It's all too easy for patients obtaining weight loss surgeries to feel extremely discouraged if their initial operation fails to produce the desired results or causes complications. However, Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S., is here to tell you that there are second in weight loss medicine and the results are consistently good to outstanding.

Dr. Feiz and Associates has played host to many a Lap Band revision surgery, perhaps the most common type of secondary bariatric procedure. In most cases, it is a band to sleeve conversion. These operations take adjustable band operations transform them into the operation known as a gastric sleeve, which removes a very large portion of the stomach and creates a smaller, sleeve-like stomach pouch.

While Lap Band procedures are frequently highly effective, the gastric sleeve is extremely powerful because it helps to seriously reduce a patient's appetite in two distinct ways. First, the reduction in size makes it physically uncomfortable to eat excessively. Secondly, the portion of the stomach removed includes an area known as the fundus, which is primarily responsible for the production of ghrelin, a hormone which triggers feelings of hunger and appetite in the brain. Since overweight people may tend to produce more ghrelin, and since production of the hormone appears to increase once weight loss begins, removing this areas of the stomach may help patients to make the necessary changes in their eating habits.

Every procedure has its pluses and minuses, and Dr. Feiz and his staff are happy to discuss such issue as lap band vs. sleeve gastrectomy. However, the important thing to know is that, if an initial procedure does not work out as hoped, excellent options are still available.