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Bariatric Surgery (Weight Loss Surgery)

Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass surgery reduces the size of the stomach.

Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass surgery reduces the size of the stomach so it can only hold a small amount of food. This causes you to feel full very quickly. In addition, a “shortcut” is created from the new stomach to the small intestine, causing food to “bypass” a portion of the digestive process. This “bypassing” allows for fewer calories to be absorbed and therefore causes a good deal of weight loss.

Advantages of the Gastric Bypass

  • Average gastric bypass patients will lose approximately 80% of their excess body weight.
  • The stomach is reduced to the size of an egg and the amount of food that can be eaten is restricted.
  • The anatomic and hormonal changes associated with the gastric bypass reduce hunger in patients.

To pick the option that is right for you, it is best to start talking to your care team about reconstruction options before you’ve had surgery to remove all or part of your breast. If you would like to explore options for reconstruction, lead breast plastic surgeon Stephanie Caterson, M.D., director of the Center for Breast Reconstruction, and her team will discuss your goals and which procedures can best help meet them.

These may include:

  • Breast implants.
  • Flat Aesthetic Closure.
  • Flap surgical procedures, which use parts of your own body - skin, tissue, fat and sometimes muscle - to rebuild natural-looking breasts.
  • Combination procedures, involving both implant(s) and flaps.
  • Oncoplastic surgery, in which breast reconstruction surgery will occur during the same surgery as a lumpectomy.
  • Symmetry surgery. If only one breast is affected, it alone may be reconstructed. In addition, a breast lift, breast reduction or breast augmentation may be recommended for the opposite breast to improve symmetry of the size, shape and position of both breasts.

Why ChristianaCare?

For years, patients have turned to the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, the leading provider of cancer treatment in Delaware. Now patients can count on the team at the Center for Breast Reconstruction for expert care and compassion when they seek breast reconstruction.

Dr. Stephanie Caterson is one of the country’s leading breast reconstructive surgeons with over 14 years’ experience performing all types of complex breast reconstructive procedures.

She specializes in the care of those who:

  • Need mastectomy or lumpectomy due to a recent diagnosis of breast cancer.
  • Want breast conservation but need plastic surgery tissue rearrangement at the time of their lumpectomy (oncoplastic surgery).
  • Have chosen to have a double mastectomy due to genetic mutations that put them at high risk for breast cancer.
  • Have been previously treated for breast cancer and are ready to explore options for reconstruction.
  • Have had prior reconstruction but are not happy with the results.
  • Have breast asymmetry.

Dr. Caterson brings her extensive experience to ChristianaCare, where we now offer microsurgical flap breast reconstructive. These procedures are considered state-of-the-art when a patient chooses flap reconstruction. To date, Dr. Caterson has performed more than 1,500 microsurgical flap procedures.

Dr. Caterson is joined by Kerry Gregory, PA-C, and John Przybylski, PA-C. Kerry is a highly accomplished physician assistant with extensive experience in managing breast cancer and breast reconstruction patients. Kerry is also trained in state-of-the art professional nipple and areola 3-D tattooing techniques. John joins the team with over eight years of concentrated operating experience and surgical care. He has received many academic awards and is adjunct teaching faculty at Drexel University. Together, they help guide their patients toward the best possible solution.

Collaborative Care

Dr. Caterson and her team collaborate with experts across the entire spectrum of breast care at the Graham Cancer Center, as well as other experts throughout ChristianaCare. These may include breast surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, genetic counselors, radiologists, and specialists in rehabilitation, including physical and occupational therapists. The team also works with physicians and other medical professionals outside of the ChristianaCare system, to coordinate care in a seamless fashion. Dr. Caterson represents plastic surgery in the weekly Helen F. Graham Cancer Center Multidisciplinary Breast Conference, where coordinated plans for individual breast cancer patients are developed.

Breast Reconstructive Surgical Procedures

  • Breast Implants with/without Tissue Expander.
  • DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) Flap.
  • Pedicle/Free TRAM (Transverse Rectus Abdominis Muscle) Flap.
  • SGAP (Superior Gluteal Artery Perforator) Flap.
  • PAP (Profunda Artery Perforator) Flap.
  • Latissimus dorsi Myocutaneous Flap with Implant.

Providers

Contact Us

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call our office at 302-623-3605.

Risks/Complications Related to the Gastric Bypass

  • Standard risks associated with surgery, like pain, bleeding, blood clots and infection.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • “Dumping syndrome” which includes dizziness, lightheadedness and diarrhea after eating high sugar foods.
  • Ulcers that can cause bleeding or perforations (holes in the bowel). This is more commonly seen in smokers and patients taking NSAIDS (ibuprofen, advil, aleve for example).
  • Leakage and/or bleeding at the suture/staple line.
  • Vitamin and protein deficiency.
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Locations & Providers

Take the first step right now. Register online for one of our free seminars, or call 800-693-2273.

Emergency entrance of Wilmington Hospital

ChristianaCare Bariatric Surgery Services at Wilmington View Location

501 West 14th Street
Wilmington Hospital
Gateway Building, Suite 2E15
Wilmington, DE 19801

CHRIAS - Christiana Institute of Advanced Surgery