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Weight-loss surgery: what it is, who it may be for, the types, before and after, side effects, and cost
For anyone thinking about weight-loss surgery, living after it, or beside someone who is. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what metabolic and bariatric surgery is, who it may be an option for (adults and teens), the questions to ask yourself, what it can do and what it can’t promise, the gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, adjustable band and duodenal switch, devices that are not surgery, the team you meet before, eating and vitamins after, the side effects, and the cost. It builds the words to say, and prints a card for your questions. Nothing is saved.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, or feeling very sick after surgery? It can be an emergency: call 911; you do not need to be sure (ours: NIDDK’s pages name no 911). For anything else that feels wrong, call your surgical team.
- Thoughts of suicide or of harming yourself? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: Medicines for weight · Choosing a weight-loss program · Eating well and moving more · Staying active at any size.
- Before and after: When you want to quit smoking · Gallstones and gallbladder attacks · When drinking or drugs have become a problem.
- When it is hard: When eating has become a fight · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Getting ready: Get ready for your appointment. In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or surgeon has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) pages Weight-loss (Metabolic & Bariatric) Surgery (Definition & Facts, Types, Benefits, Side Effects, and Potential Candidates; last reviewed September 2020) and their Spanish twins. The numbers (the BMI levels of 40, 35 and 30 for adults, and 40 or 35 for teens; on average 15 to 30 percent of starting weight lost; 38 to 87 pounds after 1 year in one study; about 80 percent of the stomach removed in a sleeve; stopping smoking at least 6 weeks before; balloons removed after 6 months to a year, or up to 12 months; about 30 percent of calories drained by the emptying device; follow-up procedures or hospital stays within 5 years for about one-third; gallstone medicine for about 6 months; 15,000 to 25,000 dollars or more) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing or feeling very sick after surgery, and 988 (NIDDK names neither on these pages); that the pages date from 2020, so ask what is right for you today; that the decision is yours and you never need surgery to deserve care; that weight coming back is common and not a reason for shame; to ask your insurer for what is covered in writing; the lines to say; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s section on clinical trials (with its study results), its references, and its BMI calculator link. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.