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Weight Loss Surgeries

Catholic Health performs gastric bypass, lap banding and vertical sleeve gastrectomy.

Bariatric surgeries are performed at Sisters Hospital by Dr. Caruana, Chief of Bariatric Surgery, who began the program in June 2000, and Dr. Dang Tuan Pham.

Roux En Y Gastric Bypass

A combination type of bariatric surgery, gastric bypass interrupts the nervous and hormonal stimulation of appetite and seems to affect the use of body fat stores for energy.

In this permanent procedure, the stomach is divided into a golf ball sized pouch, which is re-routed to a subsequent portion of the small intestine. The bypassed portion of the stomach and small intestine remain in place, but never receive food again.

Weight is lost for two reasons: calories are restricted by pouch size and malabsorption of nutrients occurs.

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (Lap Banding)

Commonly referred to as lap band surgery, this restrictive and reversible procedure places a hollow, silicone ring, or band, around the main portion of the stomach.

The band creates a small passageway between the uppermost part and the rest of the stomach, thus restricting the amount of food that be comfortably eaten. The degree of stomach restriction is controlled by the amount of fluid in the band. This is adjusted by injecting fluid via a component called a port that is surgically secured just under the skin of the stomach wall.

One of two devices may be used in restricting the stomach: the LAP-BAND® System or the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band.

Laparoscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a purely restrictive and irreversible procedure in which approximately 85% of the stomach is cut and removed, creating a slim banana or tubular shaped stomach.

Although normal functions of the stomach are preserved, weight is lost because the amount of calories that can be digested is drastically reduced. And patients feel fuller faster because the newly-created tubular shape creates resistance to volumes of food.

Becoming a Patient

Individuals interested in bariatric surgery must attend an informational seminar and make an appointment with their family doctor to undergo tests necessary for surgical evaluation.

To get started, please call our HealthConnection representatives at (716) 447-6205 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Friday.