The Staten Island University Hospital's Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity was established in 1998. It is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary center dedicated to serving the morbidly obese population in the Tri-State area and beyond. The center has completed over 1600 cases with safety and success rates at or above national norms. We currently provide three different surgical procedures and favor a minimally invasive (Laparoscopic) approach where appropriate.

The Obesity Surgery Program is prepared to accommodate larger patients in the hospital, providing equipment that will provide a greater sense of comfort and safety to the obesity patient. All obesity surgery patients are brought to a nursing unit where the staff is familiar with the needs of the obesity surgery patient, and anticipating no complications, the patient will go home in 1-5 days (depending on the operation).

Post-operative follow-up is essential to successful and healthy weight loss and maintenance. The Program is committed to lifetime follow-up with patients. Support group meetings at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) are held monthly. Friends and family of patients are welcome at these meetings. Psychological support is also available at no additional cost to post-operative patients. Full time staff of Nurse Practitioners and a Nutritionist are available throughout the week to answer questions regarding diet and pre and post-operative issues.

SURGERY FOR OBESITY
There are two primary principles utilized in obesity surgery to effect weight loss. These are restriction and malabsorption. Restrictive procedures decrease the effective size of the stomach resulting in a feeling of fullness after a much smaller intake of food. Malabsorptive procedures decrease the absorptive efficiency of the intestine resulting in decreased absorption of food (calories) eaten. Procedures may utilize one or both of these principles.

The SIUH Center offers three different surgical procedures for the treatment of morbid obesity. These are: the Roux-Y Gastric Bypass, the Biliary Pancreatic Diversion (BPD) with Duodenal Switch, and the Lap-Band. Though individual procedures are associated with different specific weight loss outcomes, all provide significant weight loss within 12-24 months following procedure. Most times, this weight loss is sustained over the long term.

Though generally safe and effective, bariatric procedures are major abdominal surgery and are associated with a variety of possible post-procedural complications. Development of a clear understanding of the nature of the planned procedure as well as its potential complications is essential to every patient prior to deciding to proceed with surgery.

TEAM APPROACH
It is clear that a team approach to the surgical treatment of obesity is associated with the best results and lowest rates of complications. To this end, the Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity has assembled an experienced multi-disciplinary team of specialists from the areas of Nutrition, Surgery, Psychiatry, Internal and Pulmonary Medicine, Cardiology, Anesthesia, Rehabilitation, and Social Work to provide a comprehensive Pre-operative evaluation, perioperative management, and post operative follow up of the surgical obesity patient. The result of this team approach is weight loss results and complication rates that compare favorably with national and international data.