Weight Loss Surgery

I happened across a blog TheMorbidMe that is extremely well writen and has two really excellent post about weight loss surgery myths. Please stop by and read his accounts on gastric bypass surgery realities.

Tags: gastric bypass, bariatric surgery, weight loss surgery insurance, obesity surgery, lap band

Gastric bypass surgery is an extreme weight loss procedure that is performed in two steps. First, a small stomach pouch is created to decrease the amount of food that the patient can eat at one time. Next, a series of bypasses of the duodenum and certain other parts of the small intestine are created to reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients found in food.

Continue reading What Exactly IS Gastric Bypass Surgery?

BY: SANAE K. TANAKA, M.D.

A recent comparative study in Taiwan between patients who underwent a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and patients who had a laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass shows that the mini-gastric bypass procedure offers the same benefits as the more common Roux-en-Y surgery for people with morbid obesity.

Continue reading New Study Shows Mini Gastric Bypass Helps the Morbidly Obese

BY: BY KEVIN GRAMAN, THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, SPOKANE, WASH.

Dec. 28–Morbidly obese patients on government-sponsored health care can no longer receive gastric bypass surgery in Eastern Washington because of low reimbursement rates and high medical malpractice premiums, according to a local doctors’ group.

Surgical Specialists of Spokane, one of three regional health care providers approved by the state to perform the controversial but potentially life-saving procedure on Medicaid patients, this month stopped offering gastric bypass surgery to patients covered by Medicaid or Medicare. Continue reading Provider Stops Gastric Bypass: Medicare, Medicaid Patients Must Go Elsewhere

By Dave Murphy - San Francisco Chronicle

When 454-pound Chelsey Lewis undergoes gastric bypass surgery this morning at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, she will have youth and experience going for her.

Although the 17-year-old from Tracy will be only the eighth minor to have the surgery since Packard began its program last year, two people close to her have gone through it — successfully. Her father had the surgery in 1993, and mother Annette Lewis’ fiance, Jeff Dopkus, has lost 115 pounds since he had his bypass a year ago.

Continue reading Tracy teenager helps pioneer weight-loss surgery for minors

BY: NAHAL TOOSI - ASSOCIATED PRESS
Category: Weight Loss Surgery | In The News, Gastric Bypass Insurance Coverage, Gastric Bypass

NEW YORK — For the dozens of overweight people who lined up in front of a scale at the Times Square Brewery Restaurant on Sunday, New Year’s resolutions to get thin have failed. So have pills, diets and support groups.

Now the participants are pinning their hopes of shedding extra pounds on Dominick Artuso, a Dobbs Ferry surgeon who promises to operate, free of charge, on 10 people wanting _ or badly needing _ weight loss surgery.

Continue reading Obese try to make the cut in New York weight loss surgery contest

BY: Craig Thompson

Depending on the degree of your obesity and your doctor’s preferences, two different surgical options are generally available if you are considering Gastric Bypass Surgery.

The open incision method requires an 8″ to 10″ incision starting just below the breastbone and ending right above the navel. This opens the entire abdomen area. The surgery is then performed in much the same manner as any other open surgical procedure.

Continue reading Gastric Bypass Surgery Options - Open Incision vs. Laparoscopic

BY: CRAIG THOMPSON
Category: Gastric Bypass , Gastric Bypass Pictures, Lap Band Surgery

Many patients who are suffering from obesity are not aware that there is an alternative to gastric bypass called Lap Band surgery.

Gastric bypass surgery is the typical weight loss surgery option for people whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is above 40. This translates to about 100 pounds of excess weight for men and around 80 pounds for women.

Continue reading Lap Band vs. Gastric Bypass

BY: HEALTHDAY NEWS - VIA YAHOO NEWS

TUESDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) — The number of gastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries conducted in the United States more than quadrupled between 1998 to 2002, from 12,775 procedures to 70,256, researchers report.

And experts at the American Society for Bariatric Surgery estimate that that number may have doubled again since then, to more than 140,000 bariatric procedures performed in 2004. Continue reading Gastric Bypass Surgeries Soaring

By Marilynn Marchione - The Associated Press

As more people abandon New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and turn to obesity surgery, doctors are debating which type is safest and best. And researchers are uncovering some surprising trends. The most common method in the United States - gastric bypass, or stomach-stapling surgery - may be riskier than once thought. Yet surgeons still favor it for people who need to lose weight fast because of heart damage or other serious problems.

Continue reading Obesity Surgeries Popular, But Which Kind Is Best?