Why bariatric surgery?

Choose a course toward a lasting change
If obesity is taking a toll on your health and well-being, and diet, exercise, and medicine haven’t helped, it may be time to consider surgery.

Weight-loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, is one of the most successful options for severe obesity.1 And surgery with the da Vinci system is the most common bariatric surgical approach.

Why choose da Vinci bariatric surgery?

Bariatric surgery with a da Vinci surgical system, combined with your dedication, can lead to significant improvements in your health and quality of life.

• Sustainable weight loss : Achieve long-term weight-loss success.3 Around 90% of patients after bariatric surgery lose 50% of excess body weight and keep this extra weight off long-term.
• Improved health conditions : Experience improvement or remission of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea.4,5
• Increased energy and confidence: Enjoy activities you haven’t done in years.3

The da Vinci system is a tool used to perform minimally invasive bariatric surgery, but the surgery does not treat obesity alone long term. For more information, see the important safety information here.

Da Vinci surgery versus medication

When considering weight-loss, it’s helpful to look at the differences between your options.

	Medication(+diet/exercise)	Da Vinci surgery(+diet/exercise)
Weight loss	Up to 20% of weight.6Individual results may vary.	Up to 77% of excess weight.10Individual results may vary.
Weight regain	Up to 66%.7Within one year of stopping.	Up to 7%.11Five years after surgery.
Time of use	Continuous.7	One time.6
Cost	~$12,000 per year.8 Sometimes covered by insurance	~$15,000 - $25,000 one-time fee.6Often covered by insurance for severe obesity.
Safety	Long-term data is limited.9	Studied for more than 25 years.12Minimally invasive surgery is as safe as other common procedures like hernia, appendix, and gallbladder surgery.13

Bariatric surgery is now safer

In the early days of bariatric surgery, open procedures were standard, requiring large incisions to access the stomach and surrounding organs. While effective, these surgeries had significant drawbacks and complications. Fast forward to today, minimally invasive surgery, including da Vinci, has made bariatric surgery safer.

	Bariatric surgery 20 years ago(open)	Bariatric surgery today(minimally invasive surgery)
Hospital stay	> 3 days14	< 2 days.16,17
Risk of complications	Increased likelihood of infections or other complications.14	Decreased likelihood of infections or other complications.14,18
Pain	Greater postoperative discomfort.15	Less postoperative discomfort.15
Aesthetics	Longer incisions.15	Smaller incisions.15 (1/2 inch long per incision)