Bariatric Surgery in Orange County

A Patient's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery in Orange County, California

Weight loss surgery (a.k.a. bariatric surgery) has exploded in popularity over the last decade. For evidence of this, one needs only to consider the numbers:

A report published in Health Matters (a health-related journal) showed that more than 71,000 bariatric surgeries were performed in the U.S. in 2002. This number was up from around 13,000 surgeries in 1998. This year, in 2008, it is estimated that there will be more than 200,000 weight loss surgery cases in the United States.

As one of the nation's largest counties (in population terms), Orange County, California will account for a large number of these surgeries. There are several reasons for the increased number of bariatric surgeries in Orange County and around the country:

• More Need for It - As the number of obese people in the U.S. increases (and it has increased steadily over the years), the number of bariatric weight-loss procedures will naturally go up as well. We are currently seeing this in Orange County and throughout California and the U.S. You could argue that our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have a lot to do with the rising obesity rates.
• More Coverage of It - These days, bariatric surgery has spokespeople, plenty of media coverage, and even a television show or two ... all dedicated to increasing awareness of bariatric weight-loss surgery. This is something we did not see just a few years ago, and it obviously has an effect on the increase in surgery cases.
• More Ways to Do It - Patients also have more options for bariatric surgery today than in the past. New technology and techniques are emerging all the time. For example, a new gastric banding product made by a Johnson & Johnson company was recently approved for use inside the U.S. It's just one more type of surgery for patients to choose from.

Any time a particular type of surgery becomes popular (bariatric or otherwise), the need for public education becomes all the more critical. People considering bariatric weight-loss surgery in Orange County need to understand the different types of procedures available, the short- and long-term effects, and more. That's the entire purpose of this website, and the education-minded surgeons who support it.

Orange County Weight Loss Surgery - A Careful Consideration

Because of the reasons presented above, as well as others, bariatric surgery is a much more popular treatment for obesity than it was in the past. Still, it is surgery, and like any other form of surgery it requires careful consideration and research on the part of the potential patient.

So if you are thinking of having weight loss surgery in the Orange County area, we hope you will take the information presented here and build on it with continued research and learning. In other words, we hope you will consider this the beginning to your bariatric education, and not the end of it.

What Is Bariatric Surgery Anyway?

It's about time we put forth some basic definitions. Anyone considering bariatric surgery in Orange County, California should familiarize themselves with the terminology associated with this type of surgery, and where better to start than with the field of medicine itself:

Bariatrics is the medical field that deals with obesity — the causes of it, as well as the prevention and treatment of it. In medical terms, obese people are those with a body mass index of 30 or higher. Body mass index (or BMI) is a measurement used by physicians to evaluate a person for health purposes, and to determine if they are in fact obese. The BMI is determined by height-and-weight ratios.

So there we have three important definitions for anyone considering bariatric surgery in Orange County, California — bariatrics, obesity and BMI. Here are some more definitions you will likely encounter in your continued research, starting with some common types of surgery:

Common Types of Surgery

• Gastric Bypass - This type of bariatric procedure gets results by decreasing the patient's stomach size and altering the digestive process. Actually, the overall stomach remains the same size, but it is segmented into two parts: a small upper "pouch" where food will go, and a large lower section that will essentially be rendered unusable. This reduces the patient's stomach capacity, which in turn leads to weight loss. [learn more + view diagram]
• Adjustable Gastric Band - Banding has not been around as long as the gastric bypass, but it is growing in popularity in Orange County and elsewhere in the country. With this surgical procedure, an adjustable band is inserted around the upper part of the patient's stomach. [view diagram] So in this regard, gastric banding is similar to gastric bypass — both surgeries create a small "pouch" of the upper stomach. But generally speaking banding surgeries are less invasive because they are performed through laparoscopic techniques that create smaller incisions. The down side is that weight loss with banding surgery typically happens more slowly than it does with bypass surgery.
• Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG) - This form of weight loss surgery combines aspects of the two surgeries listed above, in that it uses both staples (like the gastric bypass) and bands (like the gastric banding). Like the other types of bariatric surgery available in Orange County, the VBG creates a small upper pouch within the stomach. Some people refer to this as a "stomach within a stomach." [view diagram]

Choosing a Orange County Bariatric Surgeon

The current population of Orange County is estimated at well over 3 million people. As a result of this, there are quite a few bariatric / weight-loss surgeons in the area. So you certainly won't have any trouble finding a surgeon in Orange County.

But simply finding a surgeon is not enough. It's more important that you choose a highly qualified bariatric surgeon to perform your procedure. And when it comes to building surgical skill, there is no substitute for experience. So when speaking to surgeons in the area, be sure to ask how long they have been performing bariatric surgeries, and what kind of patient success rates they have (weight loss, recovery times, minimal complications, etc.).

Continue Your Education

This is certainly not a comprehensive lesson on weight loss surgery in Orange County. But it's a pretty good jumping-off point for continued research. Before you make any decisions regarding a possible surgery, you owe it to yourself to learn more about the subject. Here are some helpful resources to get you started:

• MedlinePlus: Weight Loss Surgery
• American Society of Bariatric Surgery
• Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity

We hope this tutorial has given you a better understanding of weight loss surgery practices, and we wish you well in your journey to better health.

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