Bariatric Surgery – Is It For Me?

Kenneth B. Jones, MD, FACS, ASBS, IFSO

Having been in bariatric surgery since before the ASBS started, I have seen lots of trends come and go, beginning with the malabsorption of the intestinal bypass, replaced by the partial restriction, partial malabsorption of the loop gastric bypass, then the Roux-en-Y, followed by the totally restrictive vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), swinging back to the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) in the mid '80's and then back again to the restrictive lap band (GB) in the late '90's and early 2000's.  Today, it is no wonder that patients can be confused as to what to choose between the lap band, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, lap or open, the biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) with or without duodenal switch (DS), and more recently the "gastric sleeve"; meant to be the first stage of the BPD/DS, but it has worked so well it appears as though that will be the one and only stage for many patients.  With all the available procedures, how does one decide?
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Body Conturing After Gastric Bypass Surgery

Don Revis Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S.

With the growing popularity of bariatric, or gastric bypass, surgery as a treatment for obesity, body contouring after significant weight loss has become a field of special interest for many plastic surgeons.
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Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery

Dennis Smith, M.D., F.A.C.S.

The question of weight regain is common with bariatric surgery patients.  It can and does occur after all of the different types of operations.  Some operations, like the Duodenal Switch, are generally regarded as being more resistant to weight regain than other bariatric operations, but no operations are immune to weight regain.
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