Gastrointestinal Surgery

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The Gastrointestinal Division in the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota has been an internationally recognized leader in the development of laparoscopic and open bariatric surgical procedures and surgical procedures used to treat comorbid conditions related to obesity such as hyperlipidemia or dyslipidemia.

About 5% of all persons (7% of women and 3% of men) above age 18 living in the United States are morbidly obese (body mass index equals or exceeds 40) and qualify for weight loss surgery. To calculate your body mass index (BMI), visit our clinical website.

Obesity itself is the number two cause of death in the United States and will be the number one killer of Americans in the future and is associated with more than 30 other diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, asthma, cancer, joint problems and infertility.

According to a recent study from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the mortality rate associated with bariatric surgery dropped by 78.7 percent, from 0.89 percent in 1998 to 0.19 percent in 2004. Surgery for weight loss has clearly become far safer. Meanwhile, the mortality rate from morbid obesity was reduced by 89 percent after bariatric or metabolic surgery, according to a study published in the Annals of Surgery in 2004.

The Gastrointestinal Surgery division at the University of Minnesota has substantial depth and expertise in advanced laparoscopic weight loss procedures.  At the University of Minnesota, we offer all of the current bariatric procedures recommended by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), including laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (both LAP-BAND® and RealizeBand™), open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, open and laparoscopic duodenal switch, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

We are actively enrolling patients in clinical trials to test the efficacy of the gastric bypass for the treatment of diabetes and to assess the utility of Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) in the treatment of obesity.

We also perform revisional bariatric surgery salvaging failed bariatric procedures such as the vertical banded gastroplasty, the gastric bypass, as well as laparoscopic conversions of procedures such as the Nissen fundoplication and conversion to the gastric bypass or other procedures.

In addition to weight-loss surgery, our laparoscopic surgeons treat a wide variety of diseases with a minimally invasive approach. When compared to traditional open surgery, laparoscopic surgery minimizes tissue trauma, decreases pain and scarring, and hastens postoperative recovery. Please review our clinic website to review other operations we perform.