Bariatric Services

UM Capital Region Health's Bariatric Services program offers obese patients a chance at permanent, lifelong weight loss. Our goal is always to improve the health of our patients, not just help them lose weight.

We adhere to a rigorous perioperative assessment protocol that includes patient education, each evaluations by a gastroenterologist, cardiologist and pulmonologist, a sleep study and a behavioral health assessment. We also provide the patient a medically supervised weight loss program prior to surgery as well as nutritional counseling by a registered dietitian.

After surgery, we continue to monitor each patient to help keep them on track, including weekly support groups led by our dietitian and offering healthy cooking classes, tools to maintain motivation and other discussion topics suggested by our participants.

We offer three main types of bariatric surgery: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Adjustable Gastric Band. All procedures are performed laparoscopically whenever possible.

Weight loss surgery is intended to help people who have significant amounts of weight to lose and who have other health conditions that could be improved with losing weight. The goal of the surgery is for patients to lose at least 50% of their excess weight in the first year post-surgery and keep it off for life.

To be eligible for weight loss surgery, a patient must:

• Be over 18 years of age
• Have a body mass index (BMI) 40 or higher
• Be more than 100 pounds overweight
• Have not been able to lose weight through traditional diet and exercise efforts
• Have a BMI between 35 and 40 but have potentially life threatening obesity-related medical complications (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea)

The Bariatric Services Program at UM Capital Region Health is under the direction of Dr. Marc S. Rickford, board-certified general surgeon and bariatric specialist.