Patients now can return home the same day after outpatient weight loss surgery at Fairview Southdale Hospital. Because Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (Lap-Band®) is minimally-invasive, the procedure requires small incisions allowing for faster recovery time. Compared with conventional weight loss surgery typically requiring one or more nights in the hospital, many patients no longer need to spend the night in the hospital following their surgery.

According to a study by the RAND Corporation, 6.8 million adults were morbidly obese in 2005. Serious obesity can lead to such life-threatening conditions as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Bariatric or weight loss surgery can help obese patients manage or possibly eliminate related health conditions.

Same-day surgery offers health and financial benefits to patients over conventional inpatient surgery. With Lap-Band® surgery, patients spend an average of six hours on the hospital, allowing for recovery at home and decreased financial burden for them and their healthcare insurers.

“Post-operative recovery at home helps promote physical healing," says Paul Benn, MD, Fairview Southdale Hospital Weight Loss Surgery Program medical director. "Recovery at home allows patients to rest with fewer interruptions.”

Lap-Band®, is one of two types of weight loss surgery available at Fairview Southdale Hospital. The surgeon places a hollow silicone band around the stomach that can be inflated or deflated. Because it reduces the available space in the stomach, people undergoing this procedure eat less food and consume fewer calories, resulting in weight loss. The second procedure available at Fairview Southdale Hospital, Roux-en-Y, requires an overnight stay. A patient's physician determines which procedure is best, based on the patient's specific medical needs.
 

Both the Lap-Band® and Roux-en-Y procedures are part of Fairview Southdale Hospital’s comprehensive weight loss surgery program, certified as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® (BSCOE) by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). The program includes patient education, individual clinical and psychological assessment, nutrition counseling, follow-up care and rehabilitation services. The clinic and Drs. Paul Benn, Luis Laguna and Bradley Pierce emphasize successful results and a superior experience for their patients.
 

Fairview Southdale Hospital’s Weight Loss Surgery Clinic is located at 6405 France Ave. S., Ste. W320 in Edina, and is one of two bariatric programs available at Fairview. For an appointment, call 952-915-8626. To learn more, visit southdale.fairview.org/weightloss.