Center for Bariatric Surgery
Surgical Options
Why Consider Bariatric Surgery?
Medical studies show that more than 97 percent of those suffering from morbid obesity fail to maintain weight loss through diets, programs or medications.
This unacceptably high failure rate does not signify a lack of willpower or other character defect. Rather, it means that the individual may be experiencing a genetically based disease that often cannot be overcome through diet or willpower alone.
When all traditional weight loss methods have been exhausted, the solution most often is bariatric surgery. Recognizing this, the Center for Bariatric Surgery has developed a comprehensive program offering a surgical solution to weight problems.
Bariatric surgery is proven to help morbidly obese individuals lose 100 pounds or more, significantly improving their health and drastically reducing their dependence on medications for illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
The procedures also significantly reduce co-morbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac dysfunction, gall bladder disease, arthritis, depression, urinary stress incontinence, menstrual and fertility irregularities, sleep apnea, respiratory dysfunction and the increased incidence of certain cancers.
The National Institutes of Health endorses bariatric surgery, and its results have been positively cited in several medical journals. The following excerpt is from the American Journal of Medicine:
"The treatment of choice for severely obese persons is surgery... The benefits of surgical treatment are impressive, with major reductions in comorbidity and prevention of further complications of obesity. There is a marked decrease in... diabetes mellitus, hypertension, respiratory distress, hyperlipidemia [elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels], sleep apnea, and... in almost all complications of obesity. The most striking indication of improvement is the increased life expectancy of operated persons.. The psychological benefits of surgery are comparable, with marked improvement in psychosocial functioning, rate of employment, annual income and other quality-of-life measures."
The Center for Bariatric Surgery at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center offers laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, and open and laparoscopic gastric bypass procedures. At the Hospital, patients are cared for in a full-service, inpatient and outpatient facility. Our surgeons have more than 67 years of combined surgical experience, performing more than 6,500 bariatric surgery procedures.
Ultimately, only you can determine whether bariatric surgery is the right choice for you. But before you decide, carefully evaluate your own successes and failures with dieting and other weight loss methods, your doctor's and family's suggestions, and your current level of knowledge about the role of surgery in treating the disease of morbid obesity. Seek advice from professionals and patients, and research the benefits and shortcomings of all available options. Over 30,000 people each year choose the option of bariatric surgery. The vast majority of patients say this surgery GAVE THEM BACK THEIR LIVES. Are you ready to change your life? We're here to help.