The link between many health problems and obesity has more people in Riverside, California and similar cities across the country considering bariatric surgery. As a type of obesity help for those for whom diet and exercise wasn’t successful, weight loss surgery could improve a person’s quality of life. If your BMI is 40, you may be eligible. With a BMI below 40, you might need to be at risk for or currently have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or another obesity-related condition, but consult your Riverside gastric surgeon for more information about gastric bypass surgery, Lap Band® surgery, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, or vertical banded gastroplasty. Today, gastric banding and gastric bypass are often used. Both procedures, which divide the stomach into two sections, carry a lower rate of complications than the other options. The difference is that Lap Band® surgery uses a gastric band whereas gastric bypass surgery uses staples and then routes food from the top pouch to the intestines (a bypass).

In the southern California region, the Inland Empire, and in Riverside specifically are a large number of health systems that might be visited for weight loss surgery. Hospitals include Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside County Regional Medical Center, and Parkview Community Hospital.

Do you plan to go to Riverside for bariatric surgery? Visitors to the area might want to stop at the California Citrus State Historic Park or catch a movie at Van Buren Drive-In Theater. Other options are the Riverside Metropolitan Museum and Air Museum.