Types of Weight Loss Surgery

Gastric banding is a restrictive surgical procedure in which a silicone band is placed around the uppermost part of the stomach. This limits the amount of food that you can comfortably eat at one time. The band is adjustable and can be periodically tightened or loosened depending on your needs. Food passes through the digestive tract and is fully absorbed by your body. Gastric banding is reversible.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy, also known as gastric sleeve, is a restrictive surgical procedure. Your surgeon creates a small, sleeve-shaped stomach by removing the majority of the stomach. The smaller sleeve stomach is roughly the size of a medium banana, larger than the stomach pouch created during gastric bypass surgery. Food passes through the digestive tract normally and is fully absorbed by the body. The sleeve gastrectomy is not reversible.

Roux-en-Y (pronounced ROO-en-why) gastric bypass surgery is a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure. Your surgeon creates a small stomach pouch that restricts the amount of food you can comfortably eat. The digestive tract is rerouted, bypassing the duodenum, which decreases the amount of nutrients, fat and calories your body absorbs.

During open surgery, your surgeon creates a long incision to open the abdomen and operates with "traditional" medical instruments.

Laparoscopic surgery, or minimally invasive surgery, allows your surgeon to perform the same types of procedures using several small incisions, a fiber-optic camera, a video monitor and long-handled precision instruments.