Contact us to learn more about the gastric bypass and LAP-BAND® System surgery options offered at our practice in Queens, New York.
Nassau County
120 Mineola Blvd, Suite 320
Mineola, New York 11501
Phone: (866) 461-7774
Fax: (516) 663-2780
Directions
Suffolk County
157 East Woodside Ave.
Patchogue, New York 11772
Phone: (866) 461-7774
Fax: (631) 475-1955
Directions
Kew Gardens
80-02 Kew Gardens, Suite 308
Kew Gardens, NY 11417
Phone: (866) 461-7774
Fax: (631) 475-1955
Directions
Today, new advances in surgical weight loss methods have helped thousands lose weight and improve their lives. At our Long Island practice, we offer Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and LAP-BAND® System gastric banding surgery — two of the most popular surgical weight loss methods available. Both surgical placement of the LAP-BAND® System and gastric bypass surgery have helped many patients from Queens and throughout New York reduce their appetites and control their diets.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is the most common type of bariatric surgery performed in the United States today. It is both a restrictive and a malabsorptive type of bariatric surgery, meaning that it restricts both the amount of food that can be eaten and the amount of calories that are absorbed by the body.
During the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery procedure, the top portion of the stomach is sectioned off using surgical staples to create a small pouch. Because this small stomach pouch will only hold one to two ounces of food, the patient’s appetite will be more quickly satisfied. This pouch is then connected to the lower part of the small intestine, bypassing the upper portion where most of the calories from food are absorbed by the body.
Following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery at our center near Queens, your hospital stay will last from two to five days; most patients can return to their normal routines within six weeks.
Gastric bypass surgery has many benefits that help patients improve their lives.
Following gastric bypass surgery, most patients report feeling less hungry and are less preoccupied with food, making weight loss much easier.
Many gastric bypass surgery patients begin to lose weight immediately following surgery, and typically continue to lose weight for up to two years.
One of the most important benefits of gastric bypass surgery, as with other types of weight loss surgery, is a decrease in the health risks associated with morbid obesity, as well as improved emotional health.
Many complications associated with gastric bypass surgery can be avoided by following the post-operative diet plan and by taking proper vitamin and mineral supplements. The following complications are some of the most common.
Nausea, weakness, dizziness and other adverse symptoms may occur when food is released from the stomach too quickly into the small intestine, an event that is often caused by eating too much at one time or ingesting foods high in sugar or fat. Although dumping syndrome is not life threatening, it can be an uncomfortable complication of gastric bypass surgery.
The stomach pouch may stretch over time, potentially leading to overeating and weight gain.
Along with calories, gastric bypass surgery also limits the amount of vitamins and minerals that the body can absorb from food. Chronic anemia, osteoporosis, and metabolic bone disease may be caused by certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Some complications can cause serious and even life-threatening problems that may require revisional surgery. Following gastric bypass surgery at our center in New York, patients are closely monitored by our surgeons, bariatric surgery coordinator, and nutritionist to make sure that the risk of complications is reduced or, if they arise, that they are treated promptly.
Open gastric bypass surgery involves the use of traditional surgical methods, often requiring abdominal incisions of up to ten inches, while laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive. During laparoscopic obesity surgery, a laparoscope with a tiny camera is inserted into the body through a small incision. Both Drs. Barkan and Brathwaite use a computer monitor to view the inside of the body while performing the surgery remotely.
In addition to reduced scarring, laparoscopic procedures also have the following benefits:
At our Long Island-area practice, gastric bypass surgery is typically performed as a laparoscopic procedure. However, your safety is our primary concern, and open surgery may be better for some patients, including those with extremely high BMIs or certain health conditions that make laparoscopic obesity surgery risky.
By using an adjustable band to reduce the size of the stomach, LAP-BAND® System surgery restricts the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time. The band is actually a tube that is filled with saline solution. The amount of solution can be adjusted, making the band bigger or smaller, in order to control the size of the stomach and regulate weight loss. At our center in Long Island, the LAP- BAND® System is a popular choice for patients who want assistance with weight loss without permanently affecting normal digestion.
Through a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure, the stomach is divided using surgical staples and the adjustable gastric band is placed around the upper portion. After LAP-BAND® System surgery, food will fill the small upper section of the stomach, satisfying the patient’s appetite much more quickly. In addition to decreasing the stomach’s volume, the band also constricts the outlet of food from the upper portion to the lower portion of the stomach, slowing digestion to keep the patient feeling full for a longer time. During the LAP-BAND® System surgery, a reservoir for saline solution is placed under the skin so that the band can easily be adjusted by either Dr. Alex or Dr. Brathwaite when needed.
Most patients will spend 24 hours in the hospital following LAP BAND® surgery at our New York center, and normal activities can typically be resumed within a week. Full recovery may take up to six weeks. However, the rate of weight loss is usually slower with LAP-BAND® System surgery than with gastric bypass surgery. Therefore, it is critical for the patient to attend regular follow-up appointments so that the band can be adjusted to achieve optimal weight loss results.
One of the main advantages of LAP-BAND® System surgery is that the procedure is reversible, unlike gastric bypass surgery. The band can be placed and removed without permanently affecting normal digestion, and removal is accomplished with relative ease through an additional laparoscopic procedure. The surgery also has the advantage of allowing postoperative adjustment so that weight loss can be regulated. At our Long Island center, we typically recommend LAP-BAND® System surgery instead of gastric bypass surgery for patients younger than 20 or older than 60, or for those who have a high risk of complications with more invasive types of bariatric surgery.
LAP BAND® System surgery has many of the same risks and complications as gastric bypass surgery, including an increased risk of dietary deficiencies. Other complications sometimes associated with the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Band procedure include:
There are several rare yet serious conditions associated with LAP-BAND® System surgery that may require additional surgery. The band can cut into the stomach, or it can obstruct the stomach to too great a degree. Occasionally, the stomach pouch may stretch or the band may break or loosen, allowing the patient to overeat.
The REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band is an adjustable band that was developed in Europe for the treatment of obesity more than 10 years ago. The band is placed around the upper stomach using laparoscopic surgery. It is attached by a thin tube to an injection port placed under the skin on top of the muscle. Fluid can be injected into the port to tighten the band, thus limiting the food intake and slowing the progress of food through the upper digestive system thus leading to weight-loss. There is no re-routing of the intestines. The band is intended to be a long-term implant.
The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight loss procedure that is performed only on the stomach and does not involve any re-routing of the intestines. The stomach basically is turned into a long tube (a sleeve) by removing most of it. There is no malabsorption. There is no dumping syndrome. The valve at the outlet of the stomach is left intact, allowing for the feeling of fullness.The part of the stomach that is removed usually produces the hormone Ghrelin that controls the desire to eat and thus the feeling of hunger is significantly reduced.
To help you make the most of your weight loss efforts, we provide comprehensive assistance — including support groups and personalized diet plans — following gastric bypass or LAP-BAND® System surgery at our New York practice.
Our Long Island practice specializes in gastric bypass and LAP-BAND® System surgery for long term weight loss. Contact our practice near Queens, serving residents throughout New York, for more information about the surgical weight loss procedures we offer.