Skip to main content
Logo for WebMD
Logo for WebMD
  • Coronavirus Update
  • Check Your Symptoms
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Dentist
  • Connect to Care
  • Find Lowest Drug Prices
  • Health
    A-Z
    Health A-Z
    Health A-Z
    Common Conditions
    • ADD/ADHD
    • Allergies
    • Arthritis
    • Cancer
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Depression
    • Diabetes
    • Eye Health
    • Heart Disease
    • Lung Disease
    • Orthopedics
    • Pain Management
    • Sexual Conditions
    • Skin Problems
    • Sleep Disorders
    • View All
    Resources
    • Symptom Checker
    • WebMD Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Newsletters
    • Questions & Answers
    • Insurance Guide
    • Find a Doctor
    • Children's Conditions A-Z
    • Surgeries and Procedures A-Z
    • Featured Topics
    • woman experiencing chest discomfort Symptom Checker COVID-19: Check Your Symptoms Now
    • photo of migraine Slideshow Get Help for Migraine Relief
  • Drugs &
    Supplements
    Drugs & Supplements
    Drugs & Supplements
    Find & Review
    • Drugs
    • Supplements
    Drug Basics & Safety
    • Commonly Abused Drugs
    • Taking Meds When Pregnant
    Tools
    • Manage Your Medications
    • Pill Identifier
    • Check for Interactions
    • Drug Comparison Tool
    • Featured Topics
    • assorted vitamins Slideshow Vitamins You Need as You Age
    • berry and yogurt on spoon Slideshow Supplements for Better Digestion
  • Living
    Healthy
    Living Healthy
    Living Healthy
    Diet, Food & Fitness
    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Weight Loss & Obesity
    • Food & Recipes
    • Fitness & Exercise
    Beauty & Balance
    • Healthy Beauty
    • Health & Balance
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Oral Care
    Living Well
    • Women's Health
    • Men's Health
    • Aging Well
    • Healthy Sleep
    • Healthy Teens
    • Featured Topics
    • grocery cart Article Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes
    • walking sneakers Quiz Do You Know the Benefits of Walking?
  • Family &
    Pregnancy
    Family & Pregnancy
    Family & Pregnancy
    All About Pregnancy
    • Getting Pregnant
    • First Trimester
    • Second Trimester
    • Third Trimester
    • View All
    Parenting Guide
    • Newborn & Baby
    • Children's Health
    • Children's Vaccines
    • Raising Fit Kids
    • View All
    Pet Care Essentials
    • Healthy Cats
    • Healthy Dogs
    • View All
    • Featured Topics
    • apple slices and peanut butter Slideshow Smart Snacks When You're Pregnant
    • photo of dogs kissing Slideshow Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats
  • News &
    Experts
    News & Experts
    News & Experts
    Health News
    • Coronavirus News & Updates
    • COVID-19 Vaccines -- Latest Updates Here
    • COVID-19: Check Your Symptoms Now
    • Coronavirus in Context: Interviews With Experts
    • Social Distancing, Quarantine Explained
    Experts & Community
    • WebMD Blogs
    • News Center
    • Featured Topics
    • photo of coronavirus cell WebMD News Get the Latest COVID-19 News Here
    • photo of person typing Newsletters Sign Up to Receive Our Free Coroanvirus Newsletter
  • Mobile Apps
  • Subscriptions
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • My Profile
    • My Tools
    • My WebMD Pages
    • My Account
    • Sign Out

    Weight Loss & Obesity Home

    • News
    • Reference
    • Slideshows
    • Quizzes
    • Videos
    • Questions & Answers

    Health & Diet Guide

    • Popular Diet Plans
    • Healthy Weight
    • Tools and Calculators
    • Healthy Eating & Nutrition
    • Best & Worst Choices
    • All Guide Topics

    Weight Loss & Obesity Center

    • What Is Obesity?
    • Health Risks of Obesity
    • 4 Types of Weight Loss Surgery
    • Gastric Bypass Surgery
    • Weight Loss Surgery: What to Expect
    • Prescription Weight Loss Drugs

    Related to Weight Loss & Obesity

    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Food & Recipes
    • Food & Fitness Planner
    • Diabetes
    • Cholesterol Management
    • More Related Topics
    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Weight Loss & Obesity
    • Videos

    Managing High Potassium While on Dialysis

    Weight Loss Surgery Choices

    Video Transcript

    Kenneth Fojioka, MD: The good news is there’s not just one surgery that fits all, but rather, there’s three different surgeries, each of which has its place for weight loss, and there may even be a fourth that might be coming out. So there’s several surgeries that are available right now. In essence, there’s a standard gastric bypass. This is the most aggressive out of all of them, but it actually for someone who has over 100 pounds to lose, they need to really start thinking about this surgery, particularly if they have type 2 diabetes. Because we know they’re going to do much, much better. And what you do is you bypass the first part of the intestines or the stomach and bring food into the lower part of the intestines. What that does is, it changes the hormones that tells you you’re full and gets the body to lose weight. There’s another newer one, though, that’s a little bit less aggressive, which has fairly good weight loss, which is called the sleeve gastrectomy. So you don’t really change the plumbing or the direction of food or anything like that, but rather, you just make the stomach smaller. It does two things: One, you can’t eat as much. But two, one of the hormones that we know drives you to eat is from the stomach. You change that hormone and lower it. So you don’t want to eat as much. So it actually has a hormonal effect, hence, good weight loss. The last one is the gastric band, where you actually put a band on the stomach. It’s a device. Admittedly, we don’t use near as much as we used to because it doesn’t give as good a weight loss, because it doesn’t adjust any of those hormones, but again, will get the patient to eat less. So depending on the needs, there’s multiple choices in bariatric surgery that for the patient who is what we consider seriously obese, they are options that really should be thought about.

    Related Videos

    Editor's Picks

    • woman with cup of coffee

      Video

      The Truth About Coffee
    • tongue scraper and tongue

      Video

      5 Ways to Beat Bad Breath
    • couple having sex in bed

      Video

      Why Orgasms Feel Good

    Latest Videos

    Top Picks

    • What to Expect From Weight Loss Surgery
    • Health Risks of Obesity
    • Prescription Weight Loss Drugs
    • Is Weight Loss Surgery Right for You?
    • Tips to Lose 100 Pounds or More
    • Surprising Reasons You're Gaining Weight

    Today on WebMD

    butter curl

    Fat Facts

    Test your knowledge of different types.

    weight loss medicines

    Prescription Weight Loss Drugs

    What to know before taking them.

    woman on scale

    Happy Weight vs. Healthy Weight

    Are they closer than you think?

    Gastric band treatment

    Weight Loss Surgery

    What to expect.

    Recommended for You

    dollars and cents Article

    Paying for Weight Loss Surgery

    comparison scale Article

    Is Weight Loss Surgery for You?

    woman measuring her waist Article

    After the Weight Loss

    Doctor reading patients report during consultation Article

    What to Expect After Weight Loss Surgery

    woman trying on clothes Article

    Gastric Banding Surgery for Weight Loss

    overweight Slideshow

    Surprising Reasons You're Gaining Weight

    Doctor Examining Male Patient With Hip Pain Article

    Preparing for Weight Loss Surgery

    woman on scale Article

    Head-to-Toe Effects of Weight Loss Surgery

    grapefruit Article

    Weight Loss Surgery FAQ

    tape measure Article

    Gastric Bypass Surgery

    measuring tape and pins Article

    How Weight Loss Surgery Works

    Healthy Snack Slideshow

    Low-Carb Snacks

    Tools & Resources

    • Do High-Protein Diets Work?
    • Weight Loss Dos and Don'ts
    • Financing Weight Loss Surgery
    • 10 Ways to Control Your Eating
    • Guide to Becoming Vegetarian
    • Weight Loss Surgery FAQ

    Health Solutions

    • Penis Curved When Erect
    • Could I have CAD?
    • Treat Bent Fingers
    • Long-Term Acute Care
    • Enlarged Prostate Facts
    • Cancer Detection
    • Rethink MS Treatment
    • Is My Penis Normal?
    • Risk of a Future DVT/PE
    • Discover hATTR Symptoms
    • Weight-Loss Surgery
    • Healthy Weight Loss
    • Bent Finger Causes
    • AFib-Related Strokes
    • Preventing Infection
    • Missing Teeth?

    More from WebMD

    • Finding the Care You Need for MS
    • New Hope for Narcolepsy
    • Eat Better in the New Year
    • Psoriatic Arthritis and Your Sleep
    • What Psoriasis Feels Like
    • First Psoriatic Arthritis Flare
    • Talking to Your Doctor About RA
    • Start a Home Fitness Program
    • Avoiding Crohn’s Flares
    • Common Psoriasis Triggers
    • Relief for Blocked Hair Follicles
    • Types of B-Cell Therapy for MS
    • Tackling Pain of Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Why Prostate Cancer Spreads
    • When Ulcerative Colitis Flares
    • Where Breast Cancer Spreads
    • Logo for WebMD
      • Visit WebMD on Facebook
      • Visit WebMD on Twitter
      • Visit WebMD on Pinterest
    • Policies

      • Privacy Policy
      • Cookie Policy
      • Editorial Policy
      • Advertising Policy
      • Correction Policy
      • Terms of Use

      About

      • Contact Us
      • About WebMD
      • Careers
      • Newsletter
      • Corporate
      • WebMD Health Services
      • Site Map
      • Accessibility
    • WebMD Network

      • Medscape
      • Medscape Reference
      • MedicineNet
      • eMedicineHealth
      • RxList
      • OnHealth
      • WebMDRx
      • First Aid
      • WebMD Magazine
      • WebMD Health Record
      • Dictionary
      • Physician Directory
    • Our Apps

      • WebMD Mobile
      • WebMD App
      • Pregnancy
      • Baby
      • Allergy
      • Medscape

      For Advertisers

      • Advertise with Us
      • Advertising Policy

    © 2005 - 2019 WebMD LLC. All rights reserved.

    WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

    See additional information.