BARIATRIC SURGERY AT MONTEFIORE
Photo of a woman looking at herself in the mirror

Let’s face it. Losing weight and keeping it off isn’t easy— especially if you’re very overweight. And what you see in the mirror is only the tip of the iceberg. Morbidly obese people are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, certain types of cancer and sleep apnea.

“While obesity is an issue for all Americans, it’s a major problem for certain races, such as Hispanics and African-Americans, who may have genetic and cultural factors that increase their risk,” says Diego Camacho, MD, director of Minimally Invasive and Laparoscopic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor of Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “There’s also a growing problem with obesity among patients who need organ transplants and are too obese to qualify for transplant surgery.”

MONTEFIORE HELPS TRANSFORM LIVES

Montefiore’s comprehensive bariatric weight-loss program is helping morbidly obese people shed excess pounds permanently. Surgeons offer three different surgical options:

  • Lap-Band® adjustable gastric banding. During this procedure, the surgeon wraps a silicone band around the upper portion of the patient’s stomach and uses saline to inflate and deflate the band. Gastric banding procedures help limit the amount of food patients can eat.
  • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. During this procedure, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch and bypasses part of the small intestine. Gastric bypass procedures reduce the amount of food patients can eat and absorb.
  • Sleeve gastrectomy. During this procedure, the surgeon removes a large part of the stomach and creates a smaller sleeve-shaped stomach that helps restrict the amount of food patients eat.

Before surgery, patients undergo thorough evaluations. After surgery, they receive ongoing education, care and support.

“Bariatric surgery isn’t for everyone,” Dr. Camacho says. “People have to be willing to change their eating habits forever. When they do, surgery can cause huge transformations in their lives. Patients typically lose weight quickly and safely. Their selfesteem improves. They have more energy. And most of their obesityrelated medical conditions go away or improve dramatically within six to nine months after surgery.”

Photo of Dr. Camacho For more information about minimally invasive/laparoscopic bariatric surgery at Montefiore or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Camacho, please call 1-800-MD-MONTE (1-800-636-6683).

Lending a Helping Hand to Those in Need

Montefiore Medical Center surgeons Diego Camacho, MD, director of Minimally Invasive and Laparoscopic Surgery, and Robert E. Michler, MD, surgeon-in-chief and chairman of the Departments of Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery, are planning to go on a humanitarian mission to Guatemala, where they will deliver 10 laparoscopic video towers to three public hospitals that care for the country’s poorest patients. The video towers, donated by Montefiore, contain video monitors, camera systems and insufflators used to inflate and remove gas from abdominal cavities during minimally invasive surgery.

“The hospitals either don’t have laparoscopic equipment or they have been using very outdated equipment,” says Dr. Camacho, who is a native of Guatemala and fluent in Spanish. “Surgeons at these hospitals will soon be able to offer patients more advanced minimally invasive procedures that will reduce pain, limit scarring, minimize complications and help speed their recovery.”