The number of Americans having weight loss surgery more than quadrupled between 1998 and 2002. There are nearly three dozen different weight loss procedures to choose from.

One Miami woman told Local 10 about a new procedure that's available in just a handful of cities across the country.

Weight gain and loss has been a never-ending battle for Barbara Pickering of Miami.

"I think probably in my lifetime, I've lost and gained 200 pounds," said Pickering.

She said diet and exercise were not enough to lose the weight. So she decided to have surgery.

Pickering's extensive research led her to the mini-gastric bypass.

"It's done for specific weight goals, and that is, mine was a 7-foot bypass. They bypass seven feet of the small intestine, and I will get an approximate 140 pound weight loss witihin one year," said Pickering.

Orlando is one of four cities in the country where the mini-gastric bypass is available.

Surgeon Dr. Cesare Peraglie is one of a handful of doctors performing the laproscopic procedure.

Traditionally, gastric bypass surgery is based on the Roux-en-Y procedure, which involves many incisions and a the creation of a thumb-size stomach.

"Our procedure is also done laproscopically, but we've simplified it by only making one connection as opposed to having multiple connection, which increases your chance for having leaks, which is the second leading cause of death in weight loss surgery," said Peraglie.

That's not the only difference.

The mini-gastric bypass is reversible, it's less invasive, shorter time is spent on the operating table and it's much less expensive.

The entire hospitalization recuperation and follow-up care is about $17,000 whereas for the traditional Roux-en-Y bypass procedure is between $30,000 and $60,000.

Dr. Robert Rutledge, of Las Vegas, created the mini-gastric bypass.

Rutledge said he believes morbidly obese patients can not lose weight simply through diet and exercise.

He blames ghrelin, a hormone produced in the lining of the stomach, which stimulates appetite and makes people hungrier.

To learn more about the procedure, click here.