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Treatments for Severe Obesity
There are several options for treating severe obesity. Some treatments do not involve surgery and some do.
Non-surgical Treatments
 The most common approach for losing weight is to eat less and exercise more. However, if you are extremely over weight, this approach may not be enough. While temporary weight loss can help, the yo-yo effect (losing weight and gaining it back) can also make it harder to lose weight in the future.
Talk to your physician or a dietician for help in changing your lifestyle. If your physician feels that weight loss surgery is right for you, attend one of our free informational seminars.
Surgical Options
If it is decided that surgery is the right option for you, there are two options: Gastric Bypass or the LAP-BAND® SYSTEM.
Gastric Bypass
With this surgery, most of the stomach and part of the intestines are bypassed. With Gastric Bypass the stomach is stapled to make a smaller pouch. The result is you cannot eat as much and you absorb fewer nutrients and calories from your food.
THE LAP-BAND SYSTEM®
This procedure was designed to help you lose excess body weight. It uses a process called laparoscopic banding. This process is the least invasive way to use surgery to reduce the amount of food your stomach can hold. Also available is the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
These procedures are associated with loss of 60 to 80 percent of excess body weight in morbidly obese patients.
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