Bariatric Surgery

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: 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?