Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Hospital
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The Center for Weight Loss Surgery is a unique program that addresses the complete range of problems related to obesity. It is staffed by caring, highly skilled surgeons and allied health professionals who are dedicated to delivering only the most advanced procedures and techniques. In addition to treating adults, Cedars-Sinai is one of the few facilities able to safely offer surgery to adolescents struggling with obesity. The center’s multidisciplinary team consists of:
The Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Cedars-Sinai offers two minimally invasive procedures for weight loss surgery: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LapBand®) surgery and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y (pronounced ROO-en-why) gastric bypass surgery. Laparoscopic surgery involves the use of a laparoscope, an instrument with a miniature camera attached, which allows the surgeon to “see” inside the body. This technique involves only a few small incisions and results in fewer risks, quicker recovery and less scarring. The laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure is a purely restrictive surgical procedure in which a band is placed around the uppermost part of the stomach. This band divides the stomach into two portions, one small and one larger portion. Since the stomach is divided into smaller parts, most patients feel full faster. As the name indicates, the band is adjustable. If the rate of weight loss is not acceptable, the band can be made tighter. Food digestion occurs through normal digestion. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is both a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure. According to two organizations, the American Society for Bariatric Surgeons and the National Institutes of Health, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is the most popular bariatric surgery in the United States. In this procedure, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch and then constructs a bypass for food. The bypass allows food to skip parts of the small intestine. By skipping a large part of the small intestine, the body cannot absorb as many calories or nutrients. Each of these procedures provides excellent durable weight loss and reduction in obesity-related illness in appropriately chosen patients.
To ensure the most successful outcomes, the center offers a multidisciplinary plan of care. The patient’s journey begins with a comprehensive informational session, followed by surgical, medical, dietary and behavioral health consultations. Once a patient is considered an appropriate candidate by the multidisciplinary team, surgery is performed. Following surgery, patients continue to have access to the center’s staff and expertise through follow-up appointments and support groups. Two distinct support groups are available for patients and family members. The first focuses on patients’ concerns prior to surgery and up to one year following surgery, while the second focuses on topics generally of concern to patients whose surgery was more than a year prior. To offer patients further reassurance, the physicians at Cedars-Sinai remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for support and to serve as an information resource. Throughout the period of care, the center’s experienced team works with the patient’s referring physician to determine the best course of treatment and to keep him or her appraised of the patient’s condition.
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The Center for Weight Loss Surgery at world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is recognized as a premier provider and developer of quality weight loss surgery. The center is committed to providing the most advanced techniques to its patients. Cedars-Sinai was one of only 17 medical centers nationwide chosen to be part of the early investigational trials of the LapBand® system. Further studies have included trials in additional gastric banding procedures as well as gastric pacing procedures for weight loss management.