Types of Bariatric Surgery Procedures

Weight loss surgery is known as bariatric surgery, which means you have an operation to make your stomach smaller.

Weight loss surgery can help you lose a lot of weight, and keep it off.

If you are very obese, you will probably lose more weight after surgery than with other treatments for obesity, such as drugs or dieting. Surgery is likely to help with other health problems made worse by obesity, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you have a condition that was made worse by your obesity, losing a lot of weight should help.

The FirstHealth Bariatric Center offers Roux-en Y divided gastric bypass surgery, the adjustable gastric band and the gastric sleeve.

Since 1999 the bariatric surgery program at FirstHealth has helped more than 1,000 patients to lose weight and restore active healthy lives. 

Performed by way of either a traditional “open” incision or a laparoscopic (minimally invasive) approach, bariatric surgery is a proven safe and effective method for promoting weight loss in the morbidly obese and for treating the illnesses associated with morbid obesity such as sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure and joint pain.

Roux-en Y Divided Gastric Bypass The Roux-en Y procedure reconfigures parts of the stomach and intestine to resemble a stick Y-shape. It reduces the capacity of the stomach to a small pouch that holds about one ounce of food. The pouch is completely divided from the stomach and is connected to the small intestine so that it can empty. Limiting the amount of food a patient can eat and the number of calories that the patient’s body can absorb helps the patient achieve dramatic weight loss while often controlling Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and other health problems.

For more information, visit: The Roux-en Y procedure

PROS:

• Rapid initial weight loss
• Minimally invasive approach possible
• Used successfully in the U.S. for many years
• Minimal diet restrictions
• No device implanted
• Improves certain pre-existing health conditions, including diabetes

CONS:

• Bypassed portion of digestive track leads to reduced absorption of essential nutrients
• Lifelong nutritional supplements required
• Not adjustable
• Difficult to reverse
• Higher mortality than other procedures



Adjustable Gastric Band The adjustable gastric band is the only adjustable surgical treatment for morbid obesity. It causes weight loss by reducing the capacity of the stomach, which restricts the amount of food that can be consumed. During the procedure, surgeons use small incisions to implant an inflatable silicone band into the patient’s abdomen. Like a wristwatch, the band is fastened around the upper stomach to create a new, tiny stomach pouch that limits and controls the amount of food that is eaten. It also creates a small outlet that slows the emptying process into the stomach and small intestine. As a result, patients experience an earlier sensation of fullness and are satisfied with smaller amounts of food.

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Adjustable Gastric Band

PROS:

• Adjustable
• Less invasive option
• No stomach stapling, cutting or intestinal re-routing
• Fewer problems with vitamin deficiencies than gastric bypass
• Low malnutrition risk
• Reduces hunger sensation
• Short procedure time (one hour or less)
• Overnight hospital stay
• No leaks/low complication rate

CONS:

• Slower initial weight loss than bypass
• Regular follow up critical for best results
• Not recommended for all patients
• Device implanted
• More frequent follow up may be required



Gastric Sleeve Sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive surgery that permanently removes 85% of the stomach. This procedure is helpful for patients who wish to lose weight but have health conditions that make combined restrictive/malabsorptive surgery less safe at this point in time. Your surgeon will use staples to divide your stomach into two parts. The surgeon makes one part into a narrow tube that will carry the food. The other side of the stomach is no longer used. When you eat, the food goes into the narrow tube and leaves through your intestines (the tube that takes food away from your stomach) as normal. The stomach tube can only take a few ounces of food. This means you should feel full sooner than usual.

For more information, visit: 

Gastric Sleeve

PROS:

• Overnight hospital stay
• No re-routing of the intestinal tract
• Lifelong supplements not needed
• Low complication rate
• No risk of marginal ulcer, internal hernia
• Fewer vitamin deficiencies than gastric bypass

CONS:

• Not reversible
• 85% of stomach removed
• Complications include staple line leak, staple line bleeding, stricture

No weight-loss surgery is a “quick fix.” All require a lifestyle change in order to be successful. FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in partnership with Pinehurst Surgical offers treatment, support and tools to patients in the Pinehurst, Raeford, Sanford, Lumberton, Laurinburg, Rockingham and Troy regions of North Carolina to ensure their success.

For more information, or to register for a free information session, call (800) 213-3284 or read more information here.