If you've been struggling with weight loss, it can feel as if your goals are out of reach. But at Baptist Health, there’s hope with the stomach intestinal pylorus sparing (SIPS) surgical procedure. This treatment helps you absorb more nutrients from the foods you eat, lowering your risk for complications like severe diarrhea and nutrition problems.

If you have had weight loss surgery but continued to gain weight, our experts can help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you've always wanted.

What Is the SIPS Procedure?

SIPS works by changing the size of your stomach and bypassing part of the digestion process. 

During the SIPS procedure, we:

1. Remove the stretchy, upper portion of your stomach: What remains is a small stomach pouch that is a fraction of the size of a normal stomach. 
2. Reroute your intestines: After leaving the stomach pouch, food skips over (bypasses) a portion of the small intestine. 

Stomach Intestinal Pylorus Sparing (SIPS) Surgery at Baptist Health

Expert bariatric care at Baptist Health includes more than surgery. Our team gets to know you, so we can tailor healthy living recommendations that help you get the most out of surgery. 

SIPS is currently available through our Lexington program. As a newly approved treatment, it is not yet covered by insurance. However, Baptist Health offers self-pay rates to make SIPS more affordable. 

SIPS Weight Loss Surgery vs. Gastric Bypass

SIPS is similar to gastric bypass surgery with one important difference: After gastric bypass surgery, food skips over the pyloric valve, the first part of the small intestine. After SIPS surgery, food passes through the pyloric valve instead of skipping it. 

The pyloric valve is a ring of muscles that controls how quickly food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine. Preserving pyloric valve functioning gives you important health benefits, such as:

• Helping you absorb more nutrients from the foods you eat, which helps you avoid nutrition problems
• Avoiding unpleasant complications, such as severe diarrhea, because the body is better able to break food down during the digestion process
• Achieving better diabetes control by moving food through the digestive process in small, steady batches instead of all at once

What to Expect

Our bariatric experts deliver the SIPS procedure through a minimally invasive approach, using the smallest necessary incisions. Avoiding large incisions results in a faster, easier recovery and quicker return to normal daily activities.

If the SIPS procedure is right for you, here’s what to expect:

1. We give you medicine to help you fall asleep (general anesthesia). You will not feel any sensation during the procedure.
2. Our surgeon makes up to 5 small incisions in your abdomen. Through these incisions, we place the camera and special instruments to carry out the surgery.
3. We fill your abdomen with carbon dioxide gas to create more space between the organs so the surgeon can safely carry out the procedure. 
4. The surgeon removes the top part of your stomach while also sealing nearby blood vessels to control bleeding.
5. The remaining portions of your stomach are joined together using surgical staples to create the stomach pouch.
6. We then create a bypass by cutting your intestines just past the pyloric valve and reconnecting them to the last portion of your small intestine. 
7. We complete the surgery by removing the camera and instruments and closing the incisions with stitches.
8. As you are recovering from surgery, you receive regular follow-up care from our team. With each visit, we give you information and support toward healthy lifestyle habits.

Advantages

SIPS offers many advantages over other surgical weight loss treatments, including: 

• Better weight loss results: Compared to gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgery, SIPS helps you lose more weight. One study reported that patients lost an average of 40 percent of excess weight in their first year after surgery.
• A lower risk of post-surgical complications: SIPS can help you avoid blocked intestines and severe diarrhea, thanks in part to having a steady release of food from the stomach to the small intestines. 
• A second chance to patients who have had previous weight loss surgery: SIPS is a safe, effective option for patients who have already had bariatric procedures such as gastric sleeve surgery. 

Disadvantages

As with any medical procedure, there are risks and disadvantages you should consider before moving forward. Our team takes the time to explain these risks and answer any questions you may have.

• Having to pay for your procedure: As a new treatment, SIPS is not yet covered by insurance. If you would like to have the SIPS procedure, you will need to pay your medical costs out-of-pocket. Baptist Health offers self-pay rates to help make this procedure more affordable. 
• Lack of information about long-term effectiveness: Researchers have not yet been able to see whether patients maintain their weight loss over time. We know that many patients achieve significant weight loss in the year after surgery. However, it will take more time and additional research to demonstrate its long-term effectiveness. 

Is the SIPS Bariatric Procedure Right for Me?

SIPS can help get your weight loss back on track if you have gained unwanted pounds after weight loss surgery. It is also a safe, effective option if you have never had weight loss surgery and need to lose 200 pounds or more. 

We help you understand whether SIPS is right for you and how it can help you lose weight. Part of this discussion includes understanding the risks and advantages of this procedure.

• Recognized value for self-pay patients: Our commitment to providing high quality care helps you get the most for your money. Our team includes one of the few Bundled Loan & Indemnity Solution (BLIS) bariatric surgeons in Lexington. BLIS is an independent organization that identifies high-performing surgeons for self-pay patients. BLIS recognition is your assurance that the care you receive will be safe, effective and meet your unique needs.
• A successful track record with innovative weight loss treatments: As a dedicated bariatric practice, we are always striving to deliver the best possible care. In fact, we are often among the first programs in Lexington offering new treatments, including SIPS as well as the ORBERA weight loss balloon. Our depth of experience helps you have a good experience from start to finish. 
• Personalized care: Throughout your weight loss journey, the same, small team of bariatric experts delivers all of your care. Through regular follow-up visits and monthly support group meetings, we help you adopt healthy habits and overcome challenges so you can achieve your goals. We love seeing our patients regain their health and sense of well-being.