Surgical and non-surgical weight loss services: Find the weight loss treatment that’s right for you

We believe that obesity is a disease, not a character flaw. It’s a medical condition involving both genetic and environmental factors, making some people more susceptible to it than others. Being overweight can negatively impact your energy and activity levels, and without management, it can lead to more serious health problems.

At Park Nicollet’s Bariatric Surgery and Weight Center, we know that every person’s journey is different, so we’ll work with you to create a personalized treatment plan to manage your weight long term. We offer a range of weight loss treatment options – both surgical and non-surgical – as well as follow-up care to help you keep the weight off and feel better. We also make it easy and convenient for you to get the support you need by offering a range of care options, including video visits with your team of weight loss experts.

Sometimes our medical team will recommend bariatric surgery as the best treatment option for weight loss, especially for those who have a high BMI and are not seeing adequate weight loss with medical interventions. We work closely with our surgical team to coordinate this care and to provide extensive follow-up support after surgery.

Our surgeries are done laparoscopically, or through minimally-invasive incisions, which reduces pain, complications and recovery time. If you and your doctor determine that surgery is the best option, you’re in good hands. As a leader in weight loss surgery, we’re nationally accredited by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP).

We were also one of the first practices in the region to combine our surgical and medical programs, which means we provide you the comprehensive care you need before, during and after surgery.

If you want to learn more about how bariatric surgery works, the kind of results you may see, potential risks and more, our free weight loss educational video series can be a really informative. In it, we talk about the different types of surgical services, like:

Gastric bypass surgery (also called Roux-en-Y) creates a small stomach pouch and attaches a Y-shaped section of the small intestine to the pouch. This change in your anatomy causes an adjustment in your body’s hormone signaling, which allows weight loss to continue beyond the expectations of lifestyle changes alone. The weight loss after gastric bypass surgery is often enough to reduce or end health problems from obesity, helping patients to experience quality of life improvements within the first year.

Also known as vertical sleeve gastrectomy, this procedure removes more than half of the stomach, creating a small tube or “sleeve”. By doing this, we change the hormone signaling between your gut and brain, which improves weight loss outcomes.

Benefits of this option include a reduced risk of complications, less abdominal pain and typically a minimal change in your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients.

Duodenal switch (DS) surgery is a complex but highly effective type of weight loss surgery. This procedure combines gastric sleeve surgery and gastric bypass surgery by creating a narrow, tube-shaped stomach and rerouting it to a large segment of the small intestine.

Compared to other types of weight loss surgery, DS surgery results in the largest weight loss and significantly lowers health risks associated with obesity. However, it comes with some risks. Because of how DS surgery changes your stomach, it can cause long-term vitamin and mineral deficiency and lifestyle challenges caused by malabsorption.

Our doctors are here to answer your questions about duodenal switch surgery. We’ll help you understand what to expect during your recovery, how to prepare, and whether it is the best fit for you.

As our understanding of obesity has evolved, we’ve learned that some of the treatment procedures used in the past weren’t always adequate for long-term weight loss. One common example would be the lap band. For people who have had one of these surgeries and are not seeing the results they need, we offer revision procedures.

A revision means that our surgeon is revising a prior gastric procedure to improve your health or weight loss results. These can be challenging operations, so it’s recommended to seek care from an experienced surgical center. As an accredited comprehensive center, our bariatric surgery team is fully equipped to manage both simple and complex revisions, giving you the results – and the peace of mind – you need.

Our comprehensive approach means that we’re dedicated to caring for you throughout the entire weight loss process. When you come to us, you can expect:

• An intake visit with a bariatrician or physician assistant to get to know you and your health history.
• An appointment with a dietitian to learn more about your eating habits and patterns.
• A personalized treatment plan for medical weight loss or weight loss surgery, catered to your individual needs.
• Extensive follow-up care and support, whether you’re on the surgical or non-surgical weight loss path.
• Additional support options, such as physical therapy, psychological support or group sessions. (Weight management/lifestyle change group sessions are available both online and in-person.)
• A specialized care team consisting of bariatricians (doctors who specialize in treating obesity), physician assistants, certified bariatric nurses, registered dietitians, psychologists and physical therapists.