Weight Loss Surgery FAQ

• Do I have to change my lifestyle?

  Yes. 

  You cannot live your current lifestyle and get anywhere other than where you are right now.  By the way, this is true of almost all things in life. If we do not change our lifestyle, no surgical or non-surgical treatment can be durable.

• Are there any other ways to lose weight other than surgery?

  Yes.

  However, statistically speaking, once you get to be over the BMI of 35, there is no treatment that has any long-term success. In fact, there is no documented success of any treatment greater than a period of three years other than surgical treatment. The qualification of success is the loss of half of the amount that you are overweight and keeping it off for 5 years.

• Isn’t weight loss surgery dangerous?

  No.

  In the last five years, dramatic advancement in techniques and technologies have improved the operations.  With the dramatic progress in pre-, intra-, and postoperative care of the morbidly obese patient, your chance of dying from one of these weight loss operations is approximately the same as having your gallbladder out.  The minor and major complication rates have dramatically diminished, as well.

• How common is it to regain significant amounts of weight in the years following weight loss surgery?

  This isn't nearly as common today as in the past.

  This is a multi-factorial problem.

  A. Older operations were technically less durable.

  B. We believe the operation is just a tool to help you change your lifestyle... an indispensable tool... but, nevertheless, a tool. Without significant support and education over the long haul, the tool has an increased risk of failure.

  C. You cannot live your current lifestyle and get anywhere other than where you are right now. By the way, this is true of almost all things in life. If we do not change our lifestyle, no surgical or non-surgical treatment can be durable.

• How can I afford to get the operation done?

  More and more insurance companies will cover the operations.  We also have several financing plans available. In the big scheme of things, the question really is not how can I afford, but really from a health and longevity standpoint . . . the question is “How can I afford not to get the operation done.” Let us help you find a way.

• What operation is best for me?

  Potentially either.

  Either operation is infinitely better than any nonoperative treatment that we have available at this time once you become morbidly obese.  Each operation has characteristics that are better for some than they are for others.  I hesitate to say that it is like splitting hairs, because I think there are some significant differences, but I think that either operation is better than doing no operation.  There is a huge overlap of the groups who will do well with either operation.

After The Surgery FAQ

• Will I have a lot of tubes and hoses in me after surgery?

  No.

  With the new techniques we utilize, 98% of people have no tubes or hoses in any body parts when they come out of surgery (other than an IV).

• How long will I need to be off of work and when can I return to normal activity after the operation?

  Immediately.

  If we complete your operation laparoscopically (with the small holes), which we do approximately 98% of the time, we put no physical activity restrictions on you whatsoever.  You can do whatever you want . . . other than eat (we have a very strict food program for the first two weeks).  Complications are set in stone the minute we leave the operating room and we just do not know the outcome until seven or eight days down the road.  Really, the only way that the operation can be injured is by eating or drinking too much at one time.  The operations are not magic.  There is still some discomfort that you have, but compared to a regular open (old fashion incision) operation, the discomfort is minimal.

• Will I lose my hair after weight loss surgery?

  Potentially.

  People may lose their hair when they are have rapid weight loss.  However, the hair always returns once weight loss levels off.  No vitamins, protein, free fatty acids, or other concoctions help keep your hair from thinning.  Once your weight levels off for several months, your hair will grow back.

• Will I have loose skin after the operation?

  Potentially.

  The elasticity of the skin is genetically programmed.  If you stretch your skin past that predetermined limit of elasticity, it will not snap back.  It is not a function of losing weight slower or faster.  It is not a function of exercising more or less.  We do want you to exercise and we want you to lose weight as fast as possible, but these things have nothing to do with the amount of excess skin you may have.  In fact, even rubbing lotions or other concoctions on will make no difference either.  We have identified plastic surgeons who are very interested in this and, as such, we can send you to these surgeons to help this situation.  We are not terribly interested in the fact that you have excess skin or not when you are thinking about having the operation.  On down the road, we are happy to help you get in a bikini or a Speedo if that is your goal (or any other goal you may have) from a cosmetic standpoint, but our goal first and foremost is to improve your health and increase your longevity and the quality of that life.

• After a Roux n Y Gastric Bypass, does the remaining stomach shrivel up and die or just lose its blood supply?

  No.

  Actually the stomach has a redundant blood supply (this allows us to do seeming radical operations on it with impunity).  The stomach shrinks up to some degree – but if recruited back into use, it would function normally.