Is Weight-Loss Surgery for You?

It’s a serious decision, but worth considering when other methods fail

Her weight-loss journal

As she recovered from gastric bypass surgery, Kim Gallagher-Noss kept a food journal to help her separate easy-to-digest foods from others. She’s reduced her weight from 284 to 164 pounds and her BMI (body-mass index) from 48 to 29.

Two other surgery patients share their experiences

Diane Kindall of Allentown looks forward to “more years with my family” and better diabetes control after her recent gastric bypass. Click here for Diane's full story.

Ryan Hoffman of Emmaus gained boundless energy after his 2004 surgery performed by Richard Boorse, M.D. Down from 429 to 224 pounds, he’s an avid biker and motorcyclist. Click here for Ryan's full story.

"I thought I’d always be fat,” says Kim Gallagher-Noss, 42, of Allentown. With her doctor’s encouragement she’d tried many weight-loss programs, but nothing seemed to help. Her obesity raised her risk for heart disease and other problems. “High blood pressure and diabetes run in her family, and I could tell she was on the same path,” says her family physician, Gregory Todd, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.

Two years ago, Gallagher-Noss took a bold step—gastric bypass surgery performed by Peter Rovito, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. Today, she’s 120 pounds lighter, wears a size 12 (down from 28) and no longer suffers from ulcers or acid reflux. “I’m doing things I never did before, like hiking and scuba diving,” she says.

"Gastric bypass surgery helps you lose weight in two ways," says Richard Boorse, M.D., director of bariatric (obesity treatment) surgery at the hospital. “It creates a smaller stomach, so you feel full sooner, and food bypasses parts of the stomach and small intestine so you absorb fewer calories.”

Boorse and Rovito perform the surgery using several small incisions rather than one big one. “Gastric bypass can lead to dramatic weight loss—up to 80 percent of excess body weight in five years, if you follow diet and exercise guidelines,” Rovito says. But like any major surgery, it carries risks and potential complications. Each patient needs to balance those risks against the serious health risks of obesity.

Weight-loss surgery is not for everyone. To be eligible, you must have a body-mass index or BMI (height-weight ratio) of at least 40, or 35 if you have a condition like heart disease or diabetes.

Then comes the preparation phase, which can last several months. Gallagher-Noss needed to get approval from her health-insurance provider, a letter from her family doctor confirming she’d seriously tried to lose weight, and a psychiatric evaluation of the causes of her weight gain.

Nutrition classes are key to preparing for surgery. Immediately after bypass, your stomach can only hold about 2 ounces. Over several weeks, you re-learn how to eat, progressing from clear liquids through soft foods to solids.

Clearly, the decision to have weight-loss surgery isn’t a simple one. Gallagher-Noss is a technical partner who cares for gastric bypass patients. For years, she thought the surgery was “extreme,” even as her weight and health risks rose. “Then a friend had surgery and showed me before-and-after pictures,” she says. “That convinced me it was time.”

Today, her life is far different, as she tells the hospital’s weight-loss surgery support group. “Before the surgery, I was just existing,” she says. “Now I’m truly living.”

Want to KnowMore about gastric bypass surgery? Click here.

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