Weight loss

An estimated six million Americans are affected by severe obesity, a condition that has become a major public health problem resulting in 300,000 deaths annually. Morbid obesity is a chronic disease associated with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and arthritis.

Bariatric surgery is the only proven technique to achieve long-term weight loss and, as a result, is one of the fastest growing surgical techniques being practiced today. Although weight loss surgery provides many health benefits, it is not risk-free and some patients experience complications.

These complications result from either patient non-compliance or a mechanical failure of the bariatric surgical procedure itself. Julio Teixeira, MD, director of the Weight Loss Surgery Center at St. Lukeâ s and Roosevelt Hospitals, is committed to safety as his top priority and places particular emphasis on the prevention of complications during surgery. For example, during each procedure Dr. Teixeira proactively closes open pockets in the abdomen to prevent bowel from getting trapped and causing herniation, one of the major post-surgical complications that can arise. St. Lukeâ s Hospital presented a live Webcast of Dr.Teixeiraâ s laparoscopic procedure on February 13, 2006