Weight loss surgery
Find weight loss surgery options for a new and healthier way of life.
If you’re struggling with obesity—and traditional diet and other weight loss methods—you may be a candidate for weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery.
Weight loss procedures reduce the size of the stomach and the amount of food it can hold, often enabling significant weight loss. Goals include improving your health, enhancing your quality of life and increasing your lifespan.
Is weight loss surgery effective?
At UCHealth, we look at weight loss surgery as both a physical and psychological tool that people can use to lose weight and keep it off.
We know it’s effective: when our patients follow their physician’s plan to limit the amount of food they eat while choosing food that benefits the body, 50-70% experience permanent weight loss.
How does weight loss surgery work?
Weight loss surgery works by causing a number of metabolic changes in your body—both in the chemicals and hormones your body makes and your body’s nerve signals. These changes cause your body to regulate and lower your weight level. In addition, weight-loss surgery requires you to change your diet to reduce the calories you consume.
Leading the Colorado Front Range in weight loss surgery
Working with both adults and adolescents considering weight loss surgery, UCHealth has been a longstanding leader in bariatric surgery throughout the Rocky Mountain region and across the Front Range. You can rely on our bariatric specialists to evaluate your situation, help determine if bariatric surgery is right for you and deliver the comprehensive care you expect.
Bariatric expertise and experience you can trust
UCHealth weight loss surgery experts have performed more than 7,000 procedures—so you can trust our experience to deliver exceptional care. Our surgical weight loss/bariatric centers meet or exceed the high standards for patient care and excellent outcomes set by national credentialing agencies.
- Bariatric Center of the Rockies at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins is designated as an Accredited Comprehensive Center with Adolescent Qualifications, recognized by the (MBSAQIP) Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and to hold simultaneous distinctions from Aetna®, Anthem® Blue Cross and Blue Shield (national, Colorado), and UnitedHealthcare®.
- Surgical Weight Loss Center at University of Colorado Hospital in metro Denver is designated as an Accredited Comprehensive Center with Adolescent Qualifications, recognized by the (MBSAQIP) Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and holds center of excellence designations from Aetna®, Anthem® Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Blue Distinction Center Plus), Cigna® and Optum® (UnitedHealthcare®).
- Surgical Clinic at Longs Peak Medical Center – Longmont, Colorado offers the only bariatric surgery program in Boulder County. Our program is accredited by MBSAQIP as a center of excellence in bariatric surgery.
Weight loss procedures we offer
Surgical weight loss/bariatric centers in the UCHealth system offer a full range of bariatric surgery options. All procedures lead to successful outcomes, but you’ll want to understand how each one works, as well as its benefits and requirements, so you and your care team can make the best decision for your long-term health.
- Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y) – Considered the gold standard for weight loss surgery, this procedure creates a small pouch using only a portion of the stomach and re-routes the digestive channel.
- Sleeve Gastrectomy – Removes about 80 percent of the stomach, leaving a “sleeve”-shaped tube as a stomach and limiting the amount of food that can be eaten.
- LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding – Wraps an inflatable band around the upper portion of the stomach to create a small pouch, allowing for adjustments as you lose weight. Placement of the LAP-BAND is offered at University of Colorado Hospital. UCH also offers revisions of previous LAP-BAND surgeries.
- Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch – A less-common weight loss procedure in which a smaller stomach pouch is created and most of the small bowel is bypassed. This surgery is reserved for those with BMIs over 50 or as a back-up procedure for those who have failed a bypass or sleeve. Although it produces the greatest amount of weight loss, it also has the greatest number of side effects. Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch is offered at Poudre Valley Hospital and University of Colorado Hospital.
At UCHealth, we typically perform all procedures using minimally invasive laparoscopic technology, helping you heal faster, recover more quickly and return home sooner than with traditional surgery.
Lifelong support and care
Our experts are with you throughout your bariatric surgery journey—before, during and after your procedure—helping you successfully adjust to this major life change.
In addition to our skilled surgeons, nurses and dietitians, a bariatric patient advocate will help guide you through every phase of your journey, and ensure you have access to our exclusive resources, including:
- Specially equipped private hospital rooms.
- Operating rooms equipped with the latest laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgical technology.
- Support group meetings.
- Nutrition classes.
- Psychological consultations.
Our weight loss surgery locations
