Bariatric Surgery | VA Philadelphia Health Care | Veterans Affairs

Bariatric surgery is an approach to help you improve your health and quality of life by losing weight.

Is excess weight affecting your life and your health? Bariatric surgery may help you reach a healthier weight. This surgery alters your digestive system. For the surgery to be successful,

you must change your diet and lifestyle. In most cases, the surgery is not reversible. So if you’re considering surgery, learn all you can about it before you decide. Bariatric surgery also

has a number of potential risks and complications that you need to discuss with your surgeon.

You must have a BMI of 35 or more, or a BMI of 30 or more (see box below) plus a serious obesity-related problem, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea.

You must have tried to lose weight by other means, such as diet and exercise.

Sleeve gastrectomy: This is also called the gastric sleeve. This is a type of surgery that removes up to 80% of the stomach. The surgery turns the stomach into a narrow tube that looks like

a banana. The sleeve holds much less food, and you feel full faster. The sleeve also works by gut hormones that change how full or hungry you feel.

(Note: These procedures are available only in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre)