Weight Loss Information

A New Option for Weight Loss Surgery


These days, Jennifer Secrist has little interest in idle activities. The 23-year-old loves to rock climb, hike, ride her mountain bike, and do almost anything that gets her outside and moving.

"I can't stand to sit around," she tells WebMD. "I have so much energy now it's amazing."

Weight Loss Surgery
---------------------------------------------------
Her secret: weight loss surgery that leaves her with a smaller stomach while leaving her with smaller scars than the traditional surgery. What makes Secrist's story truly amazing is that in less than two years she has lost 107 pounds, thanks to adjustable gastric banding, a surgical procedure that is commonly performed in Europe, but has only been recently approved for use the U.S.

The surgery can be performed laparoscopically, which means small tools are guided by a small camera through small incisions in the abdomen. The traditional weight loss procedure in the U.S., gastric bypass, involves a large incision to surgically alter the stomach and make it smaller. The Midland, Mich. woman traveled to Sweden to get the surgery, and her mom and dad later made the trip for the same reason.

Adjustable Gastric Banding
-----------------------------------------
Adjustable gastric banding is far less popular here than gastric bypass surgery. Banding has been done in the U.S., yet previously required open surgery, with all its potential complications.

But two new studies find the laparoscopic approach for banding to be a safe and effective weight loss option for people who are 100 pounds or more overweight. The studies, reported in the latest issue of the journal Annals of Surgery, found that patients who underwent gastric banding surgery lost roughly 50% of their excess body weight within two years.

The procedure involves the implantation of a hollow silicone band placed around the top of the stomach, which is adjusted to determine how much food the stomach can hold. The adjustment is made by inflating or deflating the band using salt water piped in trough a tube attached to a port placed under the skin near the breastbone. Several types of bands are available in Europe, but the FDA has approved only one - the Lap-Band system made by the California firm BioEnterics System.

One of the newly published studies evaluated the Lap-Band device in 500 morbidly obese French patients. Researcher Franck Zinzindohoue, MD, and colleagues reported a 53% excess weight loss at two years, with 10% of patients having to have second operations due to complications. No deaths were reported among the patients. The outcomes were much better than those reported in a recent study finding that more than half of patients abandoned the band in favor of gastric bypass surgery.

The authors attribute their good outcome to a procedure they developed to reduce the incidence of band slippage, one of the most common complications of gastric banding.

Some Patients Are Unhappy Because They Did Not Loose As Much Weight As They Wanted
-------------------------------------
Still, in an accompanying editorial, weight loss surgeon John M. Kellum, MD, says surgeons in America may want to think twice before recommending gastric band surgery over gastric bypass. He no longer performs gastric banding, and says most of his patients who had the banding procedure were unhappy with it because they did not lose as much weight as they had hoped to.

"Some of my patients actually gained weight, which never happens with gastric bypass," he tells WebMD. "We were also troubled by the fairly high number of patients who had complications with the band." Kellum says a newer type of band from Sweden may be safer for patients than the Lap-Band, but it has not been studied in the U.S.

In the second new study, authors claimed a lower rate of band erosion and slippage. But the procedure is not recommended for all patients, especially the heaviest, which Kellum says could restrict its usefulness among American patients.

"American patients tend to be heavier than those in Europe, and the heavier the patient the higher the likelihood that complications will occur," he says.

Jennifer Secrist, who now weighs 140 pounds and is a size 6, says she knows of a few gastric band patients, or "bandsters," who have had trouble losing weight with the procedure. But she would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone whose health is jeopardized by morbid obesity. She publishes a web journal of her process to inspire others.

"I want people to know there are alternatives to being heavy," she says. "This has done so much for me. I can't begin to describe it."

--

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

Original URL (The Web version of the article)
------------
A New Option for Weight Loss Surgery

About The Author
----------------
Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous websites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several otherwebsites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com If you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Weight Loss Surgery Helps Obese Women Have Healthier Babies
New York Times, United States - Nov 19, 2008
By RONI CARYN RABIN Women who become pregnant after weight-loss surgery have easier pregnancies and healthier babies than do obese women who become pregnant ...


Current World News

Weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy
Los Angeles Times, CA - Nov 19, 2008
Now researchers have found that obese women who undergo weight-loss surgery before becoming pregnant are less likely to have pregnancy-related health ...
Weight-loss surgery helps with pregnancy: study Reuters
Go for pre-pregnancy weight loss surgery Times of India
Some Pregnancy-Related Complications Minimized for Women Who Have ... MarketWatch
TheMedGuru - U.S. News & World Report
all 58 news articles


That Happened!

Weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy
That Happened!, New York - 11 hours ago
New York - Researchers have found that weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy. They found that women who had weight loss surgery before becoming ...


News Channel 7

Scale Down Weight Loss To Hold Free Seminar
News Channel 7, SC - 4 hours ago
Scale Down Weight Loss Programs will offer a free community seminar on December 4 at The Horizon Center in downtown Spartanburg. ...


Weight Loss Surgery for Two
Ivanhoe, FL - 20 hours ago
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Undergoing bariatric weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant may be the healthiest decision for both mother and baby. ...


Weight Loss Contests Started for Scale-Busting Pets
WLNE-TV (ABC6), RI - 4 hours ago
The pet who achieves the biggest percentage weight loss and best follows their new regime will be crowned champion, winning their owner a pet-friendly ...


Weight Loss Blog: Getting Started
TheDenverChannel.com, CO - 7 hours ago
I keep hearing Oprah Winfrey in my head saying if there was a magic pill to weight loss, she'd have it. If the woman who can afford personal trainers and ...


PennLive.com

Radio show host inspires with weight loss
PennLive.com, PA - 5 hours ago
by ABIGAIL KETCHUM for Body & Mind As the host of WHP-580's morning show, Harris often shared his diet stories with listeners. ...


LETTER: Weight-loss obsession is harmful
Wausau Daily Herald, WI - 7 hours ago
What do we have to do to change this weight-loss frenzy into something more realistic, like self acceptance and health at any weight? ...


The Buzz: Aspen debuts, LA Weight Loss closes
Appleton Post Crescent,  USA - 6 hours ago
LA Weight Loss will close its two locations here next Wednesday. They are at 1005 Mutual Way in Grand Chute, near Wal-Mart and N474 Eisenhower Drive, ...

Weight-Loss - Google News

home | site map
© 2006