Weight Loss Surgery
Time and again you’ve tried to lose weight and failed. Now, it’s time to succeed.
Surgical weight loss can be an effective way to lose weight and manage or eliminate the diseases common to obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. That’s why for many people around the country and right here in Spokane, weight loss surgery has been a life-saving option.
Together with our partners from Rockwood Clinic, our goal is to provide patients with the tools, education and surgical support they need to lose weight safely and effectively, while helping them maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re more than 100 pounds over your ideal weight, attend our next weight loss surgery informational seminar and tip the scale in your favor. Please call 509-755-5120 or visit www.rockwoodclinic.com to learn more.
Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence®
In August, 2011, Deaconess earned its official designation as an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® (BSCOE). The BSCOE is the gold standard measurement for weight loss surgery programs in the United States and Canada.
The first bariatric surgery was performed at Deaconess in November 2010. Since then, Deaconess has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria, performing a set amount of bariatric surgeries with positive outcomes and successfully completing an on-site evaluation by a Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) team.
Along with streamlined clinical pathways, protocols and outcomes data, BSCOE designated programs require patients to receive pre-surgery education, nutrition guidance, counseling and other health services necessary for maintaining successful lifestyle changes. The Deaconess and Rockwood teams provide a full range of follow-up care and support groups for patients who undergo weight loss surgery.
Meet our Surgeons
While bariatric surgery is relatively new to Deaconess, it has been a successful Rockwood program for 10 years. Rockwood Clinic board-certified surgeons R. Andrew Bright, MD; Mathew C. Rawlins, MD; and Jonathan D. Spitz, MD, have completed more than 1,600 bariatric procedures locally since 2000.
Dr. Bright Dr. Rawlins Dr. Spitz
Drs. Bright, Rawlins and Spitz now perform Lap-Band, gastric bypass and vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedures at Deaconess.
To find out more about your weigh-loss surgery options, visit www.rockwoodclinic.com and click on the “Weight Loss Surgery Center” link under the “Quick Finder” menu.
Comprehensive Care
Our program provides patients with a comprehensive approach to assessing obesity factors, while recommending a weight loss plan and counseling. Our team will work closely with your primary care provider to see whether you might benefit from alternatives to surgery first (such as medical and dietary interventions). If indeed you are a candidate for weight loss surgery, we’ll provide you with nutritional counseling under the direction of a registered dietician, and support groups where you can receive the emotional and psychological support you need during your weight loss experience.
A Lifetime Commitment
Although weight-loss surgery is a procedure that requires permanent lifestyle changes, it’s considered safe for appropriate patients. Surgery can greatly reduce or eliminate potentially life-threatening diseases that are often exacerbated by morbid obesity, including high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea.
Every surgery candidate must learn about lifestyle changes and begin a weight-loss regimen before surgery. The decision to proceed is followed by several months of pre-surgery education, nutrition guidance, counseling and other health services. Many local insurance carriers cover at least a portion of the surgery; however, pre-authorization is necessary.