Weight Loss Surgery in New Jersey

WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY IN NEW JERSEY

Dr. Nusbaum is your go-to authority on weight loss surgery for NJ residents, serving weight loss patients for the past 25 years. Dr. Nusbaum has been one of the pioneers of bariatric weight loss surgery, gaining a worldwide reputation and acting as a media ambassador for various weight loss procedures on national news channels.

The Nusbaum Medical Center and Dr. Nusbaum’s other practices have performed over 6,000 weight loss surgeries in NJ and have helped our patients lose a total of over 500,000 lbs. If you believe weight loss surgery is your best option for treating obesity or for resolving comorbidities associated with excess weight, contact one of our five medical offices located throughout New Jersey.

Weight Loss Surgery in NJ

Weight loss surgery is a serious medical procedure. You want to talk with your primary care physician and an experienced weight loss surgeon to discuss the various options available to you. Your primary care physician and a weight loss surgeon will help you make the best choice for your health and your weight loss goals.

Qualifying for Surgical Weight Loss

To be eligible for surgical weight loss, you must first demonstrate that conventional dieting and exercise haven’t worked to help you maintain healthy body weight. If you are suffering from comorbidities resulting from obesity, surgical weight loss might be the best option to help treat them.

Some of these procedures are irreversible and permanently affect your digestive system. Patients who undergo these procedures must be committed to life-long lifestyle changes, regular vitamin supplements, and routine follow-ups.

To qualify for weight loss surgery, patients must generally meet the following prerequisites:

• They have a BMI over 40
• They have a BMI over 35 and are suffering severe comorbidities as a result of their obesity
• They are more than 100 lbs over their ideal body weight
• They cannot achieve healthy body weight, even after medically supervised dieting

Benefits of Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery can help you lose excess body weight fast. On average, patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery lost between 30% to 40% of their excess body weight after six months.

1. There are several varieties of weight loss surgery available in New Jersey, so your primary care doctor and a weight loss surgeon can help you choose the right option based on your medical needs. Procedures like gastric band surgery are much less invasive and require much less recovery time than other more invasive procedures like gastric bypass or a sleeve gastrectomy.
2. Most bariatric surgeries are fully covered by medical insurance so long as the patient’s medical team can display that the surgery is medically necessary. These surgeries are performed for medical reasons and not cosmetic reasons, so proving that the surgery is medically necessary is usually just a technicality.
3. Though the procedures can vary quite a bit in how they change your digestive system, they all have the effect of helping you feel satiated faster and for more extended periods of time, ultimately curbing hunger. 
4. The procedures that permanently alter your digestive system, such as a gastric bypass or a sleeve gastrectomy, reduce your body’s ability to absorb calories. Because of this, these permanent surgeries are seen as permanent solutions to helping control obesity.

Let’s take a deeper look at some of the weight loss surgery options available to you. 

Surgical Weight Loss Options

Gastric Bypass

The gastric bypass procedure is the oldest and most proven weight loss surgeries available in the US. Because it is one of the oldest techniques, it has evolved alongside our understanding of digestion and caloric absorption. The effectiveness of this procedure makes it the most performed bariatric weight loss surgery in the US. 

The latest version of the procedure is called the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This procedure combines restrictive and malabsorptive principles to incite rapid weight loss in patients. A portion of the stomach is stapled off. Then the open part is rerouted to connect to the jejunum, bypassing a portion of the small intestine responsible for absorbing most of the calories from food.

Advantages

• Uses restrictive and malabsorptive techniques to induce rapid weight loss
• Patients feel full faster
• This leads to the resolution of comorbidities associated with obesity
• The procedure is performed laparoscopically, so patients receive small incisions 

Gastric Sleeve

This is one of the newest procedures available to patients in NJ. During a sleeve gastrectomy, most of the stomach is removed (roughly 85%), leaving a narrow sleeve. Sleeve gastrectomies don’t mess with your intestines; the procedure instead removes most of your stomach so that you cannot eat as much food before feeling full.

Advantages

• Reduces stomach capacity while still allowing for the regular consumption of food, just in smaller amounts
• Removes the section of the stomach that produces the hunger-producing hormone ghrelin
• It does not lead to complications surrounding intestinal bypass because this procedure only focuses on the stomach
• Considered very effective for patients with a high BMI

Gastric Band

This procedure is the least invasive of weight loss surgeries because it doesn’t require any stapling, cutting, or rerouting of your stomach or intestines. Gastric band procedures are completely reversible and are only meant to last for a limited amount of time. Usually, the bands stay in for six to twelve months and are adjusted regularly. There are two FDA-approved varieties of gastric band surgery available to NJ residents.

Lap Band Surgery

During this procedure, the surgeon places a restrictive band on the upper portion of your stomach. This action creates two stomach chambers – one smaller upper chamber that fills up faster and a larger lower chamber.

Realize Band Surgery

This type of gastric band surgery uses a silicone ring to wrap around the upper portion of the stomach, effectively creating a smaller first chamber that empties slowly into the larger second chamber. The smaller upper pouch can only hold about half a cup of food, greatly restricting what can fit comfortably in the stomach.

Advantages

• Least invasive surgery – no cutting, rerouting or stapling
• Gastric bands can be regularly adjusted to induce weight loss if a patient starts to gain weight again
• The adjustable band means customizable weight loss
• Faster recovery time and less pain 

Single Incision Surgery

These procedures can potentially be performed through a single incision, meaning less scar tissue, reduced risk of infection, and a faster recovery time. Our medical centers use SILS, or single incision laparoscopic surgeries, trademarked by Covidian. Single-incision laparoscopic surgeries are just as effective and safe at completing the procedures as multiple incision laparoscopic surgeries, but the cosmetic results are much better with SILS.

Our Service Areas

Nusbaum Medical Centers has 2 office locations in Cedar Knolls and Clifton.

• Cedar Knolls Location
  197 Ridgedale Ave, Suite 160
  Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
  973.834.7601
• Clifton Location
  999 Clifton Ave
  Clifton, NJ 07013
  973.834.7601

We provide bariatric surgery services to the following locations:

Weight Loss Surgery FAQ

Will Health Insurance Cover My Weight Loss Surgery?

Weight loss surgery is usually covered by health insurance. Because these surgeries are performed for health reasons and not cosmetic reasons, you and your medical weight loss team can demonstrate to your health insurance provider that this surgery is medically necessary.

How Much Weight Can I Expect to Lose?

Every weight loss patient’s physiology and metabolism is different. With surgical procedures that alter your digestive track – like gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve surgery – you can expect to lose between 30% and 40% of your excess body weight after six months.

For more minor invasive procedures – like gastric band surgery or the gastric balloon procedure, the weight loss is less rapid. Generally, these procedures help weight loss patients lose 1 – 2 lbs a week.

What Is the Recovery Time After Bariatric Surgery?

An advantage to our single incision laparoscopic surgeries is that the recovery time for bariatric surgery is much less than with multiple incisions or traditional open-chest surgery.

After a procedure, weight loss patients usually stay in the hospital for two to three days while their health is monitored. Then, after getting the clear from their weight loss team, they can return home for further recovery. This usually takes anywhere from three to five weeks before a weight loss patient can resume normal activities. 

Can Bariatric Surgery Help Treat Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is often a comorbidity that people suffering from obesity can develop. Losing excess weight through bariatric weight loss surgery can help patients better control their insulin levels and address many of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.