Infirmary Health

Bariatric Center of Excellence

For more than 30 years, Mobile Infirmary has specialized in weight loss procedures and long-term care to help patients take control of their weight and their health.

As the area’s first and most comprehensive surgical weight loss program, Mobile Infirmary’s Bariatric Center provides:

• Pre-operative and post-operative education
• Free weight loss seminars
• On-staff nutritionists and exercise therapists
• Private rooms with specialized weight loss equipment for patients
• Advanced bariatric surgical technology
• Long-term, follow-up care including monthly support group meetings
• Complimentary 3-month membership to ProHealth Fitness Center, Thomas Fitness Center or North Baldwin Fitness Center 
• One-on-one consultation with an excercise physiologist

Eligibility

• Must be 18 years of age
• BMI over 40, or BMI over 35 and experiencing health problems related to obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep apnea or cancer
• Unable to achieve a healthy body weight for a sustained period of time (determined by your insurance provider)
• Willingness to actively participate in follow-up care and bariatric support group meetings

The Bariatric Center physicians and staff provide you with detailed information about weight loss surgery options, as well as answer any questions you may have about the procedures.

Weight loss Surgery Seminar

Once you decide which weight loss surgery is right for you, the next step is to attend a free informational seminar provided by one of our surgeons.

The seminar addresses:

• Health risks of obesity
• Bariatric surgical procedures, advantages and disadvantages of each, health benefits and risks of surgery
• Qualification process

da Vinci Bariatric Surgery 

Instead of the large abdominal incision used in open surgery, da Vinci surgeons make just a few small incisions - similar to traditional laparoscopy. The da Vinci System features a magnified 3D high-definition vision system and special wristed instruments that bend and rotate far greater than the human wrist. These features enable your surgeon to operate with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control.

As a result of da Vinci technology, da Vinci Surgery offers the following potential benefits:

• Low rate of complications
• Low rate of wound infections
• Short hospital stay

As a result of da Vinci technology, da Vinci Bariatric Surgery offers the following potential benefits compared to traditional laparoscopy:

• Much lower rate of gastrointestinal leaks
• Lower risk of needing follow-up surgery
• Lower risk of converting to open surgery
• Reduced surgeon fatigue5 (due to the da Vinci Systemergonomics)

State-of-the-art da Vinci uses the latest in surgical and robotics technologies and is beneficial for performing complex surgery. Your surgeon is 100% in control of the da Vinci System, which translates his or her hand movements into smaller, more precise movements of tiny instruments inside your body.da Vinci – taking surgery beyond the limits of the human hand.

Weight Loss Procedures:

Gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y)

During this procedure, the surgeon creates a smaller stomach pouch and attaches a Y-shaped section of the small intestine directly to the pouch. This allows food to bypass a large portion of the small intestine, which absorbs calories and nutrients. Having the smaller stomach pouch causes patients to feel fuller sooner and, therefore, eat less.

Adjustable gastric band

A silicone band and an injection port are implanted during gastric banding. The silicone band is placed around the upper part of the stomach and molds the stomach into two connected chambers. The injection port is attached to the abdominal wall, underneath the skin and connected to the band with soft, thin tubing. The doctor injects saline solution into your band through the port. Adding saline increases the restriction of the band and helps the patients feel fuller sooner.

Surgeons now utilize single incision laparoscopic surgery through the belly button for some gastric banding procedures. Reducing the number of incisions means faster recovery times, less pain and less risk for infection and bleeding.

Gastric sleeve resection

Sleeve resection is typically considered a treatment option for bariatric surgery patients with a BMI of 35 or higher. During sleeve resection, the surgeon creates a small, sleeve-shaped stomach, which is larger than the stomach pouch created during Roux-en-Y bypass.

For more information on which surgery is right for you, call 251-435-2780.

Contact Us

For more information about weight loss surgical procedures, seminars and support groups, call 251-435-2780.