Are you looking for safe and effective weight loss options in Florida? Embarking on a weight loss journey can be a significant step towards a healthier and happier life. This article explores the expertise available in Florida to help you achieve your weight loss goals, covering various approaches from medical programs to surgical interventions.
Comprehensive Weight Management Programs
Many centers in Florida offer comprehensive weight management programs designed to improve your overall health and quality of life. These programs often focus on finding a personalized weight loss solution tailored to your individual needs. A common focus is to improve your overall health and quality of life by finding a personalized weight loss solution that works for you.
Key Components of Comprehensive Programs
- Meal Plans and Nutritional Supplements: These provide structured guidance and support for healthy eating habits.
- FDA-Approved Medication: Selective use of newly available, FDA-approved weight loss medications under close medical supervision can help patients achieve sustained weight loss and resolution of medical issues related to excess weight.
- Nutritional Counseling: Professionals guide you in making informed food choices and understanding your body's nutritional needs.
- Behavioral Therapy: Addresses the psychological aspects of weight loss, helping you develop healthy habits and coping mechanisms.
Surgical Weight Loss Options
For individuals with obesity who haven't achieved desired results through other methods, surgical options may be considered. Florida boasts skilled surgeons and advanced facilities offering various bariatric procedures. At Florida Surgery & Weight Loss Center, surgical excellence is delivered through cutting-edge technology and personalized patient care.
Types of Bariatric Procedures
- Gastric Bypass: An established operation used to treat obesity for more than 50 years, the gastric bypass entails creating a small stomach pouch and bypassing a long segment of the intestine. This results in smaller portions and decreased absorption of ingested foods. It is both a restrictive (restricting the amount of food you eat) and a malabsorptive (decreasing the number of calories you absorb) procedure. One of the most common bariatric surgeries, it offers 75 percent weight loss and significantly improves or completely resolves Type 2 diabetes, gastric reflux, hypertension and sleep apnea.
- Adjustable Gastric Banding (Lap Band): A silicone band is placed around the upper part of the stomach. It has an inflatable balloon that cinches around the stomach and allows patients to not feel hungry and to consume less food at each meal. After assessing the band, physicians can make adjustments to your existing Lap Band.
- Sleeve Gastrectomy: Also known as a gastric sleeve surgery is a procedure which reduces the size of the stomach by approximately 75%. Involves removing 75 to 80 percent of the stomach. As the most common weight loss surgery and restrictive procedure, it works because the stomach is smaller and the "hunger hormones" in the gastrointestinal tract are decreased. This means you can eat less, and your appetite is reduced.
- Intragastric Balloon: An intragastric balloon is a relatively new non-invasive, weight-loss procedure. Once in place, the balloon device is inflated with a sterile solution. The balloon partially fills the stomach to provide a feeling of satiety.
- Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch: In this procedure, a small portion of the stomach is removed (similar to a sleeve gastrectomy), and most of the small intestine is bypassed. By involving sleeve gastrectomy and intestinal bypass, you feel fuller faster and reduce the amount of food you can consume. While it is one of the more complex procedures, it results in the highest (80 percent) and longest-lasting, long-term weight loss. It also significantly improves or even resolves Type 2 diabetes, gastric reflux, hypertension and sleep apnea.
- Duodenal Switch: A combination of the gastric sleeve and gastric bypass procedure. The procedure creates a smaller stomach that is connected to the farthest part of the small intestine. The duodenum, jejunum and part of the proximal ileum are bypassed and then connected to a point near the ileocecal valve. The surgery is effective, but also riskier than other procedures.
Considerations for Bariatric Surgery
- Eligibility: Typically, candidates have a BMI of 40 or greater, or a BMI of 35-39.9 with pre-existing co-morbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, GERD (heartburn), and others.
- Lifestyle Changes: Successful treatment for morbid obesity also includes permanent lifestyle changes such as healthy food choices, reduced caloric intake, increased exercise and other behavior modifications.
- Post-Surgery Care: Following surgery, you will need to follow specific eating guidelines. Registered dietitians work directly with patients to help plan healthful, appropriate meals. You will need to take vitamin and mineral supplements for the rest of your life after surgery.
- Risks and Complications: All surgical procedures have risks, particularly when the patient is morbidly obese. It’s also important to know that bariatric surgeons with more experience performing weight-loss surgery report fewer complications.
Revisional Bariatric Surgery
For some patients, weight loss surgery does not always provide the desired results. Revisional and conversion bariatric surgery, regardless of the previous surgery, is always challenging. A revision refers to a change to a current procedure to repair or improve the existing bariatric anatomy, while a conversion is changing one past bariatric procedure to another type of procedure.
Non-Surgical Weight Loss Support
For those who don’t want or don’t meet the criteria for bariatric surgery, custom medically supervised weight loss programs are available.
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The REWIRE Program
As its name suggests, our ReSet - ReWire - ReYou program (also referred to as the REWIRE program, for short) is designed to “rewire” patients’ lifestyles, teaching them how to make sustainable choices in support of their goal of a healthier self.
Key Components of the REWIRE program
- Physician consultation
- Advanced Practitioner visits
- Personal Health & Wellness Coaching sessions
- Access to the online Rewire curriculum
- Biometric Body composition scans at 1, 6 & 12 weeks
- Basic Lab order and interpretation
- 90-day Prescription Medication management (if indicated)
- 15% Off IV Nutrition, Methionine Inositol Choline (MIC) and B12 Shots (designed to help speed up your metabolism)
Medical Weight Loss
With medical weight loss, a team can create a weight loss plan that fits your very specific health needs. Plus, with medical weight loss, you get continued ongoing professional monitoring of your weight and health.
HCG Diet Plan
While on the diet, you receive HCG injections to suppress hunger and boost fat burning. After you’ve completed your HCG diet plan, the team helps you transition back to a healthy, balanced diet to maintain your weight loss.
Lipotropic Injections
Achieve your weight loss goals with doctor-supervised lipotropic injections (lipo shots). These treatments are tailored to boost your metabolism, burn fat, increase energy, and support liver health.
Peptide Therapy
Peptide therapy and hormone health services are accessible and affordable. Clinic offers safe and effective Sermorelin injections to help naturally boost your growth hormone levels-supporting better recovery, lean muscle gain, improved sleep, and overall wellness.
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Body Contouring Procedures After Weight Loss
After major weight loss, excess skin can cause pain, rashes, and frustration. Several procedures can address this issue.
- Panniculectomy: Are you someone who has recently struggled with weight loss? Maybe you’ve successfully shed those extra pounds but are now left with loose skin around your belly area.
- Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck): Are you someone who has recently struggled with weight loss? Maybe you’ve successfully shed those extra pounds but are now left with loose skin around your belly area.
- Arm Lift (Brachioplasty): An arm lift, or brachioplasty, eliminates upper-arm hanging skin and fat resulting from significant weight loss or just due to aging.
Additional Services
Weight loss centers in Florida may also offer a range of additional services to support your overall wellness:
- Double Chin (Submental) Liposuction: For patients who are looking for a leaner facial appearance and desire removal of excess fat and tightening of skin under their chin.
- Fat-Removing Liposuction: Get a smooth, toned tummy with fat-removing liposuction.
- Cyst Removal Surgery:
- Wellness Treatments: Advanced wellness treatments to boost energy, burn fat, and support healthy aging.
- Hormone Balance: Restore balance, boost energy, and age gracefully with advanced anti-aging treatments across South Florida.
- PRP Injections: Affordable PRP Injections for Joint & Muscle Pain.
- IV nutrition therapy: Provides essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system for maximum absorption.
The Importance of a Multidisciplinary Team
Weight loss is a balancing act that can be hard to manage on your own, which why a team of experts is here to help. A multidisciplinary team of physicians, dietitians, nurses and coordinators evaluate patients with a thorough physical exam, diagnostic tools like blood work and imaging, and medical history to develop a complete, comprehensive profile.
Finding the Right Expert
Many patients throughout South Florida including Miami, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale areas, have questions and concerns about Post-Bariatric Surgery care.
Key Providers in Florida
- Dr. Sergey Terushkin: A board-certified general and bariatric surgeon, fellowship-trained at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Florida.
- Dr. Alexander Abdurakhmanov: A board certified general surgeon practicing in Brooklyn, NY and South Florida, Miami.
- Dr. Senchani: With medical weight loss, Dr. Senchani and her team at Women’s Health Specialists of Central Florida, can create a weight loss plan that fits your very specific health needs.
Insurance Coverage
Many insurance companies now recognize obesity as a substantial health risk and are paying for bariatric surgery. Coverage for bariatric surgery is policy-specific and needs to be verified by an insurance specialist and is subject to multiple clearances.
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Patient Testimonials
One of the best ways to learn about the Florida Surgery and Weight Loss Center at Hollywood, Florida is to read stories about our patients.
- Patient 1: Before my weight loss surgery I could not even walk 2 blocks with out being short of breath. diabetes and high cholesterol levels. I was wearing a size 22 in jeans.
- Patient 2: Before weight loss surgery, I was diagnosed with having a major depressive disorder. I was unhappywith myself. I felt unattractive and uneasy. I had low energy and wasn’t able to keep up with my toddler,which made me even more unhappy.
- Patient 3: My weight stopped me from having a life.