Weigh Your Options

Surgical Weight Loss Options

Mercy Bariatric Centers are ready to get started on your path to health. We work to ensure the success of every patient, and if you've already met our base level of eligibility, there are a few more requirements that are equally as important. If you meet the following, then we'll work together through the next steps on your path to better health. In addition to being 18 or older, you must:

• Have a BMI of 35 or more OR a BMI of 30 with obesity related diseases (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, heart or lung disease)
• Able to commit to long-term medical follow-up, as well as the lifestyle, dietary, and exercise changes necessary to maintain health after surgery
  
• Have no poorly controlled mental disorders that would interfere with our weight loss program.

Types of Weight Loss Procedures

We offer various types of weight loss surgeries and work with our team of bariatric specialists to determine which is right for each patient. Bariatric surgery is divided into two different approaches to helping treat obesity: restrictive, where the stomach’s size and capacity are reduced, and malabsorption, where the stomach’s ability to absorb calories and nutrients is reduced.

Gastric Sleeve

A gastric sleeve is a newer bariatric surgery and is often used when patients are disqualified from the other two types of surgery. For this surgery, our surgeon cuts and staples the length of your entire stomach. The overall size of your stomach is reduced to a tube, or sleeve, that functions just as it did before, only at a lesser rate.

For more in-depth information, read more.

Gastric Bypass

With gastric bypass surgery, usually recommended for severely overweight patients, a portion of your digestive tract is bypassed as our surgeon reroutes the flow of food through your stomach and small intestine. The size of your stomach will be reduced to roughly the size of an egg. Food will be rerouted to the middle portion of your small intestine bypassing the remainder of your stomach and the top portion of your small intestine.

For more in-depth information on gastric bypass surgery, read more.

Adjustable Gastric Band

For gastric band surgery, our surgeon will place a silicone band around the top portion of your stomach. The band creates a small pouch that restricts the amount of food you can ingest before feeling full. Your stomach will continue to operate normally with a much smaller capacity.

For more in-depth information, read more.

There are severe risks and complications, including death, associated with all major surgical procedures. Bariatric surgery should only be considered as a last resort for weight loss. Weight loss varies according to the individual.