Weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, transforms the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year. It is a treatment option for people living with, and suffering from, morbid obesity; and especially for those who haven’t had long-term weight loss success through other means including diet, exercise, medical weight loss and even diet pills. It is estimated that upwards of 99% of patients that lose weight through diet and exercise fail to keep that weight off over the long-term.
Obesity is a complex and multifactorial disease, unfortunately it’s a growing epidemic and affects people in many facets of their life. It has far reaching physical, emotional and psychological implications.
When we established our Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss Clinic at MASJax our focus was on establishing a comprehensive surgical program plan for obesity management and successful weight loss. Surgery is a very powerful tool in empowering patients to lose excess body weight and maintain a healthy weight in the long run.
We have been managing obesity for long enough to appreciate that an individual plan is essential in having a successful treatment plan and long-term success. Also, a multi-disciplinary approach to obesity is of utmost importance and we’ll work with you to establish a unique plan individualized to you. There is no single surgical intervention in helping someone to lose weight and keep it off the rest of their life.
YOU as a patient will be the main focus of the program so you can gain the most out of your bariatric procedure.
Many of us, and most of our patients, will remember the days when bariatric surgeons used only an open procedure, which required a long single incision and traditional medical instruments. However, the past few decades have yielded incredible advances in surgical technique.
Minimally invasive techniques were introduced, allowing the surgeon to perform the exact same operation with four or five, tiny, ¼-to-½ inch incisions. This is achieved using specially-devised, long-handled instruments and a high definition camera, known as a laparoscope and a robot. This can result in faster recovery, less pain and less scarring.
Most recently, our surgeons have been at the forefront of one of the greatest advances in modern surgical technology. Robotically assisted surgery uses a robot that interprets and translates the surgeon’s inputs to allow for safer, more precise surgeries. Robotic surgery also allows us to perform complex procedures minimally invasively that once could only be performed with a large, single incision. Which translated into significantly shorter recovery times and return to regular function. Furthermore, it is not unusual for most of our patients to spend only one night in the hospital and continue their recovery in the convenience and comfort of their own home.
Here at MASJax, we place an emphasis on patient education, and as such, we suggest that each of our patients do significant research and attend one of our seminars, in person or online, on the various procedures, their benefits and risks.