Gastric Bypass Surgery Helps Our Los Angeles and Orange County Patients

Gastric bypass surgery has been deemed the "gold standard" of bariatric surgery because it has been established as the safe and effective method of surgical weight loss against which other procedures are measured. Gastric bypass surgery performed at our Orange County Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ weight loss surgery practice helps our patients achieve their weight loss goals with minimal risk and low occurrence of side effects. A more permanent treatment than LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Band surgery and Realize System, gastric bypass surgery limits the size of the stomach so that food intake is reduced and the feeling of being full is reached quickly. Patients dedicated to changing their lifestyle and eating habits can expect to lose and keep off 50 percent to 90 percent of their excess weight after having gastric bypass surgery. For our Los Angeles patients and our patients who come to us from throughout the United States and the world, the Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ surgical weight loss program provides comprehensive care and support at every stage of bariatric treatment. If you suffer from obesity and have experienced failure with other weight loss methods, gastric bypass surgery may provide the answer you seek.

• Before Your Gastric Bypass Surgery
• The Gastric Bypass Surgery Procedure
• After Gastric Bypass Surgery
• Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ Support

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Before Your Gastric Bypass Surgery

To be accepted for gastric bypass surgery by a Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ Orange County gastric bypass surgeon, you must be at least 75 pounds overweight and have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more. You may also be a candidate if you have a BMI of 35 to 39.9 and suffer from obesity-related ailments such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Basic tests such as urinalysis, blood tests, a glucose test for diabetes, and an electrocardiogram will be necessary prior to your gastric bypass surgery. If you are a Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino resident, our Orange County clinic is within a relatively short drive, and we can arrange all tests you'll need. If you live outside the Southern California area, we will work with your personal physician to ensure that your tests are performed and that we receive the necessary medical information. We'll also ask that you undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if you have the dedication and stability to maintain the long-term success of your gastric bypass surgery. Our excellent Orange County Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ dieticians and support staff will help you become accustomed to the drastic eating and lifestyle changes you will have to undertake, but you must be fully committed to sticking to the rules we'll outline in order to be successful in the long term.

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The Gastric Bypass Surgery Procedure

Gastric bypass surgery is typically performed as a laparoscopic procedure, although if the patient is extremely obese, it may have to be done as open surgery. After the patient is sedated, the surgeon will make three to five small (¼" to ½") incisions to your abdomen and place a plastic tube called a cannula into each opening. The surgeon then inserts the laparoscope, a tiny high-resolution camera that projects an image on a TV monitor, through the cannula to observe the body's internal structures. Then, working through the other cannula with precise instruments, the surgeon implants two rows of staples across the upper third of the stomach to create a small pouch in the top section that will hold about tablespoon of food. Eventually, this pouch will expand to hold about a cup of chewed food. This restriction of the stomach helps a gastric bypass patient to feel full quickly while eating.

After the staples are in place, the surgeon detaches the small intestine from the bottom of the stomach and attaches it to the pouch. In this way, the stomach continues to function in a normal way, but because food enters the second section of your small intestine after leaving the stomach, the ability to absorb calories is limited. Gastric bypass surgery takes about two hours to complete. After your gastric bypass surgery, you'll stay in Orange County at the Orange Coast Memorial Hospital for about two days so that we can monitor your recovery. After 10 to 14 days, you'll be able to resume all your normal activities.

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After Gastric Bypass Surgery

To help prevent nausea and other complications, you must follow a progressive diet in the first weeks after your gastric bypass surgery. Your Orange County Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ surgeon and dietician will monitor your progress and advise you through the stages. For the first three to four days after your gastric bypass surgery, you will be restricted to a clear-liquid diet so that your digestive system can heal and become adjusted to the changes that have taken place. If you experience no problems with clear liquids, you will advance to a liquid diet consisting of soups, protein shakes, and other nutritious liquid foods. This stage will last one to two weeks, depending on the recommendations of your surgeon and dietician.

Following the liquid-diet stages, you will begin a diet of very soft and puréed high-protein foods such as cottage cheese and puréed meats. After about eight weeks, you'll be able to start consuming regular foods. Your dietician will provide guidance so that you learn to make small, high-protein meals that encompass all five food groups. Perhaps the biggest challenge of gastric bypass surgery for our Los Angeles patients and our patients worldwide is relearning eating habits and carefully monitoring their intake of foods to maintain proper nutrition. Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ offers a full line of informative books and excellent weight loss supplements to help you stay healthy after your gastric bypass procedure. Please contact Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ if you have questions about gastric bypass surgery or want additional facts about obesity surgery in general.

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Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ Support

Your Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ team of physicians and health experts will monitor your progress and provide support throughout your initial weeks following your gastric bypass surgery. If you live in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino, Riverside, or another Southern California community, we'll ask you to join our support-group meetings as often as you can, at least in the first months after your procedure. Gastric bypass surgery is permanent and requires your full dedication to ensuring its success. You may experience frustration and mood swings as you become accustomed to the radical lifestyle changes the procedure requires. By joining our support groups, you'll be able to share your feelings and hear from others who have had similar experiences. We urge you to use every support structure available to you to make your transition from obese to slim as easy as possible. If you become frustrated at the dietary limitations following your gastric bypass surgery, it may help to visit our weight loss surgery gallery on occasion to see what people have accomplished by following the Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ program. Who knows? One day we may ask to use your before-and-after photos so that you can be a role model for weight-loss success.

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Learn More about Gastric Bypass Surgery at Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™, Near Los Angeles

Gastric bypass surgery performed at our Orange County clinic, near Los Angeles, provides a permanent solution to the health problems and social rejection that obesity imposes. Contact Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ today to schedule an evaluation to see if you qualify for the "gold standard" of bariatric procedures.

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Contact Lite & Smart DIMENSIONS™ today to learn how you or a loved can benefit from gastric bypass surgery. We help patients from Los Angeles, Orange County, as well as U.S. and international patients, to overcome obesity.