Choosing the Right Operation - LAP-BAND®,
Sleeve Gastrectomy, Gastric Bypass

The three most popular weight loss operations are LAP-BAND® (e.g. Adjustable Gastric Banding), Sleeve Gastrectomy, and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. All are great operations that can help you permanently lose weight and become healthier.

Each procedure is different, however, in terms of risk, how they work, and what they require from you. Your decision to have bariatric surgery, and your choice of operation, is dependent upon you understanding these details.

PLAY VIDEO: Dr. Oliak explains below how to choose the most appropriate operation

To learn more about weight loss surgery attend a free, no-obligation seminar or consultation with Dr. Oliak - call or send us an online contact form today!

LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding

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The LAP-BAND® is the least invasive and lowest risk of the three bariatric operations, but it requires the most effort from you. The LAP-BAND® will help you to feel more satisfied with less food, enabling you to eat less, feel satisfied, and lose weight.

It is important to understand that the LAP-BAND® will not make you eat less food. This is because the entire stomach is still present and can fill up with food if you eat for reasons other than hunger (i.e. habit, emotion).

The LAP-BAND® is compelling because it is low risk. The question is, if the LAP-BAND® makes you feel less hungry and more satisfied with less food, can you make the necessary changes (control portion sizes, eat slowly, don't snack, etc) to your eating habits, or do you need the added help of the Sleeve Gastrectomy or the Gastric Bypass?

Average weight loss after LAP-BAND Surgery is 50-60% of excess weight. This is average - patients can do better or worse than average. What determines actual weight loss is how well patients use the operation - how well patients are able to use the fact that they are less hungry to eat smaller quantities of food.

More about LAP-BAND® Surgery »
Our LAP-BAND® weight loss outcomes »
Our LAP-BAND® patient testimonials »

Sleeve Gastrectomy

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The Sleeve Gastrectomy (or Gastric Sleeve) is the newest of the three bariatric operations, and has been increasing in popularity over the past several years. The Sleeve Gastrectomy is a more major operation than the band because it involves cutting across the stomach, but it is considered lower risk than the Gastric Bypass.

The Sleeve Gastrectomy operation involves reducing the size of the stomach to less than 3-4 ounces. This will help you to feel less hungry and eat less, enabling weight loss. Because the stomach is made substantially smaller than normal, it cannot hold the usual amount of food. Because of this, the Sleeve Gastrectomy is more forceful about making you change (i.e. small portion sizes) than the LAP-BAND.

Compared to the Gastric Bypass, the sleeve is considered lower risk because it doesn't involve rerouting the intestine. This prevents many of the long-term issues that can occur after Gastric Bypass.

Average weight loss after Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery is 60-70% of excess weight. This is average - patients can do better or worse than average. What determines actual weight loss is how well patients use the operation - in other words how well patients use the fact that they are less hungry and have a much smaller stomach.

More about Sleeve Gastrectomy »
Our Gastric Sleeve weight loss outcomes »
Our Gastric Sleeve patient testimonials »

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

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The Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass is considered the "gold standard" bariatric operation for weight loss. It has been popular for many years and has been well studied. Gastric Bypass is the most extreme of the three operations because it involves both cutting across the stomach and rerouting the small intestine.

The operation involves reducing the stomach size to approximately 1 ounce, and reconfiguring the intestine so that food empties from the stomach pouch into the intestine. Because the stomach pouch is so small, the bypass operation forces dramatically smaller portion sizes upon patients, particularly early after surgery.

Also, the small intestine rerouting results in significant physiological changes in how the GI tract functions. These changes are thought to contribute to both weight loss and improvement in medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Gastric Bypass generally results in the fastest and most extreme weight loss of the three operations. Average weight loss after Gastric Bypass Surgery is 70-80% of excess weight. Similar to the LAP-BAND® and Sleeve Gastrectomy, actual weight loss is determined by patients' eating habits over time.

More about Gastric Bypass »
Our Gastric Bypass weight loss outcomes »
Our Gastric Bypass patient testimonials »