Improve Your Health With Our Weight Loss Surgery Options
One in three American adults is obese, which puts them at great risk for some very serious health consequences, ranging from diabetes to heart disease. If you’ve tried to gain the upper hand on your weight problem, only to find yourself back at square one time and again, weight loss surgery may provide the key.
At Rockwall Surgical Specialists, our team of experienced and compassionate surgeons helps patients who are struggling with obesity by offering several bariatric surgery options. These surgeries are life-changing and can help you avoid many potentially dangerous health issues.
Here’s a look at your options when it comes to weight loss surgery.
Lap Band® surgery
This type of surgery, also called gastric band surgery, limits the size of your stomach, thereby restricting how much you can eat. Lap Band surgery is ideal for those who have a body mass index (BMI) of 35-40 or more.
During the procedure, we place an inflatable band around your stomach using laparoscopic instruments — which means we only need to make very small incisions to do the work.
The silicone band is hollow, and we fill it with saline once it’s in place. We also place a port in your abdomen, which allows us to adjust the circumference of the band as you progress through your weight loss.
One of the many benefits of this type of surgery is that we don’t change the anatomy of your digestive system. Instead, your stomach is simply much smaller in size, which helps you eat far less while still achieving that “full” feeling. The band allows the food you eat to pass through, and your digestive tract takes over as it normally would.
Gastric sleeve surgery
This type of bariatric surgery also preserves the anatomy of your digestive system. During your gastric sleeve surgery, we use laparoscopic techniques to remove 80% of your stomach, creating a much smaller, banana-shaped sac that limits the amount of food you can eat.
Aside from restricting the amount of food you can eat, another advantage of this approach is that we remove the portion of your stomach that produces the hormones that make you feel hungry.
This weight loss surgery is also designed for those who have a BMI of 35-40, or higher.
After your weight loss surgery
It’s important to note that both of these surgeries come with significant changes to your eating habits. After your surgery, you eat soft foods for several weeks. Once you get the green light for solid foods, it’s not business as usual — you need to make some changes, such as:
- Not drinking during your meal
- Eating more frequent, smaller meals
- Avoiding high-calorie, high-fat foods
- Taking vitamin and mineral supplements
Rest assured, our practice doesn’t simply perform the surgery and send you on your way. We’re with you through every step of your weight loss journey by providing:
- An in-house dietician
- Dietary guidance
- Lifestyle counseling
- Exercise recommendations
- Long-term follow-up after surgery
If you’d like to explore whether you’re a good candidate for weight loss surgery, please contact one of our four locations in Rowlett, Rockwall, Greenville, Forney, and Terrell, Texas.