How Weight-Loss Surgery Can Help Improve Health

Obesity is a big health problem in the United States. About 93.3 million American adults are obese—nearly one-third of the population—according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those affected by obesity face an increased risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Getting rid of the weight can significantly improve health, and weight-loss surgery may be the way to do it.

When to Consider Weight-Loss Surgery

Weight-loss surgery is typically a last-resort option. If you have trouble losing weight by traditional means such as diet, exercise and medication, it may be time to talk to your doctor to find out if weight-loss surgery is something you should think about. You’re a candidate for weight-loss surgery if you have morbid obesity, which means you’re more than 100 pounds over your ideal weight or you have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher. BMI is a measurement doctors use that assesses your weight in relation to your height. You may also be a candidate if you have a BMI of 35 or greater accompanied by life-threatening conditions related to obesity such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.

What to Expect from Weight-Loss Surgery

Most patients who have weight-loss surgery lose weight rapidly and continue to do so until 18 to 24 months after the procedure. It’s considered successful if you lose 50 percent of excess body weight and keep it off for at least five years. You’ll still have to work on managing your weight and improving your health. You’ll need to meet with a nutritionist and stick to a strict dietary plan. For example, sodas and other carbonated drinks are off-limits after weight-loss surgery, and you’ll have to cut back drastically on carbs. You can read more about the dietary guidelines after surgery here.

Types of Weight-Loss Surgery

There are different types of weight-loss surgery, and you and your doctor will decide together what is the right surgical treatment for you. Holy Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital are specially equipped to perform weight-loss surgery and have a team of specialists who use the latest surgical techniques. Holy Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital support three types of weight-loss surgeries: Gastric bypass makes your stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of your small intestine, sleeve gastrectomy reduces the size or your stomach and limits the volume of food you can consume, and gastric band surgery implants an adjustable band around your stomach. Stephen McKenna, MD, a bariatric surgeon at Holy Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, says that most of these operations are sleeve gastrectomies. “Essentially that's an operation that simply makes your stomach skinny, and it does two things,” Dr. McKenna says. “It limits the amount of food you could eat; therefore, it is called a restrictive procedure because it restricts what you can actually get down. The second effect of the operation is that it removes a part of the stomach that makes a particular hormone called ghrelin which stimulates appetite.” 

Watch Dr. McKenna talk more about all three types of weight-loss surgery:

Weight Loss Resources Available at Holy Cross Health

• Learn More About Our Bariatric Surgery Program
• Find Out if Weight-loss Surgery is Right for You
• Sign Up for a Weight-loss Information Session
• Join a Fitness Class
• Read Our Patient Success Stories
• Connect with an Expert

Holy Cross Health presents the information in this blog as a resource for our community. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice or to endorse any particular entity or service. Personal health problems should be brought to the attention of the appropriate health professionals.