Obesity affects all aspects of your life - your health, thoughts, and mood. Every year, tens of thousands of people turn to medical weight loss, including bariatric surgery when appropriate, to support their weight loss goals. If it feels like you’ve tried every diet but your weight is still jeopardizing your health, bariatric surgery may be able to help you get you on the right track. This article provides an overview of weight loss surgery options available in the Cincinnati area, focusing on programs, procedures, and support systems that can help individuals achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
Understanding the Need for Weight Loss Surgery
Knowing how to begin is often the most challenging part of losing weight. Many adults struggle with weight or weight-related issues. Obesity is a lifelong chronic disease with contributing factors like genetics, environmental conditions, and psychological issues. Obesity is associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke, obstructive sleep apnea, and many cancers. Surgical weight loss can provide benefits far beyond the number you see when you step on the scale. Bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce the risk of weight-related health problems including heart disease, diabetes and severe sleep apnea. If you have tried unsuccessfully in the past to lose excess pounds, weight-loss surgery could help you reach your goals and give the best possible start to your weight-loss journey.
Weight Management Programs in Cincinnati
St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center
St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center offers long-term weight loss solutions with a compassionate, multidisciplinary team. Since 2004, they’ve been helping people in Greater Cincinnati lose weight and improve their health. Their team provides the tools needed to make changes to diet and lifestyle, helping patients reach and maintain their weight-loss goals.
Key Features:
- Multidisciplinary Team: A professional team provides the tools you need to make the changes to your diet and lifestyle that can help you reach and maintain your weight-loss goals. The team is encouraging and non-judgmental.
- Free Information Sessions: The first step in learning more about surgical weight loss at St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center is attending a free information session focused on the bariatric surgery program.
- Surgical Weight-Loss Information Session: This session focuses exclusively on the bariatric surgery program. A bariatric surgeon reviews the surgical options available and provides an overview of the entire program.
- Medical Program Weight-Loss Information Session: This session provides an in-depth look at the medical weight-loss program.
- Accreditation: Weight Management Services at St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center are accredited, ensuring high standards of care.
- Locations: St. Elizabeth Florence, St. Elizabeth Newport/Ft. Thomas, Address: 1400 N. Grand Ave. Ft.
UC Health Weight Loss Center
The UC Health Weight Loss Center offers comprehensive obesity care, helping patients achieve sustainable weight loss for better health and enhancing their overall quality of life. Recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, their specialized team customizes treatment plans for each individual, integrating metabolic and bariatric surgery options as well as medical weight management programs.
Key Features:
- Multidisciplinary Approach: Patients receive comprehensive care from experts in surgery, nutrition, metabolic conditions, pharmacotherapy, lifestyle interventions, fitness, and obesity medicine.
- Customized Treatment Plans: The center assesses every patient individually to develop weight loss plans with regular check-ins to monitor progress.
- Revision Surgery: UC Health bariatric surgeons perform revisional procedures related to complications, side effects, and weight regain or inadequate weight loss with a primary surgery.
Surgical Weight Loss Options
Bariatric surgery is a medical weight loss option that can dramatically improve quality of life. Weight loss surgery is considered the most effective treatment for severe obesity and metabolic disease resolution. With technological and research advances, most procedures are minimally invasive with easier recovery and less side effects. Weight loss procedures fall into two categories-restrictive or malabsorptive. Restrictive procedures, such as gastric sleeve, reduce the number of calories that you can take in by limiting the size of the stomach pouch. Malabsorptive procedures block the absorption of calories through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, by rerouting or bypassing part of the intestinal track.
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Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
Considered a restrictive procedure, a small sleeve is created using a stapling device, removing approximately 80% of the stomach. Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is the most common bariatric surgery. It is a technically simple procedure preferred for patients with high-risk medical conditions.
Gastric Bypass
Both restrictive and malabsorptive, the stomach is divided with a portion bypassed no longer storing food. The small intestine is also divided and connected to the new stomach to allow food to pass. The newly created stomach is smaller and able to hold less food.
Duodenal Switch
Both restrictive and malabsorptive, the operation starts the same way as the sleeve gastrectomy by removing a portion of the stomach. Food goes through the pouch and directly into the latter portion of the small intestine allowing vitamin and mineral absorption. Most effective procedure for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Revisional Surgery
Most bariatric surgeries can be revised to address side effects and weight gain. UC Health offers an endoscopic procedure specifically to revise gastric bypass procedures called Overstitch or TORe Transoral Outlet Reduction. Revision surgery evaluations require diagnostic testing that is reviewed by the surgeon to determine what procedure is best for you.
The Role of Trace Curry, MD
Trace Curry, MD, a Cincinnati native, is a board-certified general surgeon who specializes in minimally-invasive weight loss surgery. He currently serves as medical director for various locations through Greater Cincinnati focusing on surgical weight loss, including The Christ Hospital.
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Key Accomplishments:
- Performed more than 4,000 laparoscopic gastric bands, 1,000 laparoscopic bypasses and 700 sleeve gastrectomies.
- Completed more gastric band surgeries than any other bariatric surgeon in Ohio.
- Dr. Curry's practice has been certified as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence.
- Is a Lap Band patient himself.
Support and Resources
Having the right support system is an integral part of your success. St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center offers a listening ear and support that’s free from judgment or shame. They encourage potential patients to talk with them about their dreams and goals: The people you care about. The places you want to go. The things you want to do. Weight loss surgery is a powerful tool but only one part of the process. Long-term sustainable weight loss requires commitment to lifestyle changes.
Is Weight Loss Surgery Right for You?
There are many reasons to consider starting a medical weight-loss program. Whether you want to join your children in more athletic activities or just keep up with your grandkids, losing weight can help make that possible. If medical issues are affecting your day-to-day life, successful weight loss could help bring about positive changes to your health and daily routine. If you are waiting for an organ transplant often need to lose weight before being considered or approved for surgical transplantation.
The bariatric team at St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center can help you be the best you possible. The first step is attending a free information session to learn if you are a candidate for weight-loss surgery.
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