Treatment options for obesity

For anyone who has ever considered a weight loss program, it is quickly apparent that the options are endless. From surgical procedures to non-surgical methods including diets, exercise, and over the counter medications, sometimes making a decision is more difficult than actually losing the weight. Unfortunately, for morbidly obese individuals, simple diet and exercise modifications often prove effective for only a very small percentage—an estimated five percent or less. This is due to the fact that morbid obesity is rarely a result of overeating, or other behaviors that can be altered. Rather, it is a disease often related to genetics and other factors that cannot be changed without medical intervention.

The weight loss program at the Minnesota Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIMIS), is dedicated to helping patients make educated decisions about weight loss and surgical weight loss procedures. By providing patients with information, and utilizing state-of-the- art technology, and the skills of highly trained medical professionals, weight loss solutions and a dramatic shift in patients’ overall health, are not only possible, but probable.

MIMIS specializes in two minimally invasive surgical weight loss procedures. The Laparoscopic band or LAP-BAND® System, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

The Laparoscopic Band or LAP-BAND^® System is a minimally-invasive, safe, adjustable, and reversible surgical weight loss (bariatric) tool. Placed around the upper part of the stomach, the Lapband acts as a belt, slowing the passage of food through the digestive system. This slowing in the digestive process allows an individual to feel full sooner, aiding weight loss by both restricting the quantity of food digested at one time, and creating mental stimulants that tell the body when to stop eating.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is an effective, minimally-invasive, surgical weight loss (bariatric) tool, that assists individuals with excess weight loss and maintenance of that weight reduction. Considered the most frequently-performed and most well-rec-ognized weight loss surgery in the United States, the gastric bypass procedure essentially reduces the size of the stomach and the length of the small intestine. This shortens the digestive path that food is required to travel, thus reducing the amount of food absorbed while still affording individuals an early sense of being full or satisfied. Consequently, the desire to eat is also reduced.