Welcome

We base our decision on your height, weight and medical history. We start considering weight loss surgery if your BMI (Body Mass Index) is above 30. Most people by the time they get to us have tried at least one weight loss method without long term success.

Your body mass index is the relationship between your height and weight, is not a perfect screening tool but it help us guide our recommendations, we complement this with an estimated muscle mass calculus base on our consultation.

This will mostly depend on the procedure that we agree upon, most of our patients choose to pay directly or take advantage of our financial options. Our procedures start at $9,800 for a ESG to a bypass that is $13,500.

I am sure that you are frustrated with insurance companies, so are we. Most insurance companies don't offer Bariatric Surgery coverage, and the ones that do, usually put you through a lot of hoops to actually cover the procedures. There are a few that we work with and will be happy to run your policy to find out, we used to recommend that you call them directly but we found out that they never tell you NO and create more confusion instead.

For most people we can get them through our focus preop process between 2 to 4 weeks if no major medical issues are present. This includes our focus nutritional and psychologic evaluation. It used to take months to get someone ready for surgery but we found there is no real advantage in delaying care and there is upside in taking advantage of momentum to hit the weight loss process running.

It all depends on your specific situation and goals, there is no one fits all answer. The things we take into account are the presence of Diabetes, Frequency of Reflux Symptoms and how much weight you need to lose. For those with higher BMI, on diabetic medications and frequent reflux symptoms may benefit more from a Gastric Bypass.

The Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) is a very innovative procedure that does not require any incisions in your abdomen were we suture together the walls of the stomach in a way that significantly decreases its capacity. However this procedure is not for everyone, higher BMI patients especially when comorbidities are present favor the consideration of a Sleeve Gastrectomy, this is the one we enter the abdomen laparoscopically and through tiny incisions we cut and remove 75 to 80% of the sto.

Millions of people around the world have tried these new medications in an attempt to lose weight and for diabetes control, and I suspect that as oral medications come to market millions more will try it. For most people this is a viable options, but for those with significant Obesity Surgery has proven to be the most reliable and most effective long term tool.

The MGB or one-connection gastric bypass is a procedure that has proven to be as effective as a gastric bypass but with less risks. The weight loss is identical, which in general is more than a Sleeve, and the chances of weight regain are less than a sleeve as well. In our experience is a hybrid between a sleeve and a bypass  combining the benefits of both with very little risk that allows to perform this surgery in an ambulatory setting.

No, our hope is to teach you how to eat healthy nutritious foods and avoid  processed foods, refine carbs, added sugars and empty calories. 

We call it a Liver Shrinking Diet, and the purpose is to make your surgery safer. Most people that are overweight or Obese have some degree of Fatty Liver and this can compromise your surgery. You will benefit from a high protein, low carb, no added sugar diet to have your body in optimal shape for WLS.

Each procedure may have a specific progression but in general after surgery you will have a minimum of 2 weeks of a liquid diet to allow the safe healing of your stomach, after that you will have at least 2 weeks of a soft/puree diet and slowly progress from there. Our nutritionist will give you specific steps tailored to your specific needs.

Yes, the chances of serious complications is less than 1%

Bariatric Surgery, surgery offers better long term results.

About 3 months of rapid weight loss on average 20-30 lb followed by a slow and steady on average 0.5 to 1 lb per week.

For the most part yes, specifically the sleeve gastrectomy. Technically the other procedures can be reversed or modified. 

Bleeding, infection, staple line leak, obstruction/stenosis, vitamin deficiencies, gastric reflux, ulcers, DVT/PE, need for reoperation and death. All these can happen however in our hands the chances of these are less than 1%.