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Los Angeles bariatric surgeon Dr. Carson Liu offers weight loss surgery for obese patients who need help losing weight.

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Spoken Language: English

Business: Healthcare, Healthcare Products and Services

Los Angeles Lap Band Surgeon, Dr. Carson Liu, offers bariatric surgery<, including gastric bypass, Realize band surgery and Lap band weight loss surgery<. With over 2600 successful bariatric surgeries and certified by Allergan, Dr. Carson Liu is a weight loss expert.

Dr. Liu received his medical degree from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his internship, residencies and research fellowship at UCLA Medical Center. In 1998, Dr. Liu was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery at UCLA Medical School where he continued to hone his skills in clinical practice, teaching and research. Dr. Liu has conducted extensive research and is widely published in the fields of Bariatric and gastrointestinal surgery; he is nationally recognized in his field and has lectured extensively to professional societies on these subjects. Dr. Liu is board certified in General Surgery and over the course of his career has performed over 2600 Bariatric Surgeries.

A Bariatric Surgery Specialist

Dr. Carson Liu specializes in performing bariatric surgery. His entire practice is dedicated to helping obese Americans lose weight and start leading a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Liu makes it a priority to establish long-lasting personal relationships with his patients so that they can more easily maintain their new, healthier lifestyle.

Dr. Liu recognizes how difficult it is for people to decide to take the courageous step of opting for bariatric surgery, and he handles each patient with the utmost compassion and respect. He makes a commitment to see his patients through the entire process, including educating them about how to lead a healthier lifestyle in the future.

Not all obese people are candidates for bariatric surgery. At your initial consultation, Dr. Liu will conduct a thorough medical examination and review your medical history to determine if you are a suitable candidate.

An important factor in determining whether or not you are a candidate for bariatric surgery is your commitment level to maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the future. Dr. Liu will only work with patients who are ready to take an active role in maintaining their health. He makes a lifelong commitment to his patients and will follow up with them for the long-term after surgery. In return, he expects his patients to make the same lifelong commitment to themselves in order to prevent a relapse into obesity.

The Battle with Obesity

Weight loss can be a very frustrating process, and the more weight you need to lose, the more difficult the process becomes. Many Americans are constantly experimenting with numerous diets and exercise regimens in order to find the right combination to get rid of excess pounds. While traditional weight loss options may work for some people, they certainly do not achieve successful results in every case.

Bariatric Surgery

A Solution to your Weight Loss Problems. If you have been trying everything possible to lose excess weight but just can’t win the battle with obesity, do not give up hope. You may be a candidate for bariatric surgery.

Bariatric surgery is a procedure that alters your digestive system in order to minimize the amount of food your body can process at a given time. This surgery has done wonders to help many obese Americans achieve the weight loss that was previously unattainable to them, and it has greatly reduced their risk of the many medical problems that come along with obesity.

In order for bariatric surgery patients to be covered by insurance for their procedure, there is a specific criteria that must be met before being approved. The most common one is the completion of a medically supervised weight loss program that is completed in six months. This shows the insurer that you are serious and are making a serious attempt at losing weight before you are covered for bariatric surgery. This supervised weight loss program should be directed by a team of professional dieticians, exercise specialists, behavioralists, and your primary care physician. This is because most commercial weight loss programs, such as Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers do not provide the necessary supervision for this type of weight loss.

To make matters more complicated, many bariatric patients find that their physicians are not equipped to administer this type of program. This may leave the patient to make appointments with dieticians on their own, hire a personal trainer, and document every part of their program so the insurer can see the progress being made.

In order for you to fulfill your insurer’s six month requirement, we have partnered with iBariHealth. This is a home-based program whose registered dieticians and exercise specialists come to you as scheduled. They also keep track of the documentation required by your insurer. This program offers:

• Complete coordination with your doctor to obtain pertinent documentation of your office visits notes of your progress
• Prescribed meal and exercise plans for your treatment
• Nutritional products for pre-surgical weight loss
• Behavioral education and support throughout the program
• Compiled progress reports, medical documentation, and office notes to submit to your insurer
• Compiled documentation of all home-based visits and follow up visits for progress reports
• Online interactive website membership at iBariHealth.com
• Optional post-operative follow-up home care services

Bariatric surgery procedures:

• Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery<
  • Roux en-Y Gastric Bypass is considered to be the "gold standard" of all bariatric surgical procedures because the gastric bypass is a time-tested operation (dating back to the late 1960's). Significantly more information is available about the long-term results of the Roux en-Y Gastric Bypass (as compared to other available procedures) because its results have been documented for over 20 years.
  • During normal digestion, food moves down into the stomach from the esophagus. While in the stomach, the food is broken down by gastric juices. This process takes about twenty to thirty minutes, after which the stomach contents move to the first segment of small intestine. Most of the iron and calcium in the foods we eat is absorbed at this time. The remaining segments of the small intestine complete the absorption of almost all calories and nutrients. The remaining food particles that cannot be digested in the small intestines are stored in the large intestine until eliminated.
  • The Roux en-Y operation provides a restrictive and malabsorptive method to weight loss because the stomach and small intestines are reconfigured. First, a "mini stomach" is created by permanently dividing the stomach, creating a stomach pouch that can hold about 2-3 bites of food. The intestine is then cut approximately one and one half feet beyond the stomach and is attached to the pouch to provide an outlet for the food. This aids in weight loss in that you cannot eat as much and you absorb fewer nutrients and calories.
  • Instead of food staying in the stomach for the "normal" twenty to thirty minutes, it now stays in the "mini pouch" for about ten minutes, then moves on to the small intestine. The pouch maintains a sensation of fullness for a longer period of time.
  • Digestive juices are still produced in the lower part of the stomach and are released into the intestines where they help the food digest. Nutrients and calories can still be absorbed, but the food is not as thoroughly digested so a greater portion moves into the large intestine to be released.
  • The Roux en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery may be performed "open" or "laparoscopically". When performed as an "open" procedure, a midline incision on the abdomen is made extending from just under the diaphragm to a spot close to the belly button. A stapling device is used to create the "mini pouch".
  • The "laparoscopic" approach, also known as "minimally invasive surgery" follows the same guidelines internally, however this surgery is done using 5-6 small keyhole incisions. A camera is inserted into one of the incisions, to aid the surgeon for guidance. Several small instruments are inserted into the other incisions to perform the surgery.
• LAP-BAND® Weight Loss Surgery
  • The LAP-BAND® System is also the only adjustable weight loss surgery. The diameter of the band is adjustable for a customized weight-loss rate. Your individual needs can change as you lose weight. For example, pregnant patients can expand their band to accommodate a growing fetus, while patients who aren't experiencing significant weight loss can have their bands tightened.
  • To modify the size of the band, its inner surface can be inflated or deflated with a saline solution. The band is connected by tubing to an access port, which is placed well below the skin during surgery. After the operation, the surgeon can control the amount of saline in the band by entering the port with a fine needle through the skin
  • While the LAP-BAND® System is an effective treatment for morbid obesity, the pounds do not come off by themselves. The LAP BAND System is an aid to support you in achieving lasting results by limiting food intake, reducing appetite and slowing digestion. However, your motivation and commitment to adopt a new lifestyle are extremely important for long-term weight loss. New eating habits must be adhered to for the rest of your life. Exercise is an equally important component of a changed lifestyle. For more information, please see the frequently asked questions page.
• REALIZE Band
  • Like the LAP-BAND® System, the REALIZE™ Band encourages weight loss by limiting the amount of food a patient can eat at one time. Unlike gastric bypass, an important advantage of the REALIZE™ Band is that it does not interfere with the normal absorption of nutrients and vitamins.
• Stomaphyx
  • StomaphyX™ is a new, ground-breaking revisional procedure that can help patients who are unsatisfied with the results of their previous Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
  • The incision-free StomaphyX™ procedure decreases a patient’s stomach pouch and stomach outlet, called a stoma, to the original gastric bypass size.

    The treatment involves placing an endoscope through a patient’s mouth and into the stomach pouch while the patient is under anesthesia. Sutures and polypropylene fasteners are used to “take up” the extra tissue and make the pouch and/or stoma smaller. Like with the earlier gastric bypass surgery, this limits food intake and slows the emptying of the stomach into the small intestine, which encourages weight loss.

• R.O.S.E. (Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal)
  • Research has shown that weight regain after gastric bypass surgery can happen in some instances because the stomach pouch and stomach outlet into the small intestine (called the stoma) gradually stretch. This allows the patient to eat more and slows the feeling of being full. Pounds begin to add back on, and patients can be again at risk for life-threatening diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
  • Until recently, patients did not have many options after post-surgery weight gain. However, several procedures now exist that provide a second chance for weight loss surgery patients. One of those procedures is StomaphyX™. The other is called “ROSE,” which stands for Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal.
• Revision Bariatric Surgery
  • While the outcome of bariatric surgery is usually a positive one, some patients who have had gastric bypass or other types of weight loss surgery sometimes require a second, or revisional bariatric surgery to get the results they want and need.
  • Not all bariatric surgery patients are satisfied with their weight loss after their initial surgery. Some patients, whether through a failure to change their lifestyle, a problem with the original procedure or the natural stretch of the stomach pouch or outlet, still struggle with obesity and need to seriously consider a revisional bariatric surgery.
  • Revisional surgeries have traditionally been considered higher-risk than initial bariatric operations, due to the presence of scar tissue from the previous procedure in the surgical area.

Dr. Liu's office also offers medically supervised diets for patients. Some insurance companies will not allow the same physician/surgeon be the dietician. If allowed by insurance, patients have an option to have their medically supervised diet with physicians in the office. Dr. Carson Liu will be happy to guide patients through their preoperative diet program for the time deemed necessary by insurance companies.