tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52174671465443418162010-03-13T21:02:33.500-08:00Gastric Bypass Surgery NewsThe latest gastric bypass surgery news and information about all bariatric (medical weight-loss) surgical procedures.iLitigatenoreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-14581444086037144262010-03-13T21:02:00.000-08:002010-03-13T21:02:33.509-08:00Gastric bypass surgery increases risk of kidney stones, study reports<a href="http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=8510" rel="nofollow">Kidney stone risk increased by gastric bypass surgery</a><br /><br />Dallas, TX<blockquote>Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience changes in their urine composition that increase their risk of developing kidney stones, research from UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators suggests.<br /><br />A new study, published in the March issue of The Journal of Urology, found that some of these urinary changes place weight-loss surgery patients at higher risk for developing kidney stones than obese patients who do not undergo the procedure.<br /><br />For the study, researchers collected urine samples from 38 study participants. There were 16 women and three men in each of two groups. One group had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery; the second group contained normal obese individuals. RYGB, which is one of the most commonly performed weight-loss procedures, involves the creation of a small gastric pouch and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine.<br /><br />The researchers found that the excretion of a material called oxalate in urine was significantly greater in the participants who had the surgical procedure than those who did not (47 percent, compared with 10.5 percent, respectively). In addition, the amount of a chemical called citrate in the urine was low in many gastric bypass patients in comparison to the obese nonsurgical group (32 percent to 5 percent).<br /><br />Oxalate is found in the majority of kidney stones, while citrate inhibits stone formation.<br /><br />“Almost half of the patients who had undergone gastric bypass and did not have a history of kidney stones showed high urine oxalate and low urine citrate – factors that lead to kidney-stone formation,” said Dr. Naim Maalouf, assistant professor of internal medicine in the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research and the study’s lead author.<br /><br />The cause for stone formation after bariatric surgery is not entirely clear, but the study reinforces the message that weight-loss surgery patients and their physicians should be alert to the heightened risk, Dr. Maalouf said.<br /><br />“These findings illustrate that the majority of patients are at risk for kidney-stone formation after RYGB,” Dr. Maalouf said. “This complication may not be well-recognized in part because it tends to occur months to years after the bypass surgery.”</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-1458144408603714426?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-18822081825508331142010-03-13T20:23:00.000-08:002010-03-13T20:23:10.811-08:00Study to examine Gastric Bypass for treatment of diabetes in non-obese patients<a href="http://www.weightlosssurgerychannel.com/breaking-wls-news/study-to-examine-gastric-bypass-for-treatment-of-diabetes-in-non-obese.html/" rel="nofollow">Gastric bypass surgery to treat diabetes in non-obese patients?</a><br /><br />New York, NY<blockquote>Patients with a body mass index below 35 generally do not qualify for weight loss surgery. But, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City are embarking on a new study to determine whether gastric bypass surgery can be an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes in people who are overweight but not obese.<br /><br /> The study aims to explore the correlation of diabetes and clinical obesity. Lead researcher Dr. Francesco Rubino notes that many people with a lower BMI can develop diabetes, and likewise, that someone who is severely obese could be diabetes free.<br /><br /> “For this reason alone, we need to start questioning whether BMI should be the only clinically appropriate way to decide who gets diabetes-targeted surgery,” Dr. Rubino said in a recent press statement. Diabetes affects more than 200 million people worldwide, and several studies have demonstrated that gastric bypass surgery can lead to spontaneous improvement or even resolution of the disease.<br /><br />Dr. Rubino generally performs the standard Roux-en-Y bypass procedure in patients with a BMI over 35. Now, the potential benefits of the procedure are being extended to 50 non-obese patients as part of the current study.</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawyer</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-1882208182550833114?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-53264457777495822832010-03-04T20:53:00.000-08:002010-03-04T20:53:32.558-08:00Stomaphyx: Gastric bypass pouch repair<a href="http://www.kens5.com/news/Stomaphyx-a-novel-approach-to-fixing-a-gastric-bypass-pouch-that-has-stretched-85993307.html">Stomaphyx a novel approach to fixing a gastric bypass pouch that has stretched</a><br /><br />San Antonio, TX<blockquote><br />Bariatric surgery has been a real boon for patients who need to lose massive amounts of weight. But sometimes, the small pouches created by gastric bypass procedures expand. Now, there’s a new procedure to help fix that problem.<br />Claudia Sisk, 51, of San Antonio lost more than 80 pounds after her original bypass surgery several years ago, but her pouch began to expand and she started regaining unwanted weight.<br /> <br />“Now I see myself eating a little more than usual so that’s why I went back and asked what else, was there a way they could tighten this pouch and make it smaller,” Sisk said.<br /> <br />“Previously, we would have to go in and operate and make incisions on the skin,” explained Dr. Mickey Seger, a bariatric surgeon. “It’s a very high risk operation. There’s over a 40% chance of having a problem or a complication with a re-do surgery like that.”<br /> <br />At Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hopsital, Sisk had a new procedure called Stompahyx. No cuts in the abdomen. The surgeon uses an endoscope to look down into the pouch, and a special tool to make it smaller.<br /> <br />Here’s how it works. The instrument is guided into the stomach. A vacuum sucks a small piece of tissue into the tube, and then the device injects a fastener into place, creating a fold in the stomach. A series of folds literally closes down the pouch, making it harder for the patient to overeat.<br /> <br />“It’ll dramatically reduce the amount of food she can take before being full,” Seger said. “Whereas now she can eat pretty much a regular-sized meal, we’ll be able to get her satisfied with less than a cup.”<br /> <br />The procedure takes less than an hour. There are no cuts and no scars. Sisk is hopeful this novel approach will be the help she needs to achieve her goal.<br /> <br />“Hopefully, I’ll get under 200,” Sisk stated. “I want to be, you know, 180 to 200.”<br /> <br />There is no big recovery with this procedure. Patients are out of the hospital within 24 hours and back to work almost immediately. The idea is that they’ll start losing weight once again.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5326445777749582283?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-37704238541275822502010-02-21T20:00:00.000-08:002010-02-21T20:00:19.964-08:00Heavier patients carry increased risk in gastric bypass and other bariatric surgery<a href="http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/feb/19/heavier-patients-carry-increased-risk-in/?local" rel="nofollow">Higher risk for heavier patients in bariatric, gastric bypass surgery</a><br /><br />Chattanooga, TN<blockquote>For someone who weighs more than 500 pounds, the options for reaching a healthy weight can seem slim, but local bariatric surgeons say there is hope.<br /><br />Dr. Jaime Ponce, medical director of bariatric surgery at Chattanooga's Gastric Band Institute, said special measures must be taken to operate on patients classified as super-obese and super-super-obese -- who have a body mass index above 50 and 60, respectively -- but it can be done.<br /><br />"You have to take a totally different approach," Dr. Ponce said.<br /><br />That means measuring to ensure the patient can fit on the operating table, working in a hospital certified to handle such patients and putting the person on a strict diet before surgery, he said.<br /><br />Dr. Ponce performs about 300 bariatric surgeries each year, and he said 25 percent of those are on patients who have a BMI above 50.<br /><br />Before the procedure, it's essential the patient is clear on what to expect from the experience, he said. Weight loss results often are less in patients with BMIs above 50, compared to those who are in the 35 to 45 range, Dr. Ponce said.<br /><br />"They need to understand there is more risk," he said. "Every time the BMI goes up, there is more risk of bleeding because you're pulling fat to be able to see, and fat can start bleeding. There's more risk of damaging internal structures, more risk of having a breathing problem when trying to put the patient to sleep."<br /><br />Despite the increased danger, for some patients the rewards are worth the risks.<br /><br />Ducktown, Tenn., resident Sonya Standridge, 38, became one of Dr. Ponce's patients two years ago when she had Lap-Band bariatric surgery. She had a BMI of 63 before the surgery, which has dropped to 34 since the procedure.<br /><br />With the Lap-Band, a small silicone tube is fastened around the upper stomach to create a tiny stomach pouch, slowing digestion and making the person feel full with less food.<br /><br />Ms. Standridge said she has good days and bad days, but ultimately the surgery was the right choice for her. Being a nurse, she said she knew the risks beforehand and felt it was her "last resort option."<br /><br />WHAT IS BMI?<br /><br />Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.<br /><br />"If you asked me today would I have the surgery again, the answer is absolutely, 100 percent, no questions asked," Ms. Standridge said. "I had never felt the feeling of fullness before, so I would literally eat until I was gluttoned."<br /><br />Local bariatric surgeon Dr. Jack Rutledge said there are two main factors that put high BMI patients at a greater risk than other patients.<br /><br />The first, he said, is that people who fall into that category generally are unhealthy. Secondly, the additional weight creates a situation where it is more difficult to move instruments inside the body.<br /><br />What he suggests to patients who are super-obese or super-super-obese is to first lose weight.<br /><br />"I think they do have hope, but it's going to be expensive and it's going to be complicated," Dr. Rutledge said. "But there is a way to lose 100 pounds."<br /><br />That's what 50-year-old Rossville resident Jimmy Allmond is trying to do now. After being told the increased risks of performing procedures on his 510-pound body, he decided to try to lose weight the old-fashioned way.<br /><br />But he's still not sure on whether he'll eventually have surgery.<br /><br />"With all that going on, I'm still not sure," he said. "If I can lose it without it, that would be good."<blockquote>BARIATRIC SURGERIES<br /><br />* Gastric band: A ring is fastened on the top of the stomach, creating a small pouch. The ring has a balloon portion that can be filled with fluid to limit the amount of food the patient can eat. The apparatus acts as an hourglass, and food sits on top and slowly trickles down into the stomach. This is the least invasive of the bariatric surgeries.<br /><br />* Gastric bypass: The top portion of the stomach is cut and stapled to create a small pouch. The rest of the stomach and the first portion of the intestines are then re-routed. The patient can eat only small portions, and some of the food does not get absorbed. This is the most invasive of the bariatric surgeries.<br /><br />* Sleeve gastrectomy: About 80 percent of the stomach is taken out, creating a small, banana-like sleeve. It allows patients to eat less and feel less hungry because the procedure removes some hormones that signal hunger. This is the newest of the bariatric surgeries.<br /><br />Source: Dr. Jaime Ponce, medical director of the Gastric Band Institute</blockquote></blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Injury and Wrongful Death Lawsuits</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-3770423854127582250?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-10417686912570579802010-02-10T19:03:00.000-08:002010-02-10T19:03:06.405-08:00Wife's cause of death after gastric bypass surgery still unknown to North Carolina man<a href="http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/02/08/974477" rel="nofollow">North Carolina county official dies after gastric bypass surgery, cause unknown</a><br /><br />Fayetteville, NC<blockquote>A Bladen County commissioner died Saturday of complications from gastric bypass surgery.<br /><br />Margaret Lewis-Moore, of Clarkton, worked in the Bladen County Schools Central Office as the child drop-out prevention coordinator. She was 55.<br /><br />Her husband, Marion Moore, said the cause of death had not officially been determined, but Lewis-Moore had undergone gastric bypass surgery in Fayetteville on Tuesday.<br /><br />She returned home Thursday, but soon fell ill, Marion Moore said. She died at 3 p.m. Saturday.<br /><br />Lewis-Moore was in her third term on the Board of Commissioners. She was first elected in 2000.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Wrongful Death Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-1041768691257057980?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-58588810810934123682010-02-01T20:07:00.000-08:002010-02-01T20:07:32.959-08:00After bariatric surgery, bus drive loses weight and gains confidenceTampa Bay, FL<blockquote>Jackie Chandler, 51, of Thonotosassa is a longtime bus driver with the Hillsborough County School District. She decided last year to have gastric bypass surgery and has lost at least 65 pounds since. She weighed 300 pounds before the surgery.<br /> <br />Chandler is pictured before her surgery, above, and after it, below. Since the surgery, there are things she can't eat, like pasta and ice cream. But her sleep apnea problems have subsided, and her diabetes medications have been cut.Chandler is pictured before her surgery, above, and after it, below. Since the surgery, there are things she can't eat, like pasta and ice cream. But her sleep apnea problems have subsided, and her diabetes medications have been cut.<br />Chandler is pictured before her surgery, above, and after it, below. Since the surgery, there are things she can’t eat, like pasta and ice cream. But her sleep apnea problems have subsided, and her diabetes medications have been cut.<br /><br />Every year, about 250,000 people in the United States undergo surgery to lose weight, paying — or having their insurance companies pay — tens of thousands of dollars for procedures that essentially restrict how much food they can take in.<br /><br />But are the surgeries safe? Do they work? And can they help treat diabetes, hypertension and other conditions caused or made worse by obesity?<br /><br />Increasingly, the answer in the medical community is yes, yes and yes.<br /><br />Doctors and others are bolstered by studies like one this month that showed improved outcomes and lower complication rates among Type 2 diabetes.<br /><br />And they're encouraged by the endorsements of groups like the American Society for Nutrition and the Obesity Society, which called bariatric surgery "the most effective weight-loss therapy for obesity." Or the American Diabetes Association, which last year for the first time recommended bariatric surgery as a treatment option.<br /><br />"We would not have imagined that day 10 years ago," Tampa bariatric surgeon Michel Murr said of the Diabetes Association's endorsement. "We've seen quite a shift of attitude."<br /><br />Such acceptance likely will lead to a continued increase in surgeries, but also place greater pressure on public and private insurers to cover more of them.<br /><br />Still, Murr and others caution that bariatric surgery is a major medical procedure and isn't for everyone, such as children and adolescents, or adults who are overweight but not considered obese. They also don't consider surgery a magic bullet for curing the country's obesity epidemic.<br /><br />"We only operate on about 250,000 patients a year from a population of 30 million in the U.S. who are obese," Murr said. "In that regard, what are we going to do with the other 29,750,000?"<br /><br />• • •<br /><br />Most patients choose either a gastric bypass, which involves cutting and stapling the stomach, or gastric banding, which places an adjustable silicone ring around the top portion of the stomach. In both cases, a smaller pouch is created — the idea being that with less food filling a smaller stomach, patients lose weight.<br /><br />Acceptance among the medical community has come slowly. Though the first procedures were performed in the 1960s, it was relatively uncommon even through the early 1990s.<br /><br />"It was a very narrow field," said Murr, who started the bariatric surgery program at Tampa General Hospital in 1998. Primary care doctors weren't referring their obese patients for surgery. And most insurance wasn't covering it.<br /><br />Murr said a number of factors helped shift the landscape. For one, more Americans were becoming obese. And second, the surgeries became safer and less invasive with the introduction of the laproscopic approach in the 1990s, which used several smaller abdominal incisions instead of a large one. Another major advance was the introduction of adjustable gastric bands in the past decade.<br /><br />Then came the studies that showed the procedures were safer, had better outcomes and helped reduce or even eliminate chronic conditions associated with obesity. The most recent study appeared this month in Archives of Surgery, which showed lower complication rates and shorter hospital stays for Medicare beneficiaries who had the procedure after Medicare implemented certain criteria for prospective patients.<br /><br />Medicare covers the procedures for people who are severely obese (body mass index of 35 or higher) and have a condition associated with obesity such as diabetes.<br /><br />How much has the landscape changed?<br /><br />"About half of the patients sent to my practice are directed by physicians," says Dr. John Baker, president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, who performs about 240 procedures a year at his Little Rock, Ark., practice.<br /><br />• • •<br /><br />But what about losing weight through diet and exercise?<br /><br />Other studies have shown it is possible. The Louisiana Obese Subjects Study released this past month showed successes when placing participants in a structured medically supervised program.<br /><br />And then there are the morbidly obese contestants on the popular TV show The Biggest Loser, who season after season lose large amounts of weight through improved diet and an intense exercise regimen.<br /><br />Baker says those successes tend to be few and far between. Plus, "not all of us have a trainer that's going to push us to the limit every day."<br /><br />• • •<br /><br />Murr says people like Jackie Chandler are becoming a more typical obesity success story. The 51-year-old Hillsborough County school bus driver struggled with diabetes and sleep apnea and carried 300 pounds on her 5-foot-8 frame before deciding last year to have a gastric bypass surgery. Her BMI was 44.<br /><br />Her insurance company, Humana, covered the procedure, which Murr said typically costs about $27,000 (gastric band procedures cost about $17,000).<br /><br />Since Murr performed the surgery last September, Chandler has lost 65 pounds, no longer has trouble sleeping and is taking one medication for diabetes, instead of five.<br /><br />Though the results so far have been positive, Chandler knows the surgery was just a tool to help her lose weight. The rest, she says, is up to her.<br /><br />"I can't eat as much as I'd like to," she says. "Can't eat spaghetti anymore. Can't eat ice cream or chocolate." Patients have some dietary restrictions after surgery, and some experience nausea with certain foods.<br /><br />And it's early. Studies suggest that bariatric patients can regain a significant amount of their lost weight. One 2004 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the percentage of weight lost for gastric bypass patients decreased from 38 percent after one year to 25 percent after 10 years.<br /><br />But, the study notes, the improvement in their chronic conditions such as diabetes mitigated the fact they regained some weight.<br /><br />Studies have also found that gastric bypass patients can suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies if they don't carefully manage their diets.<br /><br />• • •<br /><br />Surgeons say there's still a long way to go toward addressing the nation's obesity problem.<br /><br />The percentage of obese people having bariatric surgery is small. And though surgery is covered for Medicare beneficiaries who meet certain criteria, insurance coverage for the general population is limited.<br /><br />Humana, for example, doesn't offer it as a standard benefit; rather, it's offered as a buy-up option for employer groups with more than 3,000 members, said Dr. Jill Sumfest, the company's market medical officer for Central Florida. Currently, five groups in Central Florida offer it.<br /><br />Members need to meet certain age and BMI requirements, and must have participated in a physician-directed weight management program for at least six months in the last two years.<br /><br />Murr feels that's too restrictive. After all, he says, you don't tell someone that they have to have breast cancer or heart disease for a minimum period before you cover them.<br /><br />He says Medicare has led the way for coverage; now it's up to private insurance companies and employers to recognize the benefits.<br /><br />"There are enough studies now that the operation will pay for itself in two to three years . . . with the reduction of costs associated with other illnesses like hypertension, sleep apnea and diabetes," Murr said.<br /><br />Both Murr and Baker say the real solution lies in comprehensive obesity management programs that include surgery as a choice. They say programs should include ways to curb the rising obesity rates among children and adolescents, such as better nutrition in schools and increased physical activity.<br /><br />So, is the goal to get people to manage their weight so they don't get to the point where they need surgery?<br /><br />"That's too ideal," Murr said. </blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Bariatric Surgery Malpractice Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5858881081093412368?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-9696142650533482162010-01-28T18:27:00.000-08:002010-01-28T18:27:05.559-08:00Some doctors worry about overuse of weight-loss surgery: Others excited about gastric bypass surgery for moderately obeseKalamazoo, MI<blockquote>As gastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries are becoming more popular for weight loss and as minimally invasive surgical techniques are developed, some health professionals worry that the procedures may be overused.<br /><br />“I think it’s wrong to do it on people who are minimally overweight,” said Dr. Jerome Cooper.<br /><br />Cooper is the medical director of the Medical Weight Loss Clinic, a Southfield-based business that has 34 locations in Michigan and northern Ohio, including one in the Kalamazoo area.<br /><br />“Bariatric surgery is a last resort, as I see it,” said Cooper, who was trained as a bariatric physician but has not done bariatric surgery.<br /><br />He was raising his concerns in response to a recent Los Angeles Times report saying that new, incisionless techniques that are now in human trials at major hospitals may end up broadening the use of bariatric surgery to people who are only moderately overweight or on the lower end of the obesity scale.<br /><br />“I think 100 pounds overweight or more with co-morbidity (another health condition such as diabetes) is a good rule to follow,” Cooper said.<br /><br />The clinics that Cooper oversees are devoted to medically supervised weight loss through diet, exercise and medication. “We do some referrals for bariatric surgery” when it’s appropriate, he said.<br /><br />“Bariatric surgery does offer the best results of any weight-loss treatment available today,” Cooper said, “but it’s not without the possible recurrence of weight gain, and there are post-surgical issues” such as the risks of leakage, bowel obstruction and dumping syndrome, which is involuntary vomiting or defecation.<br /><br />“The risks of bariatric surgery must be weighed against the risks of being morbidly obese (overweight by 100 pounds or more or with a body mass index of 40 or greater), diabetes, arthritic problems, heart problems, certain cancers,” Cooper said. “It’s appropriate for the right people.”<br /><br /><b>Divided opinions</b><br /><br />Health professionals at major medical centers who were quoted in the L.A. Times report — and in a similar Chicago Tribune story — were about evenly divided on using bariatric surgery in those who are not extremely obese.<br /><br />Some said the surgery is underused as a way to deal with Type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related health problems, while others said the surgery carries the risk of long-term complications and that diet changes, exercise and medication should be recommended instead for the overweight or moderately obese.<br /><br />The L.A. Times noted that statistics from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery show bariatric surgery rates have doubled in the United States in the past six years, with 220,000 of the procedures done in 2008.<br /><br />Diabetes, though, is on the rise, too, and studies show bariatric surgery is achieving good results in controlling that disease in patients with BMIs between 30 and 35, said Dr. Stuart Verseman, who has been medical director of bariatric surgery at Borgess Medical Center since October 2005 and does bariatric surgery at both Borgess and Bronson Methodist Hospital.<br /><br />“They’re finding a marked improvement in their diabetes after bariatric surgery and a decreased usage of medication,” Verseman said.<br /><br />An example of someone with a BMI of 30 would be a person who is 5-foot-9 inches tall and weighs 203 pounds. That person would be 35 pounds above the normal weight range for that height, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<br /><br />While that example might not strike some people as a case of obesity, Verseman said that “even people with BMIs of 30 are considered clinically obese.”<br /><br />Verseman, following National Institutes of Health guidelines, does bariatric surgery only on those with a body mass index of 35 or more and certain related medical conditions or 40 or more without those conditions.<br /><br />But he said he finds it “very exciting to think about offering that to a larger population, especially with the number of diabetics increasing astronomically every year.”<br /><br />Verseman is the only surgeon in Kalamazoo currently doing bariatric operations. Dr. Alan Saber, who had been the main physician doing bariatric surgery at Bronson, left in November and now works at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals, in Cleveland.<br /><br />Verseman, like Cooper, said bariatric surgery should never be the first choice for weight loss. But he is much more open to the potential of its use in the moderately obese who have diabetes, high blood pressure or other weight-related conditions.<br /><br />Krista Hampton, a registered dietitian who is Bronson’s bariatric coordinator, sees the value of bariatric surgery for the extremely obese, but she expressed reservations about using it in people who are overweight or moderately obese.<br /><br />“Coming from my background, I would want someone to exhaust all other weight-management options first,” she said.<br /><br /><b>Surgery and support</b><br /><br />Bariatric surgery is on the rise at Borgess and Bronson, as it is nationwide. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, there were 14 bariatric surgeries at Borgess. From July 2008 through June 2009, there were 187 at Borgess, and in the last six months of 2009 there were 110, according to Rebecca Blades, a registered nurse who leads the Borgess bariatric program.<br /><br />Bronson, which started its bariatric program in 2007, did 47 surgeries that year, 99 in 2008 and 112 in 2009, said public-relations specialist Erin Smith.<br /><br />Verseman said his bariatric surgeries have had a major-complications rate of 2 percent, while the national average is 3.5 percent.<br /><br />Representatives of both hospitals emphasized that they carefully screen those interested in bariatric surgery and offer continued support to those who get the surgery, trying to help them avoid overeating and stay active.<br /><br />Borgess, for example, offers support groups, both in person and online, and offers classes in active living, Blades said.<br /><br />“None of these operations are cures,” Verseman said. “They’re tools to help patients. And it’s a team approach we take, involving a dietitian, a psychotherapist, the primary-care physician. Patients need to follow guidelines afterward to improve their medical conditions.”<br /><br />“If you start grazing, over time you can get a lot of calories in even after surgery,” Verseman said.<br /><br />But if people getting bariatric surgery have to learn to make dietary and behavioral changes and stick with those changes to lose weight, why not instead work closely with people to support new eating habits and more exercise without doing bariatric surgery?<br /><br />“I wouldn’t have somebody undergo bariatric surgery who has never attempted anything else before,” Verseman said. “Almost every patient (who undergoes bariatric surgery) has completed numerous diets” but has not succeeded in losing enough weight to improve their medical condition, he said.<br /><br />“You don’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘I want to have gastric bypass surgery.’”<br /><br />The surgery helps people feel full and therefore have less of an urge to eat, Verseman said. One type of surgery he does — a sleeve gastrectomy — takes out 75 percent of the stomach and gets rid of the hormone that causes hunger, he said.<br /><br />Even without bariatric surgery, though, people can learn to ease feelings of intense hunger, Hampton said, by increasing the protein and fiber in their diets and decreasing the kinds of high-carbohydrate foods that cause blood sugar to spike and then drop.<br /><br />She said some people who enter a weight-management program at Bronson with the idea of getting bariatric surgery decide not to have it once they learn to cook and eat differently, get more exercise and overcome some behavioral issues.<br /><br />“We need to get back to the basics of how to cook and how to meal plan,” she said. “Convenience food is way too easy to get our hands on.”<br /><br />Verseman expressed a similar sentiment but said he is glad he can help improve people’s lives through bariatric surgery.<br /><br />“To see people get over medical conditions and get their lives back ... is really gratifying,” he said.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Lawyers</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-969614265053348216?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-33379510738448381942010-01-24T18:57:00.000-08:002010-01-24T18:57:10.285-08:00Risks of bariatric rurgery reduced by preoperative weight loss before surgeryTrenton, NJ<blockquote>As part of the preoperative process for preparing for bariatric (weight loss) surgery, many programs require a strict diet to promote weight loss before the procedure. A new study published in the Archives of Surgery finds that this protocol could reduce the risk of surgical complications.<br /><br />Dr. Peter Benotti of the Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton NJ reviewed the medical records of 881 patients who had gastric bypass surgery between 2002 and 2006 for weight loss. All patients completed a 6-month multidisciplinary program that encouraged a 10% preoperative weight loss.<br /><br />Those who lost more than 10% of their excess body weight were less likely to have postoperative complications such as infections, blood clots, and kidney problems. Conversely, the post-surgery complication rate was nearly twofold higher in patients who gained weight.<br /><br />The study also affirmed that patients who undergo Laparoscopic bariatric surgery have fewer complications than those who have the more invasive open surgery. This correlation was found regardless of preoperative weight loss. Patients who have open surgery are typically older men with a higher body mass index, according to the results of the study.<br /><br />Bariatric surgery can be an effective and durable treatment for morbid obesity and the number of operations each year is increasing. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the number of bariatric procedures in the Unites States increased from 12,775 in 1998 to about 220,000 in 2008. Because Medicare has approved weight loss surgery when performed in a high-volume approved center, patients seeking the surgery have become older and sicker.<br /><br />In an accompanying editorial commentary, Dr. Patricia L. Turner says “Strategies to further improve outcomes after bariatric surgery are of significant interest. Post operative complications can be particularly difficult to manage and deadly.” As more of the high risk patients seek out surgical weight loss options, doctors are faced with a need to identify risk factors and help patients prepare for successful surgery. The current study suggests that preoperative weight loss may be one step that will help achieve good outcomes.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-3337951073844838194?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-53102979049142803552010-01-19T18:59:00.000-08:002010-01-19T18:59:36.909-08:00Gastric band surgery can help extend lives of obese people, says studyNew York, NY<blockquote>A new study backs up the belief that bariatric surgery is beneficial for losing weight and extending the lives of obese men and women.<br /><br />But the precise pluses of the procedure vary by individual and are influenced by many variables, including a patient’s age, weight and gender, according to the Guardian.<br /><br />The research was carried out at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.<br /><br />In one type of bariatric surgery, a physician wraps a band around the patient’s stomach, reducing its size. Because they feel full faster, people eat less.<br /><br />Over time, they shed weight, which helps to prevent heart attacks, strokes and type 2 diabetes, according to The Guardian.<br /><br />Bariatric surgery is typically given to people whose body mass index (BMI) is over 40.<br /><br />But because any type of surgery comes with risk, including infection, other complications and even death, the study looked at potential positive outcomes versus the inherent danger of undergoing the knife.<br /><br />Age was a significant variable, since younger patients undergoing surgery are less apt to die from surgery or develop complications.<br /><br />Researchers found that for a 42-year-old woman with a body mass index of 45, weight-loss surgery could extend her life by up to 3 years.<br /><br />A 44-year-old man with a BMI of 45, reaped slightly less dramatic results. He could expect to increase his life by 2.6 years after surgery.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Lawsuit Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5310297904914280355?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-78399846759466557762010-01-17T19:01:00.000-08:002010-01-17T19:01:32.363-08:00Da Vinci gastric bypass surgery: Robot assisted surgical system for weight lossKnoxville, TN<blockquote>More and more these days, Dr. Michael Fields is taking a hands-off approach to surgery.<br /><br />Since he began using it in 2006, Fields, an obstetrician/gynecologist at St. Mary's Medical Center, has been one of the da Vinci surgical robot's biggest proponents. He quickly adjusted to the console that allows a surgeon, via a joystick-and-magnified-view-screen system, to manipulate various surgical instruments mounted on robot arms inside small spaces. He touted the advantages of needing only 1- to 2-centimeter incisions for many surgeries: less blood loss, less chance of infection, weeks knocked off of recovery time.<br /><br />By the end of 2009, Fields had performed more than 400 of the robot-assisted surgeries, including the first hysterectomy in the nation using a new laser-robotic tool. He believes the robot has rendered open surgery in his specialty all but obsolete, necessary in just a "fraction of a percent" of cases.<br /><br />Now he's ready to give a hand to others who want to learn robot-assisted surgery.<br /><br />Last month, St. Mary's became the only hospital in Tennessee to be named a Robotic Epicenter for training physicians in robot-assisted gynecological surgery. Mercy Health Partners, which owns the hospital, spent $2.1 million for an upgraded teaching model robot, with two control consoles. It was used for the first time with three Dec. 15 cases.<br /><br />"The guest physician can sit at the second console and look, with 3-D vision, at what I'm doing" during a procedure, Fields said. "This learning technique is very visual because you don't have touch feedback with the robot" as a surgeon using his hands during an open surgery would.<br /><br />Fields, who has already trained some area surgeons on robot-assisted procedures, now will train physicians from around the country at St. Mary's, traveling to their hospitals afterward to proctor their first robot surgeries. He expects colleagues Dr. Chris Ramsey, a urologist, and Dr. Thomas Pollard, a cardiothoracic surgeon, both of whom use the robot frequently, to do some training in their specialties as well.<br /><br /><b>New 'standard of care'</b><br /><br />Knoxville's first da Vinci robot was put into use at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in 2005 after staff urologist Dr. Jeff Flickinger saw one elsewhere and returned to tell his employer that he was sure a Knoxville hospital would get one soon, and he hoped it was Fort Sanders.<br /><br />"I think people got pretty excited right away," said urologist Dr. Edward Tieng, who said Fort Sanders surgeons were already doing a lot of laparoscopic surgeries, but the robot "kind of takes it to a whole new level."<br /><br />Tieng said Fort Sanders urologists use the robot for about 95 percent of prostectomies, and doctors there keep finding new uses for it.<br /><br />Doctors at sister Covenant Health hospital Parkwest Medical Center also have access to the robot. Three years later, Methodist Medical Center at Oak Ridge had its own, the money partially raised in a hospital foundation campaign.<br /><br />The robot, introduced in 2000 by Intuitive Surgical Inc., has become almost a standard of care in America, with the majority of large hospital systems boasting at least one. Three hospitals each in Chattanooga and Nashville have it. In 2007, University of Tennessee Medical Center bought a robot, which is used for heart, prostate and gynecological surgeries. The hospital recently recruited gynecologic oncologist Dr. Larry Kilgore, a Knoxville native who practiced at the University of Alabama-Birmingham for the past 20 years, in part because of his skill using the robot for gynecologic cancer surgeries.<br /><br />And doctors at Baptist West succeeded late last year in convincing Mercy to invest in a robot for that hospital. Installed a few weeks ago, the robot will be used for urologic and gynecologic procedures beginning Jan. 27.<br /><br />"My (robotic surgery) patients have seen great outcomes with less pain and discomfort in the recovery period," said urologist Dr. Christopher Harris, who has used the da Vinci robot at other hospitals and is scheduled to perform Baptist West's first robot-assisted procedure - removal of a prostate gland. "Now it is great to be able to offer them this service at Baptist Hospital West."<br /><br />A monitor shows the robotic tools of the da Vinci surgical system operating on a patient in an operating room.<br /><br />Mercy Hospital gynecologist Dr. Michael Fields has been a staunch advocate for robot surgery in the Knoxville area and has now been selected as a trainer for other surgeons.<br /><br /><b>Trickling down</b><br /><br />Even smaller community hospitals, such as Johnson City Medical Center and Jackson-Madison County Hospital, are making the da Vinci investment - usually about $1.3 million for the robot and several hundred thousand dollars a year in maintenance fees. Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville purchased a da Vinci SI surgical system late last year, which surgeons (some trained by Fields) began using for urological and gynecological procedures in early December.<br /><br />On Dec. 21, bariatric surgeon Dr. Mark Colquitt of Maryville's Foothills Weight Loss Specialists performed the area's first robot-assisted gastric bypass weight-loss surgery, which he did laparoscopically, with several small incisions.<br /><br />"The robotic technology makes hand-sewing much easier by allowing surgeons better access to some of the hard-to-reach abdominal and gastrointestinal areas," said Colquitt, adding that he thinks robot-assisted surgery will become the "preferred method" for bariatric surgery. "This allows us to perform the delicate and challenging bypass procedure with even greater precision. The most important advantage is the ability to make very precise incisions and sutures, resulting in the most effective surgical outcomes for our patients."<br /><br />Sonya Newman, Blount Memorial's chief nursing officer and assistant administrator, said the hospital plans to offer robot-assisted thoracic procedures as well.<br /><br />Cookeville Regional Medical Center also has a da Vinci robot, which has been used primarily for prostatectomies, although its use in other fields is growing, said hospital marketing director Melahn Finley.<br /><br />"We've done a lot of marketing," Finley said.<br /><br />Finley said she thinks patients are beginning to expect even smaller hospitals to have the robot, and that area patients, desiring smaller incisions and quicker recovery times, "are starting to request it" and are being referred from places that don't have da Vinci.<br /><br />She said the hospital considers the robot a good investment.<br /><br />"It elevates the perception of your medical center, that you can offer such state-of-the-art technology," Finley said.<br /><br /><b>Future applications</b><br /><br />Fields said the robot also can make surgery easier on the surgeon by eliminating fatigue from standing during a long procedure and by keeping a physician's hands from shaking during delicate motions.<br /><br />Using the console is like having one's hands inside the patient, but allows for more range of motion, making it easier to get up under tissue or do precise dissections, he said. In addition, the video screen provides the surgeon with a better, clearer view, he noted.<br /><br />Fields said the robot is now gaining use for cardiothoracic, colon and ear-nose-and-throat surgeries.<br /><br />"You can reach and access spaces in the throat areas without having to disarticulate the lower jaw," he said.<br /><br />And he wonders if, someday, only a minority of surgeries will not be robot-assisted. After all, he's become amazed at all he can do better with the robot - and he's excited to pass that knowledge on.<br /><br />"All of our hard work over the last three years has been to prepare us" to become a training center, Fields said. To "transfer our knowledge and our incredible patient outcomes that we have to these physicians, for their benefit and for their patients' benefit."</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-7839984675946655776?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-18385435422448058572010-01-08T22:52:00.000-08:002010-01-08T22:52:02.129-08:00Gastric bypass was route to a new life for SheriffMilwaukee, WI<blockquote>A little more than a year has passed since I grazed with John Schroeder at a Christmas party buffet table.<br /><br />At 375 pounds, John knew this territory well - sandwiches, chips, rich dips, shrimp, desserts. But all that was about to change.<br /><br />John, a friend of some friends of mine, told me he was having his stomach stapled a few days later. You know, bariatric surgery. The ol' gastric bypass.<br /><br />His stomach would be reduced from about the size of a football, overinflated in his case, to the size of an egg. I wondered how a guy who clearly lived to eat would possibly manage portions to fit a space that small.<br /><br />Well, I ran into John at the same party this Christmas and hardly recognized him. He had shed enough pounds, about 130, to build an average-size teenager.<br /><br />"I'm still heading down," said the 41-year-old Wauwatosan. The married father of two is a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy assigned to the jail.<br /><br />His goal is to drop 20 more pounds and settle at 225. After falling off at two to three pounds a week, the weight lately has resisted disappearing a bit more.<br /><br />You hear so much about how fat America has become, and it has. John Schroeder doesn't want to play that role anymore. This might be your New Year's resolution, too. Again.<br /><br />A couple years ago, he tried out for TV's "The Biggest Loser," which has turned weight loss into a spectator sport. He got a callback but ultimately was passed over.<br /><br />He seemed to have the right stuff for the show. John of buffet tables past was always hungry.<br /><br />"I fit the old mode, I guess, the doughnut shop and that type of thing," he said.<br /><br />Two hours before dinner, he'd stop at a fast-food drive-through for two big burgers. When the wind was right, he could smell the nearby pizza restaurant and bakery from his backyard spa.<br /><br />"That would basically put me into a trance. I'd walk out of the hot tub and down the street in my swim shorts and unfortunately end up in the store buying pizza," he said.<br /><br />Ice cream seemed to call out his name. His daily calorie intake? He had stopped counting. Never a small guy, he watched his weight go north of 300 and stay there.<br /><br />He once was refused entry to a Disney World ride with his kids because he was too heavy. Airplane seats were brutal. His knees and feet hurt from holding him up. He was reinforcing his buttons with fishing line. The final straw was when he re-injured an old ankle injury from his football-playing days while chasing down a criminal.<br /><br />John found his way to Craig Siverhus, a general/bariatric surgeon at Columbia St Mary's. In December of 2008, after extensive consultations and even psychological testing, Siverhus performed what's known as Roux-en-Y surgery on John, a common form of gastric bypass first done in the 1960s in the United States.<br /><br />A small part of the stomach is cut away and stapled to form a pouch to accept food. The rest of the stomach and duodenum are bypassed to limit absorption, and the small intestine is surgically attached to the pouch, Siverhus explained.<br /><br />The procedure usually results in the loss of 70% to 80% of a person's excess body weight, most of it in the first six months. There are risks. A tiny percentage of patients die. Ulcers and gallstones can appear. Eating sugary foods, pasta, bread or simply too much can make you sick. But Siverhus said the surgery often greatly reduces a patient's risk from high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes and sleep apnea.<br /><br />The surgery can run $25,000 to $30,000. Insurance doesn't always cover it. Luckily for John, his did.<br /><br />"John was a great candidate. He was very well informed, he was very well motivated to proceed with this, and he was willing to make lifestyle changes that would allow him to succeed with it," the doctor said.<br /><br />John's wife, Kate, said people sometimes call this weight loss route a quick fix, but she has seen how radically John has changed his habits. Under stress, he might still hit the fridge, but now it's for yogurt rather than a hot dog with all the fixins.<br /><br />John said Kate occasionally has to remind him to eat. His eyes are still sometimes bigger than his stomach, which isn't saying much. He'll fill a bowl with chili but eat only a small amount. He learned a painful lesson from a Reuben sandwich he chanced on St. Patrick's Day.<br /><br />Kate said her husband has lost his desire to eat out, but some restaurants will charge him for a child's meal when he flashes his bariatric surgery membership card.<br /><br />She'd love to lose 30 pounds herself, using traditional dieting, Kate said. People are always telling John how fabulous he looks now. The family bought bikes and plans more trips to the gym this year. Fewer frozen pizzas are on the horizon.<br /><br />John has spent lots of money on new clothes and work uniforms as the pounds fell off. It's a nice problem to have. His waistline is down to nearly 36 after peaking at 52.<br /><br />In December, for the first time, all four Schroeders appeared in the family Christmas card. John, who used to hate cameras and mirrors, finally wanted to be included. Recently, John noticed his clavicle peeking out from what had been excess fat, and he had to look online to see what it was.<br /><br />For John, eating now means a few ounces at a sitting, about a third of a kid's meal or part of a Lean Cuisine dinner. He eats small pieces of fruit, nuts and veggies, and everything has to be chewed to death. It's crucial to drink enough water, but just sips at a time. He has so much more energy, despite eating so little.<br /><br />What about beer?<br /><br />"You're not supposed to," he said. "But I'm from Milwaukee so, yes, I'll sneak one in periodically."</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawyers</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-1838543542244805857?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-30328992636753716432010-01-08T22:32:00.000-08:002010-01-08T22:32:51.212-08:00"Gastric Banding" not a stand-alone weight loss solutionBuffalo, NY<blockquote>Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic<br />January 8, 2010<br />DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Lately, I've seen a lot of advertisements for lap band surgery for weight loss. How is this different from bariatric surgery, which I don't hear as much about lately? Does it work? What are the dangers?<br /><br />ANSWER: Bariatric surgery is a general term used to describe operations that help a person lose weight more consistently and effectively. The two most common types of bariatric surgery performed in the United States are adjustable gastric banding -- sometimes called lap band surgery -- and gastric bypass surgery.<br /><br />In general, adjustable gastric banding is safe, and serious complications are uncommon. Gastric banding helps people lose weight by restricting the amount of food they can eat. But it's not a stand-alone weight loss solution. For the procedure to be effective, people must be carefully screened to ensure they are good candidates for gastric banding. Follow-up care, along with exercise and healthy eating, also are key to long-term weight loss for people who undergo adjustable gastric banding.<br /><br />Adjustable gastric banding involves placing a small, inflatable band around the upper part of the stomach to restrict the amount of food that the stomach can hold. The band is filled with fluid that can be added or removed as needed through a small tube (port) placed under the skin. Fluid can be added to constrict the stomach if the band isn't tight enough and allows in too much food. Or, fluid can be removed if the band is too tight and is causing problems such as vomiting.<br /><br />In gastric bypass surgery, the surgeon staples the stomach to make a small pouch and then connects the pouch to the small intestine, creating a passage (bypass) around most of the stomach, as well as the first section of the small intestine (duodenum).<br /><br />Both procedures limit the amount of food that can fit in the stomach. Also, after both procedures, people feel full much sooner than normal, which helps decrease the amount of food they eat. One of the noticeable differences between adjustable gastric banding and gastric bypass -- and the one frequently talked about in advertising for gastric banding -- is that gastric bypass surgery usually requires a two-day hospital stay, whereas adjustable gastric banding can be done as an outpatient procedure.<br /><br />Adjustable gastric banding is a low-risk procedure that's less complex than gastric bypass surgery. But as with any medical procedure, complications are possible. With adjustable gastric banding, complications can include infection of the band or the port, and movement of a portion of the stomach -- that's supposed to be below the band -- up through the band (slippage). The most serious complication associated with adjustable gastric banding is erosion of the band. This occurs when the band works its way inside the stomach, usually as a result of an infection or ulcer. Erosion is very rare, however, occurring in less than 1 percent of gastric banding cases.<br /><br />Adjustable gastric banding can be an effective way to help people lose weight. It's not for everyone, though. First, if you're considering this procedure, be aware that people who have adjustable gastric banding generally have a slower rate of weight loss than those who have gastric bypass. There's nothing wrong with this, but it is something to consider prior to undergoing the surgery. Average weight loss is about one-third to one-half of a person's excess weight.<br /><br />Like all bariatric procedures, gastric banding is intended for people who have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above or for those who have a BMI between 35 and 40 with a serious weight-related health problem, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. In addition, this surgery isn't recommended for people who have certain medical conditions, such as Crohn's disease, large hiatal hernias or connective tissue disorders.<br /><br />Finally, adjustable gastric banding isn't a cure-all. Follow-up care is critical because all patients need some adjustment of the band after surgery to ensure optimal weight loss. Even after having this operation, patients still need to consistently make good food and exercise choices in order to lose weight. In essence, gastric banding provides people with an opportunity to consistently take in a smaller amount of calories while they're moving forward with the other healthy steps that are necessary to lose weight. -- James Swain, M.D., Gastroenterologic and General Surgery/Director of Bariatric Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.<br /><br />(Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an educational resource and doesn't replace regular medical care. E-mail a question to medicaledge@mayo.edu , or write: Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic, c/o TMS, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y., 14207. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org.)</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Attorneys</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-3032899263675371643?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-53135830446184406392010-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:45:53.442-08:00Study: Weight loss 6 months after gastric byass no different for patients who had mood and eating disorders pre-opStorrs, CT<blockquote>Researchers detail in 'Effect of mood and eating disorders on the short-term outcome of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass,' new data in eating disorders. "We examined whether patients with a history of mood and eating disorders (MED) had less weight loss and poorer treatment compliance after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGBP) than patients with a history of either mood (MD)or eating disorders (ED), or no history of mood or eating disorders (ND). Consecutive LRYGBP patients (n=196; 43.6 ±10.9 years; BMI 47.2 ±7.4 kg/m2; 83.2% female, 91.8% Caucasian) underwent a preoperative psychological evaluation," investigators in the United States report (see also Eating Disorders Therapy).<br /><br />"At 6 months post-surgery, body mass index (BMI), % excess weight loss (%EWL), hospital readmissions, and adherence to behavioral recommendations were assessed. Of the patients, 10.2% had MED, 36.7% had ED only, 24.0% had MD only, and 29.1% of patients had ND. MED patients fared worse than all other groups in dietary violations (p=0.03), exercise habits (p=0.05), and readmission rates (p=0.06) but there were no group differences in either BMI change or %EWL," wrote A.A. Gorin and colleagues, University of Connecticut, Center for Health.<br /><br />The researchers concluded: "MED patients are at-risk for poor treatment compliance following LRYGBP; however, they achieve similar weight losses 6 months postoperatively."<br /><br />Gorin and colleagues published their study in Obesity Surgery (Effect of mood and eating disorders on the short-term outcome of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Obesity Surgery, 2009;19(12):1685-90).<br /><br />For additional information, contact A.A. Gorin, University of Connecticut, Dept. of Psychology, Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention, Storrs, CT</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Attorney - Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyer</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5313583044618440639?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-59868493943397483762010-01-01T17:24:00.000-08:002010-01-01T17:24:36.283-08:00After gastric bypass surgery, couple loses 249 pounds in a yearChicago, IL<blockquote>Their daily Starbucks drink of choice was once a Venti Java Chip Frappuccino -- a whopping 600 calories in a cup.<br /><br />These days, Lorie and Todd Richmond splurge on coffees with Splenda and a dash of half-and-half. But they are more likely to be riding their bikes, shooting hoops with their three kids or shopping for new clothes.<br /><br />The Chicago Sun-Times featured the Richmonds in a Dec. 22, 2008, story after the couple from northwest Indiana had weight-loss surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center on the same day.<br /><br />Before the surgery, Lorie weighed 402 pounds, Todd 305.<br /><br />A year later, Todd is at his goal weight of 207 pounds. He's off cholesterol and blood-pressure medications. Lorie weighs 251 pounds and is confident she can lose another 60 pounds or more to reach her goal.<br /><br />Together, the two have lost 249 pounds in one year.<br /><br />"It makes you feel so good that people notice," Lorie said. "For the first time in my life, I don't mind telling people my weight."<br /><br />The Richmonds' say their quality of life also skyrocketed as their weight decreased.<br /><br />They vacationed in the Smoky Mountains, hiking and riding roller coasters -- things they couldn't do before.<br /><br />They bought bikes, and Todd consistently rode about 10 miles every other day throughout the summer. When she started, Lorie could only ride a block before having to stop; by the end of the summer, she took an eight-mile ride.<br /><br />And when she ran to pick up an errant basketball while shooting baskets with her 7-year-old son, he said words she had never heard before: "I just saw my mom run."<br /><br />"I almost cried," she said. "I was so happy I could do that with him. It gives me even more drive to keep going."<br /><br />Dr. Vivek Prachand, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, performed Lorie's duodenal switch and Todd's gastric bypass.<br /><br />A duodenal switch involves removing part of the stomach and bypassing much of the small intestine to limit how many calories are absorbed. A gastric bypass shrinks the stomach.<br /><br />But the surgery alone wouldn't help the Richmonds lose and keep off the weight. They altered their diet and exercise habits -- something they had tried repeatedly in the past but without success.<br /><br />"You have to recognize the surgery is a tool, it's not a cure," Prachand said. "I only take half the credit for it. You accomplish the other half."<br /><br />The Richmonds said they were stung by hostile online anonymous critics who said the surgery was "cheating'' and accused the couple of laziness.<br /><br />Prachand said he has heard all the criticism before, but said they are unfair. He said the surgery is highly effective and corrects multiple medical issues with one procedure.<br /><br />"What we're dealing with when we're talking about surgery for severe obesity, we're talking about people who are 10 to 15 times heavier than the 10 to 15 pounds all of us have struggled with at one point or another," Prachand said. "Sometimes it's hard to project the added difficulty of that much more."<br /><br />Beyond the surgery and added exercise, the Richmonds dramatically changed what they ate.<br /><br />Todd said a year ago, he could "put a buffet out of business."<br /><br />Now, the couple eat off saucers to help control portions.<br /><br />They eat small meals consistently throughout the day, including daily breakfast.<br /><br />And while they haven't abandoned Starbucks completely, they cut out the oversize sweet drinks and other treats -- even though they say they are constantly celebrating.<br /><br />"This year has been awesome for us," Lorie Richmond said. "There's so much, I want to shout at the rooftops. Life is opening up for us." </blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Attorney - Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyer</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5986849394339748376?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-50765663764314260652009-12-23T21:45:00.000-08:002009-12-23T21:45:16.573-08:00Better gastric bypass surgery outcomes linke to preoperative weight lossTrenton, NJ<blockquote>Preoperative weight loss is associated with fewer complications after gastric bypass surgery, according to the results of a record review reported in the December issue of Archives of Surgery.<br /><br />"Despite the improved ability to accurately predict an increase in surgical risk, the optimal preoperative preparation of such high-risk bariatric surgery candidates remains controversial," write Peter N. Benotti, MD, from Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey, and colleagues.<br /><br />"Proposed risk-reducing strategies supported by varying degrees of evidence include staged surgical procedures, preoperative gastric balloon placement for weight loss, and preoperative medical weight reduction....Because the major determinant of postoperative length of stay is operative morbidity, we hypothesized that preoperative weight loss will reduce the frequency of surgical complications in patients who undergo bariatric surgery."<br /><br />At a comprehensive, multidisciplinary obesity treatment center at a tertiary referral center serving central Pennsylvania, the investigators reviewed records of 881 patients undergoing open or laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery from May 31, 2002, through February 24, 2006. Before surgery, all patients underwent a 6-month multidisciplinary program with the goal of achieving a 10% preoperative weight loss. The primary endpoints of the study were loss of excess body weight and rates of total and major complications.<br /><br />Loss of 5% or more excess body weight was achieved by 592 (67.2%) of the 881 patients and loss of more than 10% excess body weight by 423 patients (48.0%). Compared with patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery (n = 415), those referred for open gastric bypass (n = 466) were generally older (P < .001), had a higher body mass index (P < .001), and were more often men (P < .001). In addition, they had higher total complication rates (P < .001) and major complication rates (P = .03) vs patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery.Increased preoperative weight loss was associated with decreased rates of total complications (P = .004) and, most likely, decreased rates of major complications (P = .06), based on univariate analysis. In a multiple logistic regression model controlling for age, sex, baseline body mass index, and type of surgery, increased preoperative weight loss predicted reduced rates of total complications (P = .004) and major complications (P = .03)."Preoperative weight loss is associated with fewer complications after gastric bypass surgery," the study authors write. "We hope that these findings will be confirmed by prospective, controlled trials and that bariatric surgeons will consider this modality for preoperative risk reduction in selected patients who are deemed high risk for complications after surgery."Limitations of this study include retrospective design, lack of a control group, referral bias, and possible unmeasured confounding variables.In an accompanying invited critique, Patricia L. Turner, MD, from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, recommends emphasizing an aggressive preoperative weight loss regimen."Overall, this article presents the largest study thus far, to our knowledge, which may demonstrate a significant advantage to preoperative weight loss," Dr. Turner writes. "Moreover, the authors did not experience the attrition feared by some surgeons should they require preoperative weight loss of their patients. These findings suggest that consideration be given to incorporating either a suggestion of or the requirement for modest weight loss prior to bariatric surgery as a means of decreasing postoperative complications."</blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Lawsuit Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5076566376431426065?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-47865351314739456792009-12-06T16:19:00.000-08:002009-12-06T16:19:24.736-08:00Britain’s "most obese teen" is slim after gastric bypass surgery, says would rather be dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/images/news2/Britain-s-Fattest-Teen-Is-Now-Slim-Would-Rather-Be-Dead-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://news.softpedia.com/images/news2/Britain-s-Fattest-Teen-Is-Now-Slim-Would-Rather-Be-Dead-2.jpg" width="112" /></a><br /></div>Selby, North Yorks, England<br /><blockquote>At 19 years of age, Malissa Jones of Selby, North Yorks, England, sees herself as the unhappiest woman alive, whose future is extremely bleak unless she somehow comes up with £20,000 required to undergo cosmetic surgery. At 16, Malissa, Britain’s fattest teen, underwent gastric bypass after doctors told her she only had months to live, and thus became the first person in the world to undergo the surgery. She is now telling Closer magazine she’d rather be dead than live her life as she is now.<br /><br />Malissa knows that the surgery saved her life, especially since she had her first suspected heart attack at the tender age of 15. Doctors told her at the time that, although risky and not usually done on under-18s, the procedure was the only hope she had to live longer than a few more months. At the time, Jones was diagnosed with angina, had her internal organs compressed, could not move and breathed at night with the help of an oxygen tank. She weighed 34 stone (215 kg) and ate 15,000 calories a day (with the daily recommended intake being of 2,000).<br /><br />Now, two years later, Malissa has lost 20 stone (127 kg) and her life expectancy is increased. Still, she is depressed and is on medication because she is constantly so ill she can hardly get out of the bed. She says she’s been left with so much excess skin from her weight loss that she truly wishes she had never had the surgery at all – anything, even death, is better than looking like this. She doesn’t have the money to undergo surgery to remove the saggy skin and the NHS will not pay for it.<br /><br />“I know it sounds ungrateful, but I preferred my body when I was fat. At least it was firm and curvy, not droopy and saggy. I had nice firm arms – now the skin just hangs and I have to cover them up because they look so awful. The NHS won’t remove the skin and I’ll never manage to save £20,000 to have it done privately. The surgery might have saved my life, but I wish I’d never had it done,” Jones says for Closer.<br /><br />There is tinge of regret though at not having tried to lose the weight the healthy way, with diet and exercise, and especially at having let her problems become so serious. “Although my heart’s healthier and life expectancy is normal, some days I’m too ill to get out of bed. […] I hope people read this and realize gastric surgery isn’t a miracle cure. I wish I’d lost the weight through exercise and healthy eating. I know this operation was life-saving, but the complications I’m suffering now might still kill me. The truth is I feel I’m no better off than I was before,” she says for the same magazine. <br /></blockquote><a href="http://news.softpedia.com/news/Britain-s-Fattest-Teen-Is-Now-Slim-Would-Rather-Be-Dead-128593.shtml">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawyers</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-4786535131473945679?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-14099296666662551552009-12-06T16:15:00.000-08:002009-12-06T16:15:06.524-08:00Urologist's opinion: Gastric band placement for obesity is not associated with increased urinary risk of urolithiasis compared to gastric bypass surgeryBerkley, CA<blockquote>As morbid obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent in our western society, the surgical options for management of this disorder are being more widely utilized. These procedures include Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and gastric band surgery. It has been estimated that the number of bariatric surgeries performed has increased ten-fold in the past decade. It has been observed that in some patients undergoing bariatric surgery for obesity, new onset nephrolithiasis can develop.<br /><br />These two studies very nicely show that patients at greatest risk are those with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in which the normal gut flow and absorption is interrupted. These patients typically have an elevation in their urinary oxalate and a significant reduction in their urinary volume. Interestingly, patients with gastric banding appear to have a more significant reduction in their urinary volumes compared to the Roux-en-Y group of patients. However, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure results in a more significant hyperoxaluria and hypocitraturia.<br /><br />Both of these studies note that due to the small numbers and the limited time of their study, they were unable to demonstrate that the increased urinary risk factors translated into an actual increased risk for renal stone development. However, it would seem prudent to counsel these patients even before they come to their surgical procedure with regards to dietary modifications to reduce their risk factors for renal stone development. These dietary modifications include maintaining an adequate fluid intake to potentiate a 2-liter urine output per day, 1,200 to 1,500 mg calcium citrate with Vitamin D and 500 mcg Vitamin B-12 and B-complex supplementation. Additional citrate supplementation may be important particularly in those patients with a prior history of stone disease.<br /><br />Further clinical studies are still required to illustrate the effect of nutrition and pharmacologic therapy on the risk of stone development in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.</blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit Attorneys</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-1409929666666255155?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-50241647912425495262009-11-30T19:56:00.000-08:002009-11-30T19:56:19.031-08:00A prospective study of risk factors for nephrolithiasis after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (Abstract)Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery has become an increasingly common form of weight management. Early retrospective reviews have suggested that new onset nephrolithiasis develops in some patients after undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. We present a prospective longitudinal study to assess risk factors for nephrolithiasis after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.<br /><br />A total of 45 morbidly obese patients scheduled to undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery were enrolled in this prospective study between November 2006 and November 2007. Exclusion criteria included history of nephrolithiasis or inflammatory bowel disease. Serum uric acid, parathyroid hormone, calcium, albumin, and creatinine and 24-hour urine collections were obtained within 6 months before Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and at 6 to 12 months postoperatively. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare preoperative and postoperative serum laboratory values and 24-hour urine values. McNemar's test was used to determine if the percent of abnormal values underwent a statistically significant change after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. For both statistical methods a p value was calculated for the change in each variable with p <0.05 considered statistically significant.Statistically significant changes included increased urinary oxalate and calcium oxalate supersaturation, and decreased urinary citrate and total urinary volume postoperatively. A statistically significant percentage of patients exhibited decreased urinary calcium, while a statistically significant percentage of patients experienced increased urinary oxalate and calcium oxalate supersaturation.Our prospective study demonstrated multiple factors that increase the relative risk of nephrolithiasis after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. These changes may make stone formation after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass increasingly likely and pose an ongoing challenge in the realm of urology.<a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit Attorneys</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-5024164791242549526?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-8935276722070238962009-11-24T16:48:00.000-08:002009-11-24T16:48:06.497-08:00Doctors embrace bariatric surgery as effective treatment for diabetesLos Angeles, CA<blockquote>Fifty international scientific and medical experts have issued a "consensus statement" declaring that bariatric surgery should be considered a treatment option for patients with Type 2 diabetes, even if they are not extremely obese.<br /><br />The new guidelines, published today online in the Annals of Surgery, urge surgeons performing bariatric surgery and healthcare insurers reimbursing for such treatment to relax criteria, adopted in 1991, that have restricted such surgery to patients with a body-mass index of 35 or more.<br /><br />Reviewing more than a decade's worth of studies on weight-loss surgery and diabetes, clinicians and researchers backing the document have concluded that the improved metabolic function that is typical in diabetic patients who undergo bariatric surgery is not merely an incidental effect of weight loss. "Surgery is a specific treatment for diabetes...the effect on diabetes is a direct consequence of the new anatomy created by surgery," said lead author Dr. Francesco Rubino, director of the gastrointestinal metabolic surgery program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College.<br /><br />The implications, added Rubino in an interview, "are enormous." For starters, that finding should drive a broadening of the patient population offered the option of gastric bypass surgery or less invasive procedures that reduce the capacity of the gastrointestinal tract. Rubino said that patients with Type 2 diabetes that is poorly managed by diet, exercise and medicine should now routinely be assessed as surgery candidates.<br /><br />Some of those will likely be far less overweight than the bulk of patients who have had the surgery for weight loss. Rubino cited the example of diabetic patients of Asian descent, who rarely reach a BMI of 35 but who might benefit from bariatric surgery.<br /><br />For the more than 20 million Americans -- and counting -- thought to have Type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery may offer more than just another treatment option. Research shows that for many patients, diabetes abates dramatically and permanently with surgery. That, said Rubino, makes the possibility of a "cure"--a prospect not discussed until very recently--real for many patients who have been told that "living with diabetes" is the best they can do.<br /><br />Beyond that, said Rubino, clinicians caring for these patients will need to optimize their pre- and post-operative care to serve a new objective: that of improving metabolic function. Currently, many bariatric surgery patients continue on diabetes medicines after their operation when that might not be optimal or even necessary.<br /><br />Finally, the consensus finding should guide the search for drugs that can better treat Type 2 diabetes. Those should focus on how metabolic function is changed by an alteration of the gut's anatomy, and whether drugs could be developed or adapted to work in the same way, Rubino said.</blockquote><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuits</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-893527672207023896?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-6422175371085033172009-11-21T06:14:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:14:26.374-08:00Gastric bypass surgery: Couple sticks together through thick and thin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.abc4.com/media/lib/5/3/b/e/3be1fe8f-38e1-4b76-b70f-ea58c4184be1/Original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://www.abc4.com/media/lib/5/3/b/e/3be1fe8f-38e1-4b76-b70f-ea58c4184be1/Original.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /></div>Lehi, UT<br /><blockquote>A couple in Utah County went under the knife together on a weight loss journey in hopes of losing hundreds of pounds.<br /><br />The couple is Mike and Lorena Downey. The two took their vows 26 years ago promising to love each other in good times or bad, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health and to see each other through thick and thin.<br /><br />When they married, in 1983, Mike and Lorena had a combined total weight of just under 300 pounds, but this year they tipped the scales at almost 600 pounds.<br /><br />“I look in the mirror, I’m not happy with who I see. When I got to 270 pounds it blew my mind. I couldn’t believe it. I was so close to 300 pounds,” said Lorena.<br /><br />Although the Downeys were happily married with children, their weight slowly started to come between them.<br /><br />“How could you look at your wife and say you’re not the woman I married, when you’re looking at yourself and saying you’re not the man she married,” said Mike.<br /><br />The two knew something had to be done and began researching options. In a desperate effort to shed the weight they turned to gastric bypass surgery. After deciding that the surgery’s pros outweighed the cons they chose to do the surgery together.<br /><br />They went to St. Mark’s hospital where Lorena had her surgery on October 7th and Mike had his one week later.<br /><br />Gastric bypass surgery is growing more popular every day as America’s obesity epidemic tips the scales. The surgery has been known to save lives but there can also be life changing drawbacks.<br /><br />Their journey consisted of three trips to the ER during the week of Mike’s surgery and complications for Lorena resulting in two additional surgeries.<br /><br />Both are fine and after just five weeks the couple has lost nearly 100 pounds. They have been walking everyday and both say they’re feeling better and have more energy.<br /></blockquote><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Attorney</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-642217537108503317?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-91177651057134791892009-11-18T20:54:00.000-08:002009-11-18T20:57:17.664-08:00Gastric sleeve surgery expected to become more popular<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site525/2009/1115/20091115__1116-d1-bariatric~1_GALLERY.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 348px;" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site525/2009/1115/20091115__1116-d1-bariatric~1_GALLERY.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />El Paso, TX<blockquote>Doctors recommend that people battling obesity first turn to diet and exercise to drop their extra pounds.<br /><br />But conventional weight loss methods aren't enough for some.<br /><br />Sometimes, surgery is the only option.<br /><br />For years, gastric bypass surgery and the Lap-Band procedure were among the only surgical options available for weight loss in El Paso. But the gastric sleeve procedure is poised to surge in popularity as patients learn more about the operation.<br /><br />Dr. Benjamin Clapp, a bariatric surgeon at Sierra Providence Bariatric Center, said the two previous surgical options caused anxiety among patients for different reasons.<br /><br />"A lot of people are uncomfortable with the aggressive remodeling of your gastrointestinal tract with a gastric bypass, but it has the best weight loss," he said. "A lot of people are also uncomfortable with the Lap-Band, which is a foreign band which stays inside your body."<br /><br />The new alternative, he said, is the gastric sleeve procedure. In this procedure, the stomach is reduced to about 40 percent of its original size. Its appearance after the procedure resembles a tube or sleeve.<br /><br />"The gastric sleeve is sort of a nice in-between procedure where you have almost as good weight loss as gastric bypass, but you don't have to rearrange everything and you also don't have to have a foreign body in there," Clapp said.<br /><br />"The weakness of it would be it's not really adjustable and we don't know what the 10- to 15-year effects are, but we think we<br />Advertisement<br />can predict them."<br /><br />The Sierra Providence Bariatric Center began offering the sleeve procedure in August 2008, but Clapp has performed it elsewhere for about three years.<br /><br />So far, 10 have been done at his facility.<br /><br />Of the three surgical techniques most often used today, the gastric bypass was the first to be widely used. In this procedure, doctors reduce the stomach size to only a small pouch, which is then connected to the middle of the small intestine. The procedure limits the amount of food consumed and limits the absorption of nutrients and calories in the small intestine.<br /><br />The Lap-Band, or laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, also reduces the amount of food the stomach can hold. An inflatable band is placed around the top part of the stomach to create a smaller pouch for food. The patient is forced to eat less and subsequently loses weight.<br /><br />The band can be adjusted to allow in more or less food, depending on the patient's situation.<br /><br />Clapp said an advantage of the gastric sleeve is that if the patient does not lose the desired amount of weight, a gastric bypass procedure remains an option.<br /><br />Michele Collins, director of Sierra Providence Bariatric Center, said the center has completed more than 1,650 weight-loss surgeries since it opened. This year, 300 patients will have received bariatric surgery at the center.<br /><br />Collins said the center experiences a spike around this time each year as people meet their insurance deductible amounts or have extra vacation time to allow for their recuperation.<br /><br />Dr. Bruce Applebaum, medical director of the Sierra Providence Bariatric Center, said patients who undergo gastric bypass can expect to lose about 70 percent of their excess body weight over about a year.<br /><br />"If they're 100 pounds above their ideal body weight, they can expect to lose about 70 pounds in the course of a year," he said.<br /><br />He said most of the weight is lost in the first six months after the procedure.<br /><br />The weight loss achieved through the the gastric sleeve procedure is comparable to that of the gastric bypass, he said.<br /><br />Lap-Band patients can expect to lose up to about 60 percent of their excess weight over the course of about two years.<br /><br />Alejandro Romero, director of bariatrics at Del Sol Bariatric Center, said patients must be absolutely certain of their decision and be committed to their weight loss when they choose to have the weight-loss surgery.<br /><br />"Make sure this is really your last resort. Make sure you've really given it your good effort in losing the weight, because it's a lifestyle change, both physically and mentally," he said.<br /><br />Bariatric surgery providers require their patients first undergo a psychological evaluation as well as several other tests.<br /><br />Clapp said even a flawless procedure won't work without a patient's commitment, which typically includes sensible diet, regular exercise and a vitamin supplement.<br /><br />"People can do an amazing amount to overcome what we can do with surgery (with) constant grazing, choosing the wrong kinds of foods, not exercising, not paying attention to a post-operative diet," he said. "Nobody will ever tell these patients this is foolproof, this is some kind of magic button --Êit's not."<br /><br />For those who do commit and successfully lose their excess weight, the improvements to their health can be vast. Significant weight loss can help alleviate conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea.<br /><br />"You've got to change for the rest of your life," Clapp said.<br /><br />Applebaum said the procedures are gaining in popularity as more people become aware of them and more insurance plans cover them.<br /><br />The current advances in the field are not the end of the road for bariatric surgery.<br /><br />Clapp said he has begun performing the Lap-Band procedure through a single laparoscopic incision.<br /><br />Applebaum said an endoscopic method is being studied in other parts of the country and could one day be available in this area.<br /><br />"We do this because ... when patients come in smiling ear to ear, it provides positive feedback to us that we're doing the right thing for people who are obese," Applebaum said.</blockquote><br /><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Malpractice Attorneys</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-9117765105713479189?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-8198310171127170972009-11-08T20:14:00.000-08:002009-11-08T20:18:59.620-08:003 Years after gastric bypas surgery, man loses 259 pounds and competes in triathalons<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00092/pb_chaddixie1107_92816c.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00092/pb_chaddixie1107_92816c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />St. Petersburg, FL<blockquote> Three years ago, Chad Soileau was sitting in a roller coaster seat at Six Flags amusement park near Washington, D.C., when he was overcome with panic. He had waited in line for more than an hour for the four-minute ride on the Wild One, but when it came time to buckle up, the seat belt wouldn't fit.<br /><br />"The attendant walked up and told me I was too big for the ride," recalled Soileau. "She yelled back to her co-workers, 'Bring the tool, we've got a large rider.' "<br /><br />Five minutes seemed like an eternity as the crew struggled to extend the roller coaster's seat belt.<br /><br />"Hundreds of people were watching," Soileau said. "It was the most humbling, humiliating experience of my life."<br /><br />Afterward, Soileau stumbled off the ride and ran to the nearest restroom. "My stomach was in knots," he said. "I vomited for 10 minutes."<br /><br />On Nov. 14, a very different Soileau will again face an audience — but this one will be cheering his remarkable achievements.<br /><br />The Louisiana man will be among the 1,500 or so elite athletes who will gather on Clearwater Beach to swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles in the Ironman World Championship 70.3. (The name comes from the combined distance of the three events, which is half the distance of the world famous Ironman World Championship held each October in Kona, Hawaii.)<br /><br />"It has been a long road to get here," said Soileau, 37. "And I still have a long way to go."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Team 464</span><br /><br />Despite the trauma of the roller coaster incident, it wasn't until a few months later that Soileau realized the full extent of his obesity.<br /><br />"I was on the scale at the doctor's office when he asked if I knew how much I weighed," he said. "I figured about 350. He said no, 464."<br /><br />Soileau couldn't believe he was off by 114 pounds. He made up his mind, then and there, that he would do something about his weight.<br /><br />On March 22, 2006, he underwent gastric bypass surgery. "I call it my re-birthday," he said.<br /><br />The surgery came with complications. He developed several blood clots and had to undergo three additional surgeries, including one to have his gallbladder removed and another to repair a twisted bowel and an internal hernia. But Soileau persevered.<br /><br />Soileau was 34 when he started his weight-loss journey. Overcoming his longtime addiction to food was his first obstacle.<br /><br />"I used to order double of everything . . . two appetizers, two entrees, two desserts," he said. "When I would go to the drive-through I would pretend there was somebody else in the car because I was ordering so much food."<br /><br />Weight-loss surgery is no sure bet; plenty of people regain weight after the procedure. But after his surgery, Soileau found it easier to control his urges. (See related story, Page 12.)<br /><br />"Physically I couldn't eat as much," he said.<br /><br />The physical changes soon were followed by emotional ones. "After a while I stopped wanting the food,'' he said.<br /><br />The victories piled up. One day, he discovered he could bend over to tie his shoes. "It was a huge accomplishment for me when I could get in my truck without my stomach hitting the steering wheel," he said.<br /><br />Soileau set weight goals, which he published on his Web site, www.Team464.com:<br /><br />"Weigh less than 400 pounds — DONE!''<br /><br />"Weigh less than 350 pounds — DONE!''<br /><br />He also kept track of his progress by his pants size: He went from a size 64 to a size 34.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ONE STEP AT A TIME</span><br /><br />As he recovered from the surgery and started to drop pounds, he began to exercise.<br /><br />He started off small, walking back and forth to the stop sign a block from his house. Gradually, his walks got longer and longer. Eventually, he started running, then swimming, then biking.<br /><br />"I came up with a list of goals for myself," he said. "One of them was to complete a triathlon."<br /><br />To help him reach his goals, he kept a training log.<br /><br />"At first it was just a mile, then 2 miles, then 3 miles," he said. "The whole time I dreamed about completing a marathon."<br /><br />Soileau, who has a girlfriend, works as a Web site designer in New Orleans. He struggles to find time for the one to two hours of daily training a triathlon requires. As for his diet, he focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein to help power his new physique.<br /><br />The discipline paid off. In February 2008, Soileau finished the Mardis Gras Marathon in New Orleans with a time of 5 hours and 36 minutes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">IRONMAN</span><br /><br />Soileau has completed dozens of road races and triathlons. He was invited by the World Triathlon Corporation to be its guest at this year's event in Clearwater. Officials hope Soileau's story will inspire others to try the sport.<br /><br />"It is an honor to be here," he said. "What other sport lets you share the course with the pros?"<br /><br />But despite his success, Soileau doesn't feel as if he has won his battle against obesity. He won't feel victorious, he said, until he completes a full-distance Ironman.<br /><br />"I will know I won when I step over the finish line and I hear the announcer yell, 'Chad Soileau, you are an IRONMAN!' " </blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-819831017112717097?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-39259333987617462742009-11-01T19:46:00.000-08:002009-11-01T19:50:34.051-08:00Gastric bypass and diabetes: CNN Health Q&AQ: Does roux-en-Y gastric bypass cure diabetes?<br /><br />Expert Answer: (by Dr. Melina Jampolis)<blockquote> Hi, Rick. I'm not a surgeon, so to answer your question more thoroughly, I consulted with a very well-respected bariatric surgeon in San Francisco, John Rabkin, M.D. He explained that the roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RGB) improves type 2 diabetes via at least three different mechanisms:<br /><br />1. The surgery decreases caloric intake immediately after the procedure because food intake is restricted by the small volume of the created stomach pouch, which holds only 1 ounce. The decrease in food intake, particularly refined carbohydrates, which are not well-tolerated after this procedure, can help stabilize blood sugar levels and immediately improves control of diabetes.<br /><br />2. The significant amount of weight loss that results from the surgery improves insulin resistance over time.<br /><br />3. There are changes in hormones and caloric processing because the food ingested bypasses the segment of the small intestine closest to where it attaches to the stomach (the duodenum and proximal jejunum), but not quite as much as you mentioned (not one-third of the small intestine). Because of the anatomical changes resulting from the surgery, it appears that these hormonal changes are greater than would be seen with weight loss via diet and exercise, but no research has yet to compare the two directly and evaluate hormonal changes.<br /><br />The overall outcome is complete resolution of type 2 diabetes in greater than 70 percent of patients with diabetes before the procedure.<br /><br />Unfortunately, as many RGB patients regain weight over time, the durability of the cure isn't as high as with a newer procedure called the duodenal switch.<br /><br />In this procedure, there is a much larger pouch created (4 to 5 ounces), and the complete stomach anatomy is preserved, which helps preserve more normal stomach function. In this procedure, the rearrangement of the intestines leads not only to some restriction of food, but also causes your body to absorb significantly fewer calories, which has a more lasting effect.<br /><br />Rabkin, a leader in this procedure, reports that he has had a 96 percent cure of type 2 diabetes at one year after surgery, which has persisted for five and 10 years post -op and seems to be similarly durable out past 15 years post-op.<br /><br />Hope this helps. I strongly recommend spending a considerable amount of time with your surgeon if you are considering either of these procedures, as both have important lifestyle-related issues that should be discussed to determine the best procedure for you for the long term.</blockquote><br /><a href="http://hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Weight Loss Surgery Malpractice Lawyers</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-3925933398761746274?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-25748436948086103342009-10-27T22:08:00.000-07:002009-10-27T22:10:33.429-07:00Probiotics may help gastric bypass patientsHueytown, AL<blockquote>Probiotics are sometimes prescribed by doctors to improve the body’s response to antibiotics by increasing levels of gut bacteria used by the body, but new research suggests they may play a complementary role in another treatment.<br /><br />Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine included probiotics as part of a regimen for patients who had recently undergone gastric bypass surgery.<br /><br />They found that patients who used the "good bacteria" were more likely to lose weight than study subjects in the control group, and were also able to limit vitamin B12 deficiencies associated with the procedure.<br /><br />Dr. John Morton, the study’s co-author, says that the research was initiated in response to obese patients who complained that it was difficult to eat properly after surgery because of the effects on the digestive tract.<br /><br />"A lot of people aren’t aware that we all carry around a lot of bacteria in our intestines and that they’re extremely helpful in aiding digestion," he added. "And I thought, ‘Well, if we give these patients probiotics, then maybe we can improve these symptoms."</blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.hurtbyadoctor.com/Gastric-Bypass-Malpractice-Lawyers.htm">Gastric Bypass Surgery Malpractice Lawyer</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-2574843694808610334?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5217467146544341816.post-60300727397656525062009-10-27T22:03:00.000-07:002009-10-27T22:06:17.092-07:00Is gastric bypass surgery a diabetes fix?Los Angeles, CA<br /><br />Within days of various weight-loss surgeries, blood sugar levels become easier to manage -- or are normal.<blockquote>The discovery came about by accident more than a decade ago: Weight-loss surgery often led to dramatic improvements in the control of Type 2 diabetes, often before patients had even left the hospital.<br /><br />Today, evidence of the connection is so solid that some doctors say surgery should be considered as a treatment for diabetes, regardless of a person's weight or desire to lose weight.<br /><br />"We thought diabetes was an incurable, progressive disease," says Dr. Walter J. Pories, a professor of surgery at East Carolina University and a leading researcher on weight-loss surgery. "It . . . is a major cause of amputations, renal failure and blindness. This operation takes about an hour, and two days in the hospital, and these people go off their diabetes medication. It's unbelievable."<br /><br />As many as 86% of obese people with Type 2 diabetes find their diabetes is gone or much easier to control within days of having weight-loss surgery, according to a meta-analysis of 19 studies published earlier this year in the American Journal of Medicine (78% of patients with a remission of diabetes and 86.6% with remission or improvement). But experts still aren't sure why obesity surgery helps resolve Type 2 diabetes or how long the effect might last. And they disagree on how big a role surgery should take in treating the illness.<br /><br />"We are going from seeing the results to understanding why it happens," said Dr. Santiago Horgan, director of the Center for the Treatment of Obesity at UC San Diego.<br /><br />This much is clear: Patients who have weight-loss surgery begin to lose weight rapidly, which by itself improves Type 2 diabetes, allowing diabetics to more easily control their blood glucose levels. But something else appears to be occurring as well.<br /><br />There is strong evidence that surgery -- especially gastric bypass surgery, which makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine -- causes chemical changes in the intestine, says Dr. Jonathan Q. Purnell, director of the Bionutrition Unit at Oregon Health & Science University. The small intestine has been thought of simply as the place where digestion occurs.<br /><br />But researchers now suspect it has other functions related to metabolism. Surgery somehow alters the secretion of hormones in the gut that play a role in appetite and help process sugar normally.<br /><br />Multiple studies in humans and animals indicate that surgery triggers reductions in ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates hunger, and elevates levels of peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1, both of which act as appetite suppressants. Another theory is that surgery might alter the expression of genes that regulate glucose and fatty-acid metabolism.<br /><br />"There are these known components that improve glucose metabolism," Purnell says. "But there are very likely other things happening as well."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Which procedure?</span><br /><br />The effect on diabetes can depend on the type of weight-loss surgery that is performed, says Pories, past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The highest rates of diabetes remission are seen in people who have gastric bypass -- about 83%.<br /><br />But diabetes also tends to resolve or improve in 50% to 80% of people who have lap-band surgery, in which a band is placed around the top of the stomach to make it smaller, he says. And there is some evidence that the effect occurs a newer type of weight-loss surgery called gastric sleeve, in which a portion of the stomach is removed so that it takes the shape of a tube or sleeve.<br /><br />Evidence suggests the effect on diabetes can last for an extended period or even indefinitely, particularly if people don't regain a lot of weight.<br /><br />"There is durability, but we also know that some people do get the disease back again," Purnell says. "Weight rebound is probably one factor. We also know that diabetes is a progressive disease. It may depend on how long you've been diagnosed with diabetes. If it's early on, I think the durability may be better."<br /><br />It's not clear yet why people have different responses.<br /><br />"There is some evidence that African Americans don't respond as well as Caucasians, and men don't respond as well as women," Pories says.<br /><br />Despite the unknowns, the evidence that a majority of people experience long-term improvement in blood glucose control suggests the surgery could eventually play a greater role in the treatment of obese people with Type 2 diabetes. The majority of American adults with Type 2 diabetes are overweight.<br /><br />Traditional medical guidelines, which insurers follow, state that weight-loss surgery should be restricted to patients with a body mass index of 35 or greater who have related health problems. But some diabetes and nutrition experts think those recommendations don't go far enough. Several studies are underway, or will soon begin, to examine the benefits of surgery in people with Type 2 diabetes and a BMI of less than 35.<br /><br />"We may have a cure for diabetes," Santiago says. "So we need to ask how medical therapies and surgery can help each other in the treatment of diabetes."<br /><br />Studies from several other countries show that surgery also results in remission of diabetes for people who are not morbidly obese. There is even discussion, particularly in other countries, of performing weight-loss surgery for people with Type 2 diabetes who are not overweight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Not without risks</span><br /><br />In the United States, weight-loss surgery is still largely viewed as a cosmetic procedure and obesity as a lifestyle issue, not a chronic disease. Moreover, weight-loss surgery carries risks. The death rate is about one per 200 operations and severe complications can occur, including blood clots, infections related to surgery, and the need for corrective surgery due to leaks at the staple lines.<br /><br />Other complications include vitamin and mineral deficiencies, dehydration, gallstones, kidney stones, hernia and low blood sugar.<br /><br />However, a risk-benefit analysis published in April in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. by Purnell and a colleague suggests that if the number of gastric bypass operations performed on diabetic patients increased to 1 million per year, as many as 14,310 diabetes-related deaths might be prevented over five years.<br /><br />Surgery also leads to other health benefits besides weight loss and better control of diabetes. Patients often see improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, gastroesophageal reflux disease and sleep apnea.<br /><br />"Doctors say, 'If I can lower glucose by medications, why send patients to surgery?' " Purnell says. "Surgery, however, allows people to have meaningful and sustained weight loss and their diabetes is better. There are risks involved with surgery, obviously, but it makes sense, to me, to do surgery."<br /><br />The discovery of the gut hormones that play a role in appetite and insulin regulation may also lead to new medications for Type 2 diabetes, Pories says.<br /><br />"You can't operate on 31 million Americans," he says. "But if we understood this mechanism and what are the molecules secreted by the intestines that cause diabetes, then we can cure it with a pill. I would not be surprised if, in the next five years, we have new medications."</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5217467146544341816-6030072739765652506?l=hurtbyadoctor.com%2FGastric-Bypass-Surgery-News.html' alt='' /></div>iLitigatenoreply@blogger.com0