Surgical Weight Loss Procedures
Offered at Castle Medical Center

Castle offers three types of bariatric procedures at Castle, all of which are performed laparoscopically through small incisions, using a camera and instruments. These minimally invasive procedures are less painful, result in quicker recovery and fewer complications, and don’t leave large incision scars.

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

The gastric bypass procedure achieves weight loss by cutting the stomach in order to make it smaller and restrict food intake. Then, a section of the small intestines is bypassed so that calories and nutrients from food have less time to be absorbed by the body.

For those who have many obesity-related diseases, bypass surgery is usually the procedure that leads to the greatest long-term weight loss. Bypass patients can usually expect to lose 60% to 70% of their excess weight. However, because fewer nutrients are absorbed by the body after this procedure is done, patients must take nutritional supplements for the rest of their lives. Also, there are greater risks associated with cutting the intestines, including the risk of infection, strictures, and internal hernias.

Laparoscopic Adjustable Band

This procedure, also known as the lap band, is an option with fewer post-operative complications. An adjustable band is inserted through a single incision in the belly button and placed around the top of the stomach to create a small pouch. Then, when the lap-band patient eats, food is restricted to this small pouch. This makes the patient feel full sooner, helping them to eat less.

The lap band can be tightened or loosened as needed by adding or removing fluid through a small port under the skin. After a year, patients can lose as much as 40% of their excess weight. While excess weight loss from gastric bypass surgery usually plateaus after the first year, lap-band patients tend to continue losing weight for several years, resulting in about the same amount of weight loss at the end of five years.

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

This procedure, known more simply as the gastric sleeve, has similar weight-loss advantages to bypass surgery, but uses the same less-invasive, single-incision belly button surgery used in the lap band. The procedure removes 85% of the stomach to limit its capacity for food. Unlike the bypass surgery, however, there is a lower risk of complications and a reduced need for ongoing nutritional supplements because the upper portion of the small intestine is not bypassed.

Typically, sleeve patients can expect to lose 50% to 60% of their excess weight.