Surgical Weight Loss

We offer weight loss treatment for anyone with a body mass index (BMI) at or above 25. The treatment options available to you depends on the severity of an individual's condition (see below).

Meal replacement plans (OPTIFAST^®) is designed for patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 or at or above 27 with certain weight related medical issues such as hypertension, diabetes or sleep apnea.

If you have a body mass index (BMI) at or above 30 or BMI at or above 27 with certain weight related medical issues such as hypertension, diabetes or sleep apnea, you may be a candidate for weight loss medication. If you do not meet this criteria, we offer lifestyle treatment weight loss options.

Patients who have a body mass index (BMI) over 40 or who have a BMI over 35 with certain weight related medical issues such as hypertension, diabetes, or sleep apnea are candidates for surgical weight loss procedures.

There are a variety of options available if you do not wish to have surgery or if you do not meet the medical criteria for surgery. These include nutrition education and planning, exercise evaluation and instruction, behavioral programs and the use of weight loss medications. We also offer meal replacement plans (OPTIFAST^®), which is a medically supervised meal replacement program designed to achieve safe and rapid weight loss.

Yes, we welcome surgical (bariatric) patients who are new to our area to join our program and benefit from the long term follow up care we offer. Some restrictions do apply, so if you have questions, please contact us to discuss your situation.

Preoperative weight loss or medical optimization may be required in order for us to safely perform surgery. We generally do not operate on patients over 400 pounds. If you find yourself in this situation, we will still work with you. We are able to help patients over that weight to achieve enough preoperative weight loss to have surgery, and we also maintain close relationships with Boston hospitals where we can refer patients who have more complex needs. If we cannot safely perform surgery at CMC and we refer you to a larger hospital, we will still provide all of your pre- and post-operative care here in Manchester.

If you have previously undergone surgery and either experienced poor weight loss or post-operative weight gain, there are additional treatment options available. This may include behavioral treatment and education, weight loss medications or possibly additional surgery.

Absolutely. We believe that continued contact with other patients and care providers is essential to maintaining long term success. We welcome patients who are new to the area to our support groups.

The success rates for adjustable gastric banding are not as high as we once thought they would be. If you have a band and are struggling to maintain weight loss or have developed other complications from the band, we'll work with you to ensure that your band is properly positioned and functioning. If functional, we will work with you to get the most effect from your band.  If the band is no longer working, we can potentially remove the device and discuss surgical and non-surgical treatment options for weight.

Many insurance plans cover medical weight loss services.

We care for patients from throughout the state and the region. Our main office is located in Dartmouth Commons on the Manchester/Bedford line. Surgery is performed at Catholic Medical Center. For patients in northern New Hampshire, we have a satellite office at Androscoggin Valley Hospital where pre- and post-operative care is available.  We are exploring the possibility of opening other satellite offices as well.