Bariatrics

One small step at a time.

Your path to a healthier life starts with Sterling Center Bariatrics and Colquitt Regional Health System. We specialize in treating severe obesity and related conditions through surgical and non-surgical weight management.

Our experienced team offers advanced options, including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, endoscopic sleeve and Orbera™ gastric balloon, using both traditional and minimally invasive techniques. Weight-loss surgery considerations include BMI and obesity-related conditions like diabetes and sleep apnea. Your care team will create a personalized plan to determine the best approach for you. With doctors, nutritionists and wellness coaches, we provide ongoing support, education and guidance to help you achieve lasting success.

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Hear From Our Weight Warriors

We look forward to helping you start your weight-loss journey. Schedule your confidential 30-minute session with our Bariatric Intake Coordinator here.

Conditions and Services

Conditions

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
Hyperlipidemia

Liver Disease
Type 2 Diabetes
Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Weight

Services

To identify the underlying cause of your heart condition, one or more of the following diagnostic tests may be performed. Most of these procedures can be scheduled as an outpatient if your health is stable.

Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y)

Gastric bypass surgery creates a small pouch at the top of your stomach and connects it directly to the small intestine. Surgeons at Sterling Center Bariatrics use a minimally invasive laparoscopic technique, versus open surgery, with just one small incision and reduced recovery time.

After surgery, swallowed food will go into the new small stomach pouch and then directly into the small intestine, bypassing most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine. Patients are satisfied faster and consume fewer calories. Changes in gut hormones can also help patients with Type 2 diabetes.

You can return to your everyday routine quickly after this laparoscopic procedure. However, you may experience some discomfort for about a week. Set aside three to five days for recovery in the hospital.

Significant weight loss is expected when you follow all recommendations, including diet and fitness. It is essential to eat slowly and mindfully, to make healthy nutrition choices and to integrate exercise into your lifestyle.

Gastric Sleeve

Gastric sleeve surgery, also called sleeve gastrectomy, uses a single-incision laparoscopic approach to remove a large part of your stomach and create a smaller, sleeve-shaped stomach. This procedure helps restrict calories and reduce hunger signals, helping you lose up to 75 percent of your excess weight. Because your stomach size is reduced by 80 percent, you feel full sooner and eat less.

Compared to other procedures, gastric sleeve surgery is a relatively short and simple procedure, lasting about 60 to 90 minutes. Your surgeon may still want you to stay in the hospital for one to two days to help manage your pain and any temporary side effects of surgery, such as nausea.

Orbera™ Gastric Balloon

Orbera is a non-surgical procedure under a mild sedative in which a thin, deflated gastric balloon is placed into your stomach for six months to reinforce proper portion control. The balloon is filled with saline until the size of a grapefruit and helps you eat smaller meals. The procedure typically takes 20 to 30 minutes, and you can go home the same day. After six months, the balloon is removed through another non-surgical procedure under a mild sedative.

Transoral Outlet Reduction (TORe)

Transoral outlet reduction is a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure that addresses weight regain or inadequate weight loss in patients who have previously undergone gastric bypass surgery. It reduces the size of the gastric outlet – the opening between the gastric pouch and the small intestine. Your surgeon will insert stitches into the gastric outlet through an endoscope to make it narrower. After this procedure, patients will feel fuller earlier in the meal and can eat less, resulting in weight loss.

Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG)

ESG is an endoscopic procedure wherein your surgeon reduces the size of your stomach and slows gastric emptying. Your physician uses an endoscope — a flexible tube with a camera and suturing device — to pass through your throat and into the stomach. The suturing device is used to close off part of the stomach and create folds that reshape it into a tube-like structure. This reduces your stomach’s volume by about 70 percent. There are no incisions or scars, and most patients can go home the same day.

Randomized patient trials have shown positive results:

Patients lost 13 percent of total body weight (TBW) at one year, and the majority of weight loss was maintained at two years.
Sixty-one percent of patients with Type 2 diabetes lost at least 10 percent of TBW, and 70 percent showed improvement in their diabetes, as determined by their doctor.
Fifty-nine percent of patients with hypertension lost at least 10 percent of TBW, and 64 percent showed improvement in their hypertension, as determined by their doctor.