Do I Qualify for Surgical Weight Loss?
Weight loss surgery works, but it’s not for everyone. Our team discusses factors they consider when contemplating whether you qualify for a surgical assist in losing those excess pounds.
Any type of surgery comes with some type of risk. But with advances in surgical tools and techniques, surgery is becoming less risky.
Our bariatric and general surgery specialist, Dr. Michael Sutker, is constantly advancing his skills so he can provide our patients with the highest level of care. He uses robotic surgery because it gives him the ability to perform complex procedures with greater accuracy and more flexibility.
Dr. Sutker feels that robotic surgery offers him these advantages:
We use the da Vinci® Surgical System for robotic surgery. This innovative tool combines advanced robotic technology with minimally invasive surgical tools and techniques, allowing us to perform procedures with better precision, more accuracy, and greater flexibility.
What does this mean, exactly? The robotic technology is so precise Dr. Sutker can perform complex procedures through tiny incisions and have the flexibility to make accurate adjustments quickly so you get the best outcomes.
Our robotic surgical system uses small surgical tools to perform procedures. This causes less tissue damage, which Dr. Sutker feels is one of the major advantages of minimally invasive surgery versus traditional open surgery.
Because we use tiny surgical instruments and make small incisions, there’s less blood loss with robotic-assisted surgery. Dr. Sutker finds that losing less blood during surgery reduces overall surgical risk. And, you’re less likely to need a blood transfusion.
Less tissue damage and less blood loss usually mean a shorter hospital stay. We may even send you home the same day. If Dr. Sutker can send you home sooner, he may lower your risk of developing a hospital-acquired infection.
Because the trauma of surgery is significantly reduced with robotic surgery, you have less pain following the procedure. This also means Dr. Sutker doesn't need to prescribe strong painkillers.
Robotic-assisted surgery also has cosmetic benefits. Smaller incisions and less tissue damage mean smaller scars.
We use the da Vinci Surgical System when performing bariatric surgery for weight loss and general surgery for conditions like gallbladder disease and hernia repair. With robotic-assisted surgery, Dr. Sutker is able to perform these abdominal procedures without leaving behind large, obvious scars.
How long it takes you to recover from surgery varies depending on the type of procedure performed. However, you can expect a significantly shorter recovery time with robotic-assisted surgery compared to traditional open procedures.
For example, you may resume most of your usual activities following robotic cholecystectomy (removal of gallbladder) within a week. But it may take four or more weeks to get back to normal following an open cholecystectomy.
Dr. Sutker has performed over 1,200 robotic-assisted surgical procedures and is the medical director of the robotic surgery program at Medical City Dallas Hospital.
To learn more about the advantages of robotic-assisted surgery from our own expert surgeon, call our office in Dallas or McKinney, Texas, or request an appointment online today.
