Regaining Your Life with Weight-Loss Surgery

For severe obesity, weight-loss surgery is one of the best tools medicine offers.

The obesity epidemic in America is no secret. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity affects more than one-third of Americans each year, and that number is growing.

“Obesity is a severe, extremely difficult to treat disease that affects more people every single year,” said Jennifer McAllaster, MD, bariatric surgeon at The University of Kansas Health System. “There is no cure for obesity, and no easy fix.”

A tool, not a cure
Weight-loss surgery is an important decision and a major life event. The procedure is not a cure-all and it is only successful when it is a part of a healthy lifestyle. However, bariatric surgery has proven to be a powerful tool in helping obese patients achieve their weight loss goals.

In addition to significant weight loss, bariatric surgery has been shown to improve weight-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome and others. Research also shows that weight-loss surgery can positively impact your metabolism, helping you to keep the weight off.

Weighing your options
Having weight-loss surgery is a big decision. Equally as important is choosing who will perform your procedure and which surgery is right for you.

The team of board-certified bariatric surgeons at The University of Kansas Health System offers all of today’s most current options for weight-loss surgery, including sleeve gastrectomy, roux-en-Y gastric bypass, duodenal switch surgery and adjustable gastric banding. They use the most up-to-date techniques to reduce pain and speed healing.

“We’ve performed thousands of bariatric surgeries and offer minimally invasive techniques,” said Dr. McAllaster. “If you’d like to improve your health and get back to what you love doing, we can help.”

Can you benefit?
|Weight-loss surgery may be an option for you depending on many factors, such as your mental readiness, your overall health, your previous weight-loss strategies, your body mass index, or BMI, your insurance coverage and many others. ■

To find out if you are a candidate, call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/bariatrics.