Surgical Treatment for Obesity

Weight-loss surgery (bariatric surgery) is the only option today that effectively treats morbid obesity in people for whom more conservative measures such as diet, exercise, and medication have failed.

There are a variety of approaches to bariatric surgery, but all procedures are either malabsorptive, restrictive, or a combination of the two. Malabsorptive procedures change the way the digestive system works. Restrictive procedures are those that severely reduce the size of the stomach to hold less food, but the digestive functions remain intact.