Bariatric Treatment and Surgical Center

Alisa Brewster looks out on the Willamette River
Alisa Brewster has lost 150 pounds since her bariatric surgery at OHSU. “It was the first time that I had a tool where I felt in control,” she says, "where I felt like I was going to reach my goals."

Bariatric treatment can be the answer to obesity and related health problems. OHSU Bariatric Services is a leader in weight-loss surgery and other bariatric treatment. Our team of experts will give you the care and support you need to live a better life. You’ll find:

  • A high rate of success in helping patients lose weight and improve health.
  • A team of specialists that includes dietitians, physical therapists, psychologists and others to help you at every step.
  • Bariatric surgeons who do hundreds of surgeries a year.
  • Minimally invasive surgeries with smaller incisions, less pain and faster recovery.
  • Patient navigators to arrange appointments and answer your questions.
  • A nationally accredited clinic designed for your comfort.
  • An online support group hosted by a nurse practitioner and dietitian.
  • Care for patients with complex conditions who may have been turned away elsewhere.

Why consider bariatric surgery?

Weight-loss surgery is a big step. It’s not the right answer for everyone. But for some people, surgery offers a long-term solution to obesity and related health problems.

  • Diet and exercise alone rarely lead to success, studies show. Even the 2 or 3 percent of people who lose significant weight typically gain it back within a year.
  • In studies, up to about 90 percent of patients report satisfaction with their bariatric surgery or say they would recommend it to a friend.
  • A large majority of patients lose more than half their excess weight and keep it off for years.
  • People who have surgery are much healthier and happier on average than similar people who don’t, studies show. Life expectancy climbs. Most see a dramatic improvement in obesity-related conditions such as sleep apnea or Type 2 diabetes.¹

Learn if you might be a candidate

Complete care

Your care team will work with you and your primary care doctor before, during and long after surgery. We are committed to your success.

Multistep program: We combine surgery with supported nutrition, exercise and supplements. These methods all work together to support your progress.

Team-based care: Your surgeon, nurse practitioner, dietitian, physical therapist, psychologist and others work together, often conferring face to face. This approach supports your health, well-being and success.

Your comfort: Our clinic and hospital facilities, including operating rooms and wards, are designed for your comfort. You won’t have to ask for anything special or feel out of place.

Patient navigators: A navigator will guide you through all steps before and after surgery, freeing you to focus on your health.

Steps to success: Our programs put you on a path to meeting your goals even before you leave the hospital. Our Walk to Recovery program gets you up and moving soon after surgery. Our pharmacy support program gives you your first full review of medications at bedside.

Our excellence

OHSU offers the region’s most advanced bariatric care.

Experience: Our surgeons have more than 80 years of combined experience. They do hundreds of surgeries a year and can help you choose the best option for you.

Expertise: All of our surgeons completed fellowships (advanced training) in areas such as minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics. We are also Oregon’s leading center for revisional surgeries (surgery after an unsuccessful bariatric surgery).

National recognition: Our honors include:

Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program logo
  • Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program certification. This is the gold standard for bariatric surgical centers. We meet rigorous standards, review our performance every month and report results to a national database. We also follow the program’s training system.
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Distinction Center+ for bariatric surgery. This recognizes our strong safety record, our expertise and our cost-efficiency.
  • Optum Bariatric Center of Excellence designation. We meet strict standards, reviewed each year, for excellent outcomes and lower costs.

Research and innovations

As Oregon’s only academic health center, we are dedicated to research that improves patient care. Our doctors are at the forefront of discoveries that can be brought from the lab to you.

  • We are developing Oregon’s first obesity clinic for teens.
  • We are involved in the Obesity Council, which studies childhood obesity.
  • OHSU is working to test and refine nonsurgical and minimally invasive techniques.
  • We are a leader in a National Institutes of Health bariatric surgery research project. The multicenter study, the largest of its kind in the U.S., is looking at 2,500 bariatric patients over seven years to seek improvements in treatments and outcomes.
  • We are studying new ways, including alternative therapies, to treat chronic pain after bariatric surgery.
  • OHSU is researching possible connections between obesity and cancer, including whether treating obesity can prevent certain cancers.

¹ Why Weight Loss Surgery Works When Diets Don’t

Get started

Register for our free bariatric surgery seminar.

For patients

Questions?

Location

Bariatric Surgery Clinic, South Waterfront 
Center for Health & Healing, Building 2, eighth floor
3485 S. Bond Ave.
Portland, OR 97239

Digestive Health and General Surgery
Hillsboro Medical Center 7th Avenue Medical Plaza
333 S.E. Seventh Ave., Suite 5200
Hillsboro, OR 97123

Free parking for patients and visitors

Refer a patient

Cover of OHSU Bariatrics Patient Referral Guide

Patient stories

Headshot of Alisa Brewster

Alisa Brewster is 150 pounds lighter and no longer needs heart and diabetes medication.

Headshot of Dorrian Rhodes

Winter Rhodes, an avid runner, lost 150 pounds and watched his diabetes recede after bariatric surgery.