Gastric bypass surgery malpractice causes need for multi-organ transplant

Trent, PA

Ruth Baer, 37, of Trent had weighed 298 pounds. She had a gastric bypass operation, but the procedure was done wrong and she didn’t know it.

In September 2004, her house burned down. She became ill, but doctors thought it was because of stress. At the time she was working for Woodmen of the World life insurance and was doing a medical study for the U.S. Department of Health. She is now on disability.

“On Sept. 15, I won’t forget it, I was throwing up every day,” she said. “I was on my way home from work and I passed out. I woke up in a cornfield. I told the doctor it was more than my nerves.”

An endoscopic examination showed that gastric bypass surgery done in 2000 had been done incorrectly. Because of the malpractice, food wasn’t bypassing her stomach; it was staying in a secondary pouch and decomposing. The only way to get the food out was to vomit, she said. It damaged her organs.

She had reconstructive surgery at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, then a similar procedure at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh. She had feeding tubes for one year. When her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the transplant program at UPMC Presbyterian.

She became very ill. One day, a home health nurse came in and Baer told her she was dying. More >>

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Live webcast of LAP-BAND® bariatric surgery on March 4, 2008

Kansas City, MO

NewHope Bariatrics announced today a free Web cast of a LAP-BAND® System weight-loss surgery performed by Dr. Stephen Malley, Medical Director of NewHope Bariatrics of Kansas City, followed by a live chat with the surgeon on March 4 at 11 a.m. EST.

This is a free event but registration is required. The live event will include: 1) An interview with a patient; 2) Real-time surgeon's explanation during the procedure; and 3) Live questions from online viewers to an experienced bariatric surgeon.

The surgery will last approximately one hour, followed by the live chat.

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Gastric bypass surgery may help cure diabetes

Alexandria, LA

A lot of people would consider surgery a drastic measure for treating diabetes.

But, a well-respected study, finds gastric lap-band or gastric bypass surgery may help cure the disease.

Even though 50 year old Ben Hunter was obese he didn’t get gastric bypass surgery to lose weight.

“I did it because I had diabetes that was out of control.” said the one time 313 pounder.

And it worked.

According to a new study of 60 diabetic patients, weight loss surgery controls and cures diabetes in 80 percent of the people who had it done.

That compares to about 10% who got treated with medication.

Dr. Alan Whittgrove a bariatric surgeon said, “Very few of them got control of their diabetes with medical treatment whereas with the weight loss from the adjustable band almost 80% lost their diabetes along with loosing their weight.”

It works like this, a lap-band is tightened around the stomach to make it smaller, so you eat less food and lose weight, which controls diabetes.

In gastric bypass surgery, the intestine is cut and re-attached to the stomach, so food is not absorbed in the usual way which also controls and sometimes cures diabetes. More>>

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Gastric bypass surgery may help cure diabetes

Alexandria, LA

A lot of people would consider surgery a drastic measure for treating diabetes.

But, a well-respected study, finds gastric lap-band or gastric bypass surgery may help cure the disease.

Even though 50 year old Ben Hunter was obese he didn’t get gastric bypass surgery to lose weight.

“I did it because I had diabetes that was out of control.” said the one time 313 pounder.

And it worked.

According to a new study of 60 diabetic patients, weight loss surgery controls and cures diabetes in 80 percent of the people who had it done.

That compares to about 10% who got treated with medication.

Dr. Alan Whittgrove a bariatric surgeon said, “Very few of them got control of their diabetes with medical treatment whereas with the weight loss from the adjustable band almost 80% lost their diabetes along with loosing their weight.”

It works like this, a lap-band is tightened around the stomach to make it smaller, so you eat less food and lose weight, which controls diabetes.

In gastric bypass surgery, the intestine is cut and re-attached to the stomach, so food is not absorbed in the usual way which also controls and sometimes cures diabetes. More>>

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Ask Dr. Hect: Gastric bypass surgery or lap band surgery?

Philadelphia, PA

Question: Which is a better procedure, gastric bypass or gastric LapBand surgery?

Answer: Gastric bypass certainly is more effective, averaging 68 percent excess weight loss after two years vs. 37 percent for gastric band surgery. Both procedures show lasting weight-loss benefits.

But there are some post-procedure differences that should be noted: First, gastric bypass surgery requires continual monitoring of levels of iron, Vitamin B12, folic acid, calcium and Vitamin D. Gastric bypass also has been associated with what is known as "dumping syndrome": The small intestine fills too quickly with undigested food from the stomach, causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and shortness of breath.

LapBand patients require tension adjustments, and additional surgeries may be needed. The LapBand procedure may be the better choice for morbidly obese people who are elderly and frail, or for those not needing massive weight loss.

For appropriate surgical candidates, the benefit of either one is clear: Research shows that four years afterward, there is an 86 percent improvement or resolution in diabetes; a 70 percent reduction in the incidence of elevated cholesterol; a 78 percent reduction in the incidence of hypertension; and an 86 percent reduction in the incidence of sleep apnea.

While both procedures can be lifesaving, there is a small risk of death from either - 0.5 percent mortality risk from gastric bypass surgery and 0.1 percent from LapBand surgery. And there are long-term complications (necessitating removal of the gastric band or conversion to gastric bypass) in 15 to 58 percent of patients who have had the LapBand procedure.

Mitchell Hecht is a physician specializing in internal medicine. Send questions to: Ask Dr. H, Box 767787, Atlanta, Ga. 30076. Because of the volume of mail, personal replies are not possible.

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Texas man has gastric bypass surgery, loses 500 pounds

Houston, Texas

A man who weighed 1,035 pounds a few months ago, has now lost almost half his weight! This all thanks to a doctor who has given him his life back.

In April of last year, 40-year-old Kenneth Brumley was bedridden. He had been confined to bed for four years.

He, literally, had to be cut out of his home in Spring, Texas.

Brumley was taken to Renaissance Hospital where he underwent a series of bariatric and skin reduction surgeries.

He has now lost 500 pounds and is able to get into a chair.

Brumley plans to get to the point where he can walk out of the hospital and he hopes it will be in no more than 6 months from now.

But he knows this will take some work from his part. His first goal is to be able to stand and take steps. Brumley does physical therapy on a daily basis.

He plans to get his life back on track by joining a church, getting involved in the community and even going back to school and work.

Brumley wants to be an inspiration to others and show them that you can overcome being morbidly obese.

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Teens having gastric bypass surgery and lap band procedure to lose weight

Chicago, IL

On yesterday’s ‘Oprah’ TV show we got to see teens that underwent either lapband or gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight. Gastric Bypass and lapband procedure are similar in that they goal is to reduce the size of their stomachs to lose weight. The lapband procedure is more reversible in that they do not create a smaller stomach; they use a band to constrict the flow of food. Gastric bypass is a permanent procedure that the surgeons create a smaller stomach.

One teenager underwent lapband surgery in Tijuana Mexico at the age of 13. The mother said that she would have done it in the US, but nobody would do this procedure for someone this young. The daughter seemed to be happy with the results and has trimmed down. More >>

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On Oprah: Should obese teens have gastric bypass surgery?

Houston, TX

Should obese teens have gastric bypass surgery? That was the focus of Monday’s “Oprah.”

The talk show queen interviewed a Houston family and their doctor.

Nathaniel Williams, 18, used to weigh 340 pounds. Then he had gastric bypass surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital last month.

Dr. Mary Brandt, the director of the Bariatric Surgery program at the hospital, performed the surgery.

Oprah.com - Should a 340-lb. teen have gastric bypass?

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