Before gastric bypass surgery, a commitment to change a lifestyle

Pittsburgh, PA

After the birth of her third child, Karen Elliott noticed her weight was steadily creeping up. By the time she hit 280 pounds, Elliott knew something needed to be done. She chose to have gastric bypass surgery at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital.

"It has really saved my life," said Elliott, 47, of Greensburg.

Choosing surgery was easy, Elliott said -- even an invasive procedure that reduced the size of her stomach and left her unable to eat big meals.

The hard part was taking the steps required before doctors would consent to the procedure. More >>

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Despite risks, gastric-bypass surgeries soar

Orlando, FL

Gastric-bypass procedures can be effective -- but require a lifelong commitment.

Monica Ramos lost about 200 pounds the hard way.

In 2004, a doctor stapled her stomach and rerouted her intestines.

A year later, Ramos collapsed in her Orlando home and was rushed to the hospital, where she needed another operation to stop internal bleeding.

Her weight-loss surgery represents the gamble that legions of morbidly obese Americans are taking every year. For many, it is worth the risk.

When Ramos had her initial operation, she was on 17 medications for diabetes and other ailments. Today, she needs no prescriptions. Her diabetes is gone; she feels great.

But the soft-spoken nursing student warns that surgery is not a cure for obesity.

"This is a lifelong commitment, and there are going to be days when you're sorry you've made this commitment," said Ramos, 26, who runs a support group in Orlando for weight-loss-surgery pa- tients.

If current trends continue, she will be busy. More >>

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Gastric Bypass Surgery on Again for 500 lb. Florida Man, New Insurance Covers Bariatric Surgery

Orlando, FL

Neal Pittard, the dangerously overweight Longwood man who came within 3 1/2 weeks of gastric-bypass surgery last summer, is still waiting for the procedure that he and his doctors think will save his life.

Pittard's plight was chronicled earlier this year after Florida Hospital's in-house insurance company refused to cover the procedure. Florida Hospital offers gastric-bypass surgery at its Celebration Health campus, touting the procedure as "the only proven consistently effective treatment for morbid obesity."

Pittard, who is 34 and weighs 500 pounds, was insured through his wife, then a nurse at Florida Hospital Orlando. His doctors strongly recommended gastric-bypass surgery for Pittard, but Florida Hospital's insurance policy does not cover it.
More >>

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Bariatric surgeon performs rare gastric bypass surgery in Cedar Falls

Waterloo, IA

Of the 11 cases of a rare laparoscopic surgery reported worldwide, one has been performed here in the Cedar Valley.

Dr. J. Matthew Glascock, medical director for the Midwest Institute of Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery located at Sartori Memorial Hospital, heads the team of medical professionals who recently performed a laparoscopic Roux-ex-Y gastric bypass with visceral malrotation.

Visceral malrotation is the twisting of the intestines, which occurs in the womb, Glascock said. While 75 percent of patients with malrotation are diagnosed by the age of 1, 25 percent aren't diagnosed until adulthood. These are usually discovered when the patient is undergoing another procedure or during an autopsy.

While Glascock routinely performs the Roux-ex-Y gastric bypass operation, it is rare to perform one with a patient with visceral malrotation. More >>

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Teen Opts for Gastric Bypass Surgery

New York, NY

Girl, 17, discusses long battle with obesity and decision to gastric bypass surgery.

When she was in the third grade, Amanda Baron bent the scales at 200 pounds, and in the next eight years she did everything she could to lose weight – personal trainers, fat camps, diets. Finally, at the age of just 17 and with her weight pushing 250 pounds, she underwent bariatric surgery (gastric bypass surgery) to reduce the effective size of her stomach. more >>

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Carnie Wilson: Life after Gastric Byass Surgery

New York, NY

Carnie Wilson sat with down with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb and Natalie Morales on Tuesday, cradling a cup of coffee — and thinking about all the things she could eat with it.

“It will always be a battle,” she said in reference to her lifetime war with her weight and an addictive personality that also led her on the road to alcoholism. “I’m a little up right now,” she went on, talking about her weight. “I go a little down, a little up.” more >>

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Woman on death bed warns of gastric bypass surgery dangers

December 2, 2007

As she lay dying, Jan Malcolm made her husband promise.

"Tommy, we've got to tell people," she said. "If I live through this, we need to warn everyone so that no one else has to suffer like this. If I die, you must warn everyone so they will be aware of what to do to avoid this."

The last words T.F. "Tom" Malcolm heard from his wife of 47 years were, "You were right." more >>

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Gastric bypass surgery gives 38-year-old new opportunities

December 1, 2007

Four years ago, Wendy Juliano struggled with health problems and could barely walk up a flight of stairs or bend over to tie her shoes, all because of her weight.

The Gilbert 38-year-old wanted her life back. So in March 2004, she underwent gastric bypass surgery, which created a small stomach pouch to restrict her food intake.

At 5 foot, 4 1/2 inches tall, she went from 290 pounds to her lowest at 123 pounds.

She was able to stop taking her heart and asthma medicine, stopped her breathing treatments and has a renewed sense of energy and self-worth.

“I’m a full-time wife, full-time student, full-time employee, full-time mom and full-time grandma,” said Juliano, who is due in March with her third child. more >>

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Some Obese Gastric Bypass Patients Too Big for Imaging Devices

November 28, 2007

Morbidly obese patients who undergo bariatric surgery and then experience complications are often too big to undergo routine diagnostic tests.

For example, if a person weighs more than 350 lbs -- and is obviously at risk of heart disease -- that individual cannot receive a diagnostic angiography because the standard angiography table cannot support that much weight. And if a computer tomography scan is required and the patient weighs in excess of 450 lbs, that person, likewise will have to undergo risky open surgery because the scanning devices cannot handle that much weight.

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Carnie Wilson re-gains most of weight lost after gastric bypass surgery

November 29, 2007

Singer CARNIE WILSON is struggling with her weight again after piling on the pounds following the birth of her baby daughter. The Wilson Phillips star underwent gastric bypass surgery in 1999 when she weighed an estimated 300 pounds (136 kilograms) - but insists that wasn't the end of her weight worries. Wilson admits she's still fighting to get fit after weighing in at 240 pounds (108.8 kilograms) following the birth of baby Lola in April, 2005. She says, "I was back to 240 pounds after I had my baby. It's (weight) never going to be what I want it to be, always when I want it to be. I'm struggling with 30 (pounds) now."

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