The daily challenges of being overweight are more than an inconvenience. Obesity is a disease and contributes to a number of health-related risks such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea. Have you struggled with other weight loss methods with no success?
We are a comprehensive weight loss program, providing the entire spectrum of treatment options to improve patient’s health and well-being. Bhatti Weight Loss offers tailored weight loss options to accommodate your individual needs. Click on the links below to learn more about these options.
Our physician-supervised program at Bhatti GI is directed towards patients who are seeking a non-surgical, long-term approach to weight loss. We use appetite suppressants, also known as anorectic medication, on a short-term basis to help you succeed in achieving your weight loss goals and wellness. We offer both in-person and video consultations for our patients.
Orbera Weight Loss Balloon
The Orbera Balloon is a non-surgical weight loss option for adults suffering from obesity with a BMI of 30 to 40. Orbera helps patients lose 3x the weight of diet and exercise alone. Bhatti GI is one of the only Orbera specialists in the upper midwest.
Non-Anatomy Altering
Unlike weight-loss surgeries, Orbera is not a permanent implant and does not permanently reroute your digestive system. We will gently insert a single balloon through your mouth (endoscopically), with no incisions or scars. The device is removed after six months with the same endoscopic method.
Outpatient Procedure
Insertion of the balloon is completed in about 15 minutes, with no hospital stay required. You can get in and out and on your way to weight loss.
How the Orbera Ballon Helps to Lose Weight and Keep it Off
Orbera helps patients lose 3x the weight of diet and exercise alone. Orbera is the global leading weight loss balloon and has helped thousands of people meet their weight loss goals for over 20 years. The device takes up room in your stomach so there’s less space for food and you feel satisfied longer and is well tolerated in the majority of patients.
How it Works
- Deflated Orbera balloon is inserted through your mouth and into your stomach
- The balloon is then filled with a sterile saline solution to the size of a grapefruit
- The balloon takes up enough space in your stomach to help you adapt to healthier portion sizes
- The balloon is removed six months later with a non-surgical procedure
Follow-Up
- Bhatti GI provides complimentary monthly follow-up consultations to give you the personalized support and motivation you need to achieve your weight loss goals.
- Bhatti GI will provide remote (online or phone) monthly follow-up consultations for those patients who don’t have easy access to one of our clinics.
- At Bhatti GI, we want to help you lose weight and keep it off.
Side Effects
Side effects that may result from the use of Orbera include the risks associated with any endoscopic procedure and those associated with the medications and methods used in this procedure, as well as your ability to accept a foreign object placed in your stomach. Possible side effects include: partial bowel blockage, little or no weight loss, negative health consequences resulting from weight loss, stomach pain, continuing nausea and vomiting, abdominal or back pain, acid reflux, influence on food digestion, blockage of food going to the stomach, bacterial growth in the fluid filling the balloon which can lead to infection, injury to the lining of the digestive tract, stomach or esophagus, and balloon deflation.
Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG)
Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) is an incisionless, minimally invasive weight loss procedure that reduces the length and width of the stomach cavity to facilitate weight loss. This can be done on a natural stomach or if you have a history of gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.
How it Works
Sutures are placed endoscopically along the curvature of your stomach. This creates a gastric or stomach cavity, like a gastric sleeve. The procedure is done under general anesthesia and takes 1.5-3 hours.
What ESG Means for Patients
ESG will decrease the side effects of long-term hypertension or high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and kidney disease. ESG decreases the likelihood of developing diabetes, decreases your waistline, decreases the chance of developing fatty liver disease or cirrhosis, and decreases fat in your blood.
Weight Loss
Average body weight loss after 24 months is around 18.4%. This may vary depending on adherence to diet, activity level, and many other factors.
Side Effects
Many patients complain of pain in the first few days after the procedure. We do give you medication to control this as well as limit your diet. Some patients experience side effects of anesthesia, including nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, scratchy throat or sleepiness.
Endoscopic Revision Surgery (Pouch Resizing)
Bhatti Weight Loss offers an endoscopic option to achieve successful re-initiation of weight loss in qualified weight loss surgery patients. This endoscopic procedure is a safe and effective alternative to help patients achieve expected weight loss through the reduction of the enlarged stomach pouch and outlet to their original post-operative proportions.
How it Works
In weight loss surgery patients, weight loss can be reinitiated by renewing the restrictive component of the procedure with the addition of a gastric band around the pouch or reducing the diameter of the stoma. This procedure is performed using a small flexible endoscope and specialized devices that allow sutures to be placed through the endoscope. The scope and suturing devices are inserted through the mouth into the stomach pouch the same way as a standard endoscope. Sutures are then placed around the outlet to reduce the diameter, typically from the size of a silver dollar to the size of a dime. The same technique may then be used to place additional sutures in the stomach pouch to reduce its volume capacity.
Advantages of Bariatric Revision Surgery
An open weight loss revision surgery can take longer than the original weight loss procedure and patients are three times more likely to develop complications. Scarring and adhesions from the initial weight loss procedure often make open or laparoscopic revision surgery challenging and at times impossible. However, an endoscopic weight loss revision procedure decreases the patient’s risks when compared to open abdominal revision surgery. Patients experience less pain, recover faster and have no abdominal scarring. Typically, patients are discharged the day of the procedure but each case will vary based on the recommendations of our doctors.
For patients who failed more conservative weight loss measures, we offer a full array of bariatric surgery options. Through our comprehensive weight loss program, we aim to inform, educate and make a shared decision with our patients on the best surgical procedures for them. We take into account associated medical problems, previous weight loss attempts and overall goals. Our surgeons are board certified by the American Board of Surgery and fellowship-trained in Minimally Invasive & Bariatric Surgery. All operations are performed through minimally invasive approaches, either laparoscopic or robotic.
Sleeve Gastrectomy
The most commonly performed bariatric surgery procedure, it has great results for long-lasting weight loss and resolution of obesity-associated medical problems. The operation involves removal of ~85% of the stomach, with the “new” stomach having a tubular shape, resembling the sleeve of a shirt. No new connection is created between the stomach and the intestine.
Gastric Bypass
The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is another surgical weight loss option and can be particularly effective in patients who suffer from diabetes and those with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease. The procedure involves partitioning the stomach into a small (pouch) and larger (remnant) components. The pouch is then directly connected to the small intestine, allowing food to ‘bypass’ the initial portion of the GI tract, which facilitates rapid weight loss and can help improve conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Revisional Surgery
Revisional bariatric surgeries are more complex and are typically reserved for patients who have either failed to lose appropriate weight after a previous bariatric procedure or those who have developed complications from a prior procedure. Examples include:
- Removal of an adjustable gastric band (Lap-Band® or Realize™ Band);
- Conversion of sleeve gastrectomy to gastric bypass for intractable reflux or weight regain;
- Reconstruction of gastric pouch after gastric bypass
- Gastric bypass reversal
- Takedown of gastro-gastric fistula after gastric bypass
- Gastrojejunostomy revision for non-healing ulcers or “candy-cane” syndrome
- Revision of vertical banded gastroplasty or “VBG”
