Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss

Where Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts Finds Award-Winning Weight Loss Care

Weight loss can be a heavy issue for anyone. Especially when it keeps you from living your life to its fullest. At the Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss, we work with you to identify the weight loss program that’s most effective and appropriate for your individual needs. 

Lifespan bariatric surgery team

Award-Winning Care

We challenge you to find a better weight loss program than ours. Recognized by more professional associations than any other in the region, our high-quality care and excellent clinical outcomes is unmatched. Read why the experts agree.

Follow the Path to Your Healthy Weight Loss

Orientation is the first step of our program. After you successfully complete the video orientation and the web quiz, a member of the Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss team will contact you with next steps.

Step One: Watch the orientation

Step Two: Take the quiz

For more information, please call 401‑793-3922.

Experts in Metabolic Bariatric Surgery and Medical Weight Loss: Meet Our Weight Loss Doctors

Our specialists make sure that patients are prepared for surgery, both physically and psychologically, from pre-surgery assessment and education through treatment, follow-up care, and ongoing support to help patients maintain their nutritional health and lifestyle changes for optimal success.

Our team of specialists includes:

  • Metabolic bariatric surgeons
  • Physicians
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Behavioral therapists
  • Nutritionists
  • Physical therapists
  • Nurses with expertise in weight loss surgery

Meet our team

Kerri Carvalho, before and after losing weight

Achieving a Healthy Weight

Kerri Carvalho was pre-diabetic. She explored many options to lose weight and then consulted with Beth Ryder, MD, FACS, director of the Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss. “When Dr. Ryder explained what my lifestyle would be like after the surgery, everything changed. She is an easy person to talk to and answered every one of my questions. She made me feel comfortable in my decision."

How to Choose a Doctor and Hospital for Metabolic Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery

For some individuals, metabolic bariatric surgery may be an option for losing weight and reversing other dangerous conditions associated with obesity. Understanding what metabolic bariatric surgery for weight loss involves and choosing a doctor and a hospital can be confusing and overwhelming for patients. But it doesn't have to be.

The Obesity Medicine Program

The Brown University Health obesity medicine program treats obesity as a disease and encourages body positivity and mindfulness. We help patients tailor an obesity management plan that works with their lifestyle. 

About the obesity medicine program

Adolescent Metabolic Bariatric Surgery

To learn about adolescent metabolic bariatric surgery at Brown University Health call 401-228-0555.

Learn more about adolescent bariatric surgery

Frequently Asked Questions About Metabolic Bariatric and Weight Loss Surgery

What is metabolic bariatric surgery?

Metabolic bariatric surgery is not a cure. It is a tool. Treatments are personalized for you and your needs. The team will help you consider the questions that help you decide whether weight-loss surgery is right for you. Learn more about the requirements for metabolic bariatric surgery as well as the different types of procedures.

What surgery is best for weight loss?

One size doesn’t fit everyone, which is why the most important question to ask about metabolic bariatric surgery, commonly known as weight-loss surgery, is which is best for you. Your care team will explore criteria specific to you and your goals so that you can both be confident the best one for you is selected. Other factors that will be considered include effectiveness, safety, recovery time, insurance/costs, and potential risks.

What is the most popular metabolic bariatric surgery?

The two most common metabolic bariatric procedures are Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG)

  • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is when the stomach is separated into two parts, creating a small pouch in the upper section. The small intestine is then divided into two parts with the lower part then directly attached to the small stomach pouch. The surgeon then reconnects the upper part of the small intestine to a new location farther down the small intestine.
  • Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is when a portion of the stomach is removed, leaving only a banana-shaped section that is closed with staples. 

Your care team will guide you to the type of surgery that matches your metabolism, lifestyle, weight-loss goals, and other critical factors specific to your health profile.

What is the safest surgery for weight loss?

Any type of surgery has an element of risk dependent on any number of factors. Metabolic bariatric surgery is as safe or safer than some of the most performed surgeries in America including gallbladder surgery, appendectomy and knee replacement. Safety is one factor to consider for metabolic bariatric surgery. 

A careful and precise review of an individual’s candidacy for metabolic bariatric surgery is the first step towards determining the right procedure with the lowest risk of complications and the most effective outcomes.

What is the most common complication of metabolic bariatric surgery?

Our body’s metabolism is as different from one another’s as the sounds of our voices. Each procedure comes with its own set of potential risks, side effects, and complications. An assessment by your care team of your condition and weight-loss goals will help determine the procedure with the least risk that is right for you. You can help lower some of the risks and possible side effects by decreasing your Body Mass Index (BMI), increasing your amount of exercise, stopping smoking, and asking your doctor questions.

How long does it take to recover from metabolic bariatric surgery?

Your recovery time will depend on the metabolic bariatric surgery procedure you had and your individual set of circumstances such as pain tolerance, physical condition and emotional and mental well-being. Most patients undergoing metabolic bariatric procedures at our facility usually stay one night in the hospital. Overall, full recovery occurs within 3-4 weeks.

How painful is metabolic bariatric surgery?

“Will it hurt?” is a question we’ve been asking since we were children. As adults, we learn that some pain comes with the good. There is certain level of discomfort or pain with any surgical procedure that varies according to the individual. The majority of planned metabolic bariatric surgery performed at the Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss is minimally invasive, also called laparoscopic, and is conducted with general anesthesia. Our high-quality care includes adherence to evidence-based protocols that will help to reduce and limit the discomfort and/or pain for our patients following their procedure.

Are You a Candidate for Metabolic Bariatric Surgery?

 

Learn What Your BMI Says

Are You a Candidate for Metabolic Bariatric Surgery?

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Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Locations

Center for Bariatric Surgery