Weight loss surgery

With Medical City Healthcare, you have access to highly experienced surgical teams and weight-loss doctors who offer advanced care in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Bariatric & Metabolic Institute is home to bariatric surgeons who provide a full range of weight-loss procedures, including minimally invasive surgical options.

Call (833) 612-2022 to talk with a nurse about weight-loss surgery, sign up for a bariatric seminar or to find a doctor.

Obesity results from an accumulation of fat that is out of proportion to the body’s skeletal and physical standards. Genes often play an important role in an individual’s tendency to gain weight beyond what is physiologically necessary.

In addition, your environment plays a crucial role in obesity. Having a genetic predisposition toward obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet can make controlling weight more difficult.

Bariatric surgery works by restriction, malabsorption or a combination of the two. Restrictive procedures decrease food intake by creating a smaller stomach. Malabsorptive procedures alter the digestive process, limiting nutrient absorption. Because of this, it's important to take vitamin supplementation after bariatric surgery.

The bariatric surgeons in the Dallas-Fort Worth area affiliated with Medical City Healthcare offer several options for patients who qualify for bariatric surgery, including:

Gastric banding

This is a restrictive surgical procedure in which a band is placed around the upper part of the stomach. The band divides the stomach into two sections, creating a larger portion and a smaller portion. Because food intake is regulated, most patients feel full faster. Food digestion occurs through the normal digestive and absorption process.

If you had a previous gastric band procedure, our bariatric surgeons can also adjust and remove existing bands.

Sleeve gastrectomy (gastric sleeve)

During this procedure, a thin vertical sleeve of stomach is created using a stapling device. This sleeve will typically hold between two to three ounces and is about the size of a banana. The separated portion of the stomach is then removed. This also causes a change in gut hormones, which decreases hunger and improves blood glucose control.

Gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y)

In this procedure, the surgeon staples a small pouch in the stomach. The remainder of the stomach is completely stapled shut and divided from the stomach pouch.

Then, a bypass is created by dividing the small intestine just beyond the duodenum for the purpose of constructing a connection between it and the newly formed stomach pouch.

The other end is connected into the side of the Roux limb of the intestine, creating the "Y" shape that gives the technique its name. The outlet from the newly formed pouch empties directly into the lower portion of the jejunum (one of the initial segments of the intestine) and bypasses a region of the digestive tract, where much of the nutrients are absorbed.

Duodenal switch

During a duodenal switch, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch shaped like a tube, making the stomach smaller. The small intestine is then divided into two parts. The lower part is attached to the new, smaller stomach pouch. The procedure changes the digestive tract by not mixing digestive enzymes until farther along in the digestive tract. This reduces the amount of food a person eats and makes better use of the food they do eat.

Bariatric surgeons can also perform biliopancreatic diversion surgery with duodenal switch (BPD/DS). This is when a surgeon performs a procedure similar to the sleeve gastrectomy followed by a duodenal switch.

Bariatric revision surgery

Revision surgery is beneficial for correcting complications from a previous weight loss surgery or for enhancing weight-loss results. The most common reason for bariatric surgery revision is weight gain or inadequate weight loss.

It's possible for a bariatric surgery to fail due to metabolic or mechanical issues. Mechanical failures happen when the anatomical changes made during the surgery are not maintained properly, such as:

• The pouch has stretched.
• The gastric pouch outlet has increased in diameter.
• The intestine has increased its intake abilities beyond the expected desire.
• Restriction has decreased due to band slippage.

Gastric balloon procedure

Bariatric surgeons can also offer a gastric balloon procedure for adults who haven’t succeeded at diet and exercise alone and do not want or do not qualify for bariatric surgery. During this procedure, an endoscope is used to insert one to two balloons into the stomach (depending on the procedure). Once they are properly positioned, saline is used to inflate the balloons.

The balloons help you lose weight and encourage healthy eating habits by taking up room in your stomach so there is less space for food. After six months, the balloons are deflated and removed during a similar endoscopic procedure.

Medical City Healthcare can also offer patients with robotic surgery options for weight loss. Using the state-of-the-art robotic technology, bariatric surgeons perform surgeries that feature the following benefits:

• Smaller incisions
• Reduced pain and discomfort
• Reduced blood loss
• Shorter hospital stay
• Quicker healing
• Less scarring