Medical Advances

Exciting new alternative to surgical weight loss comes with a plan for life

Drs. Joseph Cribbins, III, and Stephen Hamn are considered two of the best weight-loss surgeons in Texas. But surgery isn’t their only area of expertise.

The doctors now offer patients the option of the Orbera intragastric balloon. This less-invasive, nonsurgical weight-loss option has 20 years of proven results worldwide. The ideal patient needs to lose about 30 to 60 pounds.

“Successful weight-loss programs will not only help a person lose weight, but also keep it off for years to come,” Dr. Hamn says. “We’ve seen this with Orbera intragastric balloon: It helps our patients control portion size, lose weight, and learn healthy eating habits that will support their new weight.”

The intragastric balloon is a soft, deflated, silicone balloon that is placed inside a patient’s stomach through the use of an endoscope — no incisions. Once there, the empty balloon is filled with sterile saline solution. This is a minimally invasive procedure that only takes 20-30 minutes to perform on an outpatient basis, and requires little down time.

Orbera works by taking up space in the stomach, making the person feel full faster, and reducing feelings of hunger. The balloon stays in place for six months, and it is then removed during a second short endoscopic procedure.

During those six months, Drs. Cribbins and Hamn and their team of specialists at Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery in Plano work closely with patients through a behavior modification program and a medically supervised diet.

“We are deeply invested in each of our patients and want to see them achieve long-term results,” Dr. Cribbins says. “During the six months the Orbera is in place, we help them learn how to change their lifestyles and relationship with food. We support the whole person during this journey: both the physical and emotional journey of weight loss.”

Once the Orbera is removed, the support from Drs. Cribbins and Hamn and their team continues. They custom design a program for each patient that address his or her unique situation and learn how to adopt new eating habits and establish healthy exercise habits.

“What we see with Orbera is a sensible way to develop sustainable, healthy habits that can last a lifetime,” Dr. Hamn says. “This is a great nonsurgical option for our patients that supports their long-term weight goals.”

More than 220,000 of these Orbera intragastric balloons have been used in over 80 countries, including Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the U.K. It was FDA-approved in the United States this year, and Drs. Cribbins and Hamn are enthusiastic about this new option for their patients.

“Surgery is not the right decision for every person who wants to lose weight,” Dr. Cribbins says. “We spend time with each patient and get to know his or her story before we ever make a recommendation. If a nonsurgical option is the best choice, we often suggest the Orbera intragastric balloon.”

Learn more about weight-loss services at Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery by visiting www.thcds-weightloss.com or calling 800-532-3939.

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Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery is a physician-owned facility, as defined by federal law. The hospital is affiliated with, but not controlled by, Texas Health Resources and its subsidiaries. Some of the physicians on the medical staff are partners and own a financial interest in the facility. Physicians on the medical staff who provide services operate as independent medical service providers.

Drs. Joseph Cribbins III and Stephen Hamn of the Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery in Plano.

Photo courtesy of Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery

Drs. Joseph Cribbins III and Stephen Hamn of the Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery in Plano.

health promoted fitness

holiday budgeting news

Affluent Dallas neighbor boasts 4th biggest holiday spenders in 2025

holiday shopping in 2025, Christmas presents wrapped under a tree

Photo by Isaac Martin on Unsplash

Flower Mound residents are expected to spend over $3,900 on their Christmas gifts this year, WalletHub found.

Residents of Dallas' well-to-do suburb Flower Mound aren't stressing about stretching their holiday spending this year: A new report from WalletHub found Flower Mound residents have the fourth-largest holiday budgets in the nation for 2025.

Gift givers in flourishing Flo-Mo are expected to spend $3,941 on their festive presents, says WalletHub's 2025 "Holiday Budgets by City" report.

To determine the U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets, WalletHub's experts compared 558 cities across five categories: Income, age, a debt-to-income ratio, residents' monthly income-to-monthly expenses ratio, and their savings-to-monthly expenses ratio.

According to the study's methodology, a consumer is considered to be in a "comfortable financial position to engage in holiday spending if they have: 1) enough emergency savings to cover at least six months of expenses and 2) a debt-to-income ratio smaller than 22 percent for a renter or 43 percent for a homeowner."

The three U.S. cities that outrank Flower Mound with the loftiest holiday budgets are Palo Alto, California (No. 1); Mountain View, California (No. 2); and Newton, Massachusetts (No. 3). Palo Alto residents are expected to spend nearly $4,500 on their Christmas gifts this year, with the latter cities budgeting for $4,266 and $4,069, respectively.

Flower Mound's current holiday budget is $400 higher than it was in 2024, when the city ranked No. 7 in WalletHub's top-10 list of cities with the biggest holiday spenders. It's also higher than the $3,485 projected budget from the 2023 report, when Flower Mound ranked No. 3 nationally.

Festive neighbor Frisco has continued to slip farther outside of the top-10 for 2025 after previously ranking as the city with the third-highest holiday budgets in 2023. Frisco first fell into No. 11 last year, but now currently sits one spot lower as the U.S. city with the 12th largest holiday budget.

Even with a continued dip in the rankings, Frisco residents are still expected to spend a lofty $3,491 on their holiday presents this year. They're definitely competing with Mr. Claus for the "best Christmas present" award.

Dallas proper moved up the list into No. 193 with a $1,559 projected holiday budget this year, or $153 more than last year's budget. Fort Worth ranked No. 144 nationally with residents expected to spend $1,719 on their gifts, or $637 more than the previous year.

These are the projected holiday budgets for cities elsewhere across North Texas:

No. 28 – Allen ($3,055)
No. 40 – Plano ($2,812)
No. 55 – McKinney ($2,502)
No. 56 – Carrollton ($2,498)
No. 82 – Richardson ($2,146)
No. 96 – North Richland Hills ($1,985)
No. 106 – Lewisville ($1,928)
No. 136 – Irving ($1,772)
No. 144 – Fort Worth ($1,719)
No. 150 – Grand Prairie ($1,703)
No. 172 – Denton ($1,621)
No. 182 – Arlington ($1,557)
No. 277 – Mesquite ($1,323)

Regardless of the dollar amount, North Texans should pay attention to their spending and pick a budget that works for their financial situation, experts say. The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion this year, and the report warns credit card debt is a major challenge faced by many Americans as they plan their holiday shopping sprees.

"The holidays bring plenty of joy, but they can also spark seasonal stress, much of it tied to overspending," the report's author wrote. "In Q3 2025, the average household carried $10,227 in credit card debt, up 2.3 percent from the year before, according to WalletHub data. Adding holiday shopping on top of that can quickly increase the financial strain, especially if balances roll into the new year."

Other Texas cities that made it into the top 100 biggest holiday spenders include:

No. 19 – Pearland ($3,277)
No. 20 – The Woodlands ($3,265)
No. 22 – Sugar Land ($3,191)
No. 31 – Cedar Park ($3,028)
No. 34 – League City ($2,997)
No. 47 – Round Rock ($2,641)

holiday budgets holidays christmas wallethub flower mound dallas fort worth