St. Louis Surgeon Offers Gastric Revision for Patients Regaining Weight after Weight Loss Surgery

ST. LOUIS - July 18, 2014 - PRLog -- Heart of America Bariatrics is the only site in the region to offer an endoscopic procedure to repair stomach pouches and outlets in patients who are regaining weight after their initial weight loss surgery.

“This new incisionless procedure gives my patients a treatment option for post-weight loss surgery weight regain that they’ve never had before,” said Jay Michael Snow, MD. “The potential advantages are significant: lowered risk of infection, limited post-operative pain, no visible scars, and faster recovery times. Patients usually go home the day of the procedure, which is a substantial improvement over the lengthy recovery times associated with traditional revisional procedures.”

Several studies suggest the majority of patients regain significant weight after weight loss surgery. A common cause includes gradual stretching of the stomach pouch or outlet. When weight loss surgery procedures are performed, the stomach and outlet are made very small to reduce the amount of food consumed and slow the passage of food through the digestive tract. Together, this helps patients feel fuller longer after eating just a small amount. Weight loss occurs from a dramatic decrease in calories. Many clinicians have shown when the stomach pouch and/or outlet gradually stretch, patients must eat more in order to feel full. As a result, patients may begin to regain weight lost from the original procedure.

Until recently, there weren’t many options for patients who began to regain weight after weight loss surgery. But now, Dr. Snow at Heart of America Bariatrics offers a solution. With new endoscopic devices that work with a standard endoscope, Dr. Snow can reduce the volume of an enlarged pouch and the diameter of the outlet to their original post-operative proportions. All of this is done with the patient asleep and no incisions are needed.

This procedure is performed through the mouth with a specialized device that allows sutures to be placed without making a single incision on the patient’s skin. Sutures are strategically placed around the gastric outlet to reduce the diameter, typically from the size of a silver dollar to the size of a dime. The same technique may then be used to place additional sutures in the stomach pouch to reduce its volume.

Jay Michael Snow, MD is a Board Certified, Fellowship-Trained Bariatric Surgeon specializing in the advanced surgical treatment of obesity at St. Louis based weight loss surgery practice, Heart of America Bariatrics. Founded in 2003, the practice dedicates itself to weight loss surgery options including Gastric Sleeve, Gastric Bypass, LAP-BAND®, and now Gastric Revision procedures. Heart of America Bariatrics is located at 10007 Kennerly Rd. Suite A, St. Louis, MO 63128, online at www.hoab.org,  and can be reached by calling (314) 776-7112.