating less food than usual. If you get the type of surgery that bypasses the upper part of your small intestine, your body absorbs less of the food you eat.
Some weight loss surgeries also affect hormone production. The two most common procedures, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, effectively decrease hunger hormones and increase the hormones that make you feel full.
How do I qualify for weight loss surgery?
To qualify for weight loss surgery, you must meet specific requirements based on your weight loss history and body mass index (BMI). Your BMI reflects the amount of body fat based on your height and weight.
You’re a potential candidate for weight loss surgery if you have a BMI of 40 or higher or you’re more than 100 pounds overweight. You also qualify if your BMI falls between 35-39 and you have at least one obesity-related health condition.
Obesity-related health problems include:
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Sleep apnea
- Osteoarthritis
- Heart disease
- Blood lipid abnormalities
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Chronic respiratory disorders
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
You also need to have a history showing that you haven’t achieved or maintained a healthy weight even with prior weight loss attempts.
What should I expect during weight loss surgery?
Weight loss surgery is a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure. Surgical Specialists of Greater NY make one or several small incisions, depending on your weight loss procedure. Then they insert a long, narrow laparoscope through one incision and other surgical instruments through the others.
The laparoscope contains lighting and a video camera that sends magnified images from inside your body to a monitor. While viewing the monitor, your surgeon controls surgical instruments from outside your body to perform your weight loss procedure.
Before and after your surgery, you follow a strict diet and exercise plan. Though weight loss surgery alone can help you lose weight initially, you will only reach your goal and maintain your targeted weight for the long run through lifestyle changes.
To learn more about weight loss surgery, call Surgical Specialists of Greater NY or schedule an appointment online today.