You At Your Best

You may have spent years trying to change your eating habits for the better and get more exercise, but the extra pounds continue to weigh down your physical and emotional health. Break the cycle and talk with your doctor about how bariatric weight loss surgery can help. Northwest Health's bariatric weight loss program, accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), is designed to help people improve their health and quality of life by using surgical intervention for weight reduction. The accredited center offers preoperative and postoperative care designed specifically for its severely obese patients. Who Is a Candidate Weight-loss surgery is a not a quick fix and is recommended only for people with a substantial amount to lose. Most people qualify for bariatric surgery if they meet one or more of the following criteria: • Body mass index (BMI) equal to or higher than 40 • BMI equal to or higher than 35, as well as one or more obesity-related health conditions, including high blood pressure, sleep apnea or Type 2 diabetes • Unable to reach a healthy weight after following a medically supervised diet and exercise plan How Does Weight Loss Surgery Work As with other treatments for obesity, the best results are achieved when combined with healthy eating behaviors and regular physical activity. If weight loss surgery is the right choice for you, your surgeon will discuss with you the procedures offered at the Weight Loss Surgery Program at Northwest Health and explain which could achieve the best outcomes for your individual circumstance. Weight-Loss Surgery Options Once you meet the qualifications for surgery, you and your surgeon must decide which bariatric surgery is the best tool for you to reach a healthy weight. Surgical procedures at Northwest Health include: • Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass – This procedure involves reducing the size of the stomach, the amount of food you can eat before you feel full, as well as bypassing some of the small intestines, reducing the amount of food the body will absorb. This operation is also considered the gold standard for weight loss surgery, as it has been in existence the longest: since 1967. • Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band – During a laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure, an inflatable silicone band is placed around the uppermost part of the stomach, creating a small stomach pouch that limits the amount of food you are able to eat at one time and increasing the time it takes for the stomach to empty. As a result, you should feel full sooner and satisfied longer. The band can be adjusted by injecting saline into a port placed underneath the skin on your abdomen. This helps to maintain the band's effectiveness. • Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy – This procedure involves removing approximately 75 percent of volume of the stomach, leaving a slender stomach "sleeve". By reducing the size, the stomach has a total capacity of approximately 3 to 5 ounces, which means patients generally feel full or satisfied after eating only a small amount of food. This surgery also causes changes in hormones that work to further promote a feeling of fullness. Sleeve gastrectomy permanently reduces the size of the stomach, limiting the amount of food you can eat and helping you to feel full faster and longer. • Laparoscopic Duodenal Switch – This procedure combines reducing the size of the stomach by removing approximately 75 percent and creating a shorter pathway for food to digest. The objective is to reduce the amount of food you can take in before feeling full and limiting the amount of time the body has to capture calories from the food during digestion. This procedure also involves removal of the area of the stomach where much of the hunger hormone is produced. The recovery and hospital stay for the duodenal switch is similar to the gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. • Intragastric Balloon – The intragastric balloon is a procedure that is designed to assist with weight loss in people who ideally have a BMI greater than 27. With this procedure the intragastric balloon is temporarily placed in the stomach (for a maximum of six months), helping you feel less hunger. It is designed to be combined with proper nutrition and exercise for maximum effects. The procedure does not require any surgical incisions and patients do not need to undergo general anesthesia. Placement and removal typically take 30 minutes and are completed on an outpatient basis. The bariatric weight loss surgery service at Northwest Health has earned several accreditations and awards for our surgical excellence and overall care of our patients. Are you ready to take the first step on the road to a longer, healthier life? Call today to talk with our bariatric surgery program director. Contact us at 479‑757‑2040 or visit our website for more information: www.NorthwestHealth.com/bariatric-weight-loss. About Northwest Health Northwest Health is the largest health system in Northwest Arkansas with five hospitals: Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville, Northwest Medical Center – Springdale, Northwest Medical Center – Willow Creek Women's Hospital, Siloam Springs Regional Hospital and Northwest Health Physicians' Specialty Hospital. The system has 487 beds, a combined medical staff of more than 900 physicians and more than 2,400 associates working together to provide quality healthcare for the region. Northwest Health Physicians' Specialty Hospital is owned in part by physicians. lose to Win: The Benefits of Bariatric Surgery sPonsor Content 4 | you at your Best | nWaDG.CoM/youatyourBest January - Goals for Great HealtH | sunDay, DeCeMBer 27, 2020

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