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Let UPMC personalize your weight loss journey.

Bariatric Services at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

At UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital’s Bariatric Services, our experts can help you achieve and maintain your healthiest weight.

Benefits of bariatric surgery, also called weight loss surgery or sometimes, metabolic surgery, include:

  • Improving your quality of life.
  • Reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and other medical complications.

We offer our patients a spectrum of weight loss options – from non-surgical medical options to endobariatric intermediate procedures and surgical options. The program specializes in the treatment of obesity and abdominal problems in men and women.

Our Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery Program is accredited as a comprehensive center with adolescent and obesity medicine qualifications by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This accreditation recognizes the program for meeting rigorous standards of quality that evaluate patient outcomes, the volume of surgeries performed each year, and the continued support patients receive after surgery.


Why Choose UPMC?

  • Experienced surgeons and care teams
  • More than 600 bariatric surgery procedures performed annually at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
  • Five board-certified/-eligible and fellowship-trained surgeons

Quality

  • Accredited as a comprehensive center with adolescent and obesity medicine qualifications by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
  • MBSAQIP is a comprehensive, nationwide surgical quality program aimed at ensuring the safe and effective performance of metabolic and bariatric surgery. Surgical outcomes focus on weight loss and the treatment of obesity-related diseases, like diabetes, sleep apnea, and others. Research shows accredited centers experience lower complications, and better outcomes than that of non-accredited facilities.
  • As an American College of Surgeons (ACS) Surgical Quality Partner, UPMC Magee-Womens is committed to the highest standards of surgical care.
American College of Surgeons, Surgical Quality Partner badge and MBSAQIP badge.

Contact Us

To schedule an initial evaluation, please call 412-641-3632 or complete a form online.

Schedule an appointment with one of our providers.

Bariatric Services
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
300 Halket St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

UPMC Outpatient Center on Clairton Boulevard
275 Clairton Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15236

UPMC Outpatient Center in Hampton
4490 Mt. Royal Blvd., Suite 3100
Allison Park, PA 15101


Bariatric Services

For individuals who choose not to undergo surgery, or for those who are not eligible, we offer non-surgical medical weight loss options. Treatment is tailored to your needs and supervised by medical experts who are trained in providing care for patients who are overweight and/or with obesity.

Our staff will provide the tools needed to help you move forward by providing a comprehensive program of the most current medical treatments available, nutritional education, healthy lifestyle coaching and support.

Behavioral Weight Control

To help patients of any age achieve desired weight loss (averaging 7-10% of their total body weight) through nutrition and lifestyle counseling, using weight loss medicine as an adjunct to increase weight loss.

If down the road bariatric intermediate or surgical options become available to you, you’ll have access to UPMC’s highly trained staff of physicians, advanced practiced providers, and registered dietitians.

These non-surgical options offer weight loss (averaging 10-15% of total body weight) through endoscopic procedures. These procedures provide a less invasive and lower risk option than bariatric surgery.

Intragastric balloon

The intragastric balloon system is designed to assist adult patients in losing and maintaining weight. Your bariatric surgeon will insert the balloon through your mouth and down your esophagus into your stomach. Once placed, the balloon is filled with saline until roughly the size of a small melon. The procedure takes 20 to 30 minutes and you typically go home the same day. The balloon helps you lose weight by reinforcing portion control and keeping you feeling full after meals. After six months, the balloon is removed.

The program includes balloon insertion and removal as well as a 12-month extensive lifestyle program, which begins at the time the balloon is inserted. This procedure is not covered by insurance. 

Learn more about the intragastric balloon.

Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty

Provides weight loss by restricting the amount of food consumed (mimics surgical sleeve gastrectomy).

This procedure involves endoscopic suture placement along the greater curvature of the stomach, decreasing stomach volume by approximately 60-70%.

This procedure includes a comprehensive approach by a multidisciplinary team who will address the nutritional and lifestyle changes needed to help with weight loss success.  Please check with your insurance provider to see if this procedure is covered.

Learn more about endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty.

Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) may help achieve long-term weight loss, reduce or eliminate life-threatening weight-related illnesses, increase life span, and improve quality of life.

  • Gastric Bypass Surgery
  • Gastric Sleeve Surgery
  • Revision Surgery

Our Healthy Living program offers a personalized concierge service designed to assist you with weight management, lifestyle improvements, and the establishment of healthy behaviors. This 10-month program includes both in-person and telemedicine visits with a registered dietitian and an advanced practice provider, all based on the latest clinical research to help you achieve your health and wellness goals.

Dietitian Support: Your dietitian will enhance your nutritional knowledge and provide the education needed to establish a healthy eating pattern. You will meet with your dietitian weekly for the first 2 months, followed by monthly sessions for the remaining 8 months.

Advanced Practice Provider Visits: During your visits with the advanced practice provider, we will review your medical history and educate you about FDA-approved weight loss medications*. These visits will occur every 2-3 months.

Educational Materials: Throughout the program, you will receive educational materials on diet, exercise, and behavior modifications to help you achieve your goals. You will also have access to the high-quality care provided by our UPMC providers.

If you are interested in learning more about our program, please call 412-641-6664.

*The Healthy Living Program is a self-pay program. Medications are not included in the cost.


News

Bestoun H. Ahmed, MD, FACS, surgeon in the division of Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery at UPMC, was recently interviewed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about endobariatrics and bariatric surgery.

Anita Courcoulas, MD, MPH, FACS, chief of Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery at UPMC, has recently published a JAMA article discussing the benefits of bariatric surgery for adults with type 2 diabetes. Read the study.

Related news:

  • Bariatric Surgery with Dr. Anita Courcoulas
    UPMC Physician Journal
    Dr. Courcoulas explains the results of the largest randomized trial of its kind which shows show people who had metabolic surgery went into diabetes remission more often than people who did not have surgery and managed diabetes through medical and lifestyle treatments alone.
  • Weight loss surgery has long-term benefits for people with diabetes, study finds
    CNN
    Bariatric surgery, also called weight loss surgery, leads to better blood sugar control and less medication use long-term in people with type 2 diabetes than non-surgical management with medications such as insulin and metformin, a new study found.
  • Bariatric Surgery Beats Lifestyle Changes for Type 2 Diabetes
    WebMD
    When Kristen Hugus was offered the chance to take part in a medical study that randomly assigned people with type 2 diabetes to have either bariatric surgery or intensive lifestyle coaching plus medication, she thought of her 4-year-old daughter.
  • Bariatric surgery tied to larger HbA1c reduction than medical, lifestyle therapy
    Endocrine Today
    Adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity who underwent bariatric surgery were more likely to achieve diabetes remission at 7 years than those treated with medication or lifestyle intervention, according to study findings published in JAMA.
  • Keisha: Contributing to Research on Long-Term Outcomes of Medical/Lifestyle Management Versus Bariatric Surgery in Type 2 Diabetes
    National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
    A personal perspective on Keisha, a Pittsburgh mother diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after undiagnosed gestational diabetes, improved her health through bariatric surgery and clinical trials, overcoming setbacks to regain control of her blood sugar and embrace an active life.

Additional Resources

If you think you might be a candidate for bariatric services, the following resources are available to you:

  • Learn if you are a good candidate for bariatric surgery. Read more about the qualifications for surgical weight loss and the questions to ask yourself to determine if it's a good option for you.
  • Attend a free online or in-person information session via a UPMC Bariatric Center near you. These sessions will provide information on the types of weight loss services available, as well as pre- and postoperative expectations.
  • Watch an informational Bariatrics Services Overview webinar. In the webinar, Anita Courcoulas, MD, MPH, FACS, chief of Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery at UPMC, discusses surgical options for weight loss, the health benefits of weight loss surgery, weight loss expectations, and more.
  • Explore patient weight loss stories. Learn how the different types surgical and non-surgical medical weight loss procedures changed the lives of these UPMC patients.
  • Join our bariatric support group. You do not have to face the complex challenges of weight loss alone. Our groups are open to all patients and family members pursuing bariatric services, or who have already had a bariatric, gastric bypass or adjustable gastric band procedure. Support groups take place the third Wednesday of the month via a private Facebook group. To request an invitation to the group, please call 412-641-3632.
  • Explore our UPMC Bariatric Diet Resource. Find bariatric diet recipes for each phase of recovery.
  • Listen to a UPMC HealthBeat Podcast episode about weight loss surgery with Dr. Anita Courcoulas.

 

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