Our surgeons and specialists work with you to choose the best way to meet your weight-loss goals. OHSU Health Bariatric Services offers care at:

• OHSU’s South Waterfront campus
• Hillsboro Medical Center, an OHSU partner.
• Adventist Health Portland, an OHSU partner.

You'll find:

• Doctors who perform hundreds of bariatric surgeries a year.
• A high rate of successful weight loss and better health. More than 80 percent of patients lose most of their excess weight and see a big improvement in obesity-related health conditions.
• Innovative weight-loss treatment that may not require surgery.
• Oregon’s leading center for patients who need a second bariatric surgery because of complications or poor results.
• A team of experts to support you at every step.

Comprehensive care

Your care team will include a range of specialists working together to support your success. Our programs also include:

• Walk to Recovery: A scavenger hunt and certificate for walking distance will get you up and around soon after surgery. This helps speed your healing.
• Medication review: While you’re in the hospital, we’ll make sure you know how and when to take your medication. We’ll review it again at your first post-surgery appointment.

Learn more about our care:

• Before surgery
• After surgery

Our treatments

We’ll assess your physical and mental condition, weight-loss goals, medications and other factors before we recommend a treatment plan.

Gastric sleeve

Gastric sleeve, also called sleeve gastrectomy, is the most common bariatric surgery. Your surgeon removes about three-fourths of your stomach, reducing space for food. Gastric sleeve is less disruptive to your digestive system than gastric bypass.

We are a leading center for gastric sleeve, with 546 procedures since 2019.

Learn more about gastric sleeve surgery.

Gastric bypass

In gastric bypass, your surgeon separates your stomach and creates a small stomach pouch that is connected to your small intestine. The rest of your stomach is attached lower to your small intestine, where stomach enzymes help with digestion. This takes food past your stomach and upper intestine, reducing how much food you can take in and changing your metabolism. 

We are a leading center for gastric bypass, with 395 procedures since 2019.

• Learn more about gastric bypass surgery.

Duodenal switch

Duodenal switch is a two-part surgery. It starts with a gastric sleeve surgery to remove most of your stomach. Then doctors connect your stomach to a lower section of your small intestine so that food spends less time in the small intestine. Your stomach has less space for food and your small intestine absorbs fewer calories.

• Learn more about duodenal switch.

ORBERA gastric balloon

We use a nonsurgical system called ORBERA. Doctors guide a balloon into your stomach and fill the balloon with saline (a mixture of salt and water). This leaves less room for food. After six months, we remove the balloon. Then you receive six months of guidance in new eating and exercise habits.

• Learn more about ORBERA gastric balloon.

Revisional bariatric surgery

Revisional surgery adjusts or reverses a bariatric surgery that led to complications or too-little weight loss. This happens for a small percentage of bariatric patients.

We are a leading center for revisional surgery, with 200 procedures since 2019.

• Learn more about revisional bariatric surgery.

Lap gastric banding

In gastric banding surgery, a silicon band filled with saline (a mix of salt and water) is put around the upper part of your stomach to limit how much food you can take in. Every few months, the band is tightened by adding more saline.

We rarely do gastric banding. We may consider it for certain patients. It has proved the least effective surgery for weight loss. It also has the highest rate of needing a second operation. Nearly a quarter of bands need to be removed in five or 10 years because of complications or poor results.

Medical weight loss

For medical weight loss treatment, we provide medications and a custom plan for healthy eating, physical activity and sleep. You do not have to have surgery or stay in the hospital. We are the only program in Oregon with a team of specialists for every aspect of managing your weight.