EMMC’s Surgical Weight Loss Program has been accredited as a Level 1A facility by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons. Surgical weight loss programs that are accredited meet very high program standards, have established track records on patient safety, and consistently deliver quality care.

Laparoscopic gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy are the three most common bariatric surgeries performed at EMMC. In 2008, EMMC was the first hospital in Maine to begin offering the sleeve gastrectomy.     

The laparoscopic approach to gastric bypass has been available at EMMC since 2003. In 2009 it comprised 86% of the gastric bypass cases done at EMMC. The average length of stay for laparoscopic bypass is 2.1 days, gastric banding is .5 days, and sleeve gastrectomy is 2.0 days.

Between 2006 and 2009, operative mortality at 30 days postoperatively for the laparoscopic gastric bypass and adjustable gastric band was 0%. The standard for safe bariatric programs is to have less than 0.5% at 30 day operative mortality. 

 The EMMC Surgical Weight Loss Program target is to have less than ten percent of our patients for each procedure return for readmission or reoperation. Thirty day readmission and reoperation rates for laparoscopic bypass are 8.6%. Thirty day readmission and reoperation rates for adjustable gastric band are 5.8%.

This graph compares the weight loss of EMMC's patients who have had gastric bypass (laparoscopic or open) and the gastric band at the two, five year mark, as well as patients who have had gastric band at the three year mark. The National Institute of Health defines success with weight loss surgery as 50% or more excess body weight loss. They report that 60% of patients who have had gastric bypass surgery achieve this level of weight loss success by the fifth year postoperatively.

Eighty-three percent of our bypass surgery patients have achieved 50% or more excess body weight loss at two years after surgery. At five years, 62% of our gastric bypass patients have achieved 50% of more excess body weight loss. Weight loss for the gastric band is normally slower, and it can take two to five years to lose all of the weight the surgery allows. By the third year postoperative, 52% of our patients have achieved 50% or more of their excess body weight loss.