Tag Archives: weight loss surgery

LAP-Band Advertisers Reprimanded by FDA

1-800-GET-THIN

1-800-GET-THIN Advertisement

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking action against eight surgical centers that perform LAP-Band surgeries in California. The FDA says the clinics, along with the marketing firm 1-800-GET-THIN LLC, are misleading consumers  with an ad campaign on highway billboards and advertising inserts. The agency says that the 1-800-GET-THIN ads do not properly communicate the risks associated with gastric surgery and for making inflated weight loss claims.

The ads feature thin women and slogans like “Your New Years Resolution Now!” and “Lose Weight With The LAP-Band.” The company is also offering complementary insurance-checks.

The LAP-Band is an adjustable device which is implanted around the stomach of obese patients, effectively creating a smaller stomach pouch and helping patients feel full more easily. The FDA warns that individuals should thoroughly discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this kind of invasive surgery. “It’s particularly troublesome when advertisements don’t communicate the serious risks associated with medical devices,” said Steve Silverman, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health in a statement.

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Posted on December 19, 2023 by Margaret

Pros and Cons of Weight Loss Surgery

Not everyone who struggles with their weight is a candidate for weight loss surgery. Let’s say you are considered a viable candidate. If so, you need to consider the pros and cons that come with each surgical option.

There are three primary “restrictive” weight loss surgeries, meaning those procedures that restrict the amount of food a patient can eat at one time: laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Even though all three procedures are restrictive, there are significant differences, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. (more…)

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Jason

Experts React to Dr. Oz’s Stance on Gastric Bypass

“Listen, if you’re one hundred pounds overweight at age fifty, you have the same mortality rate as if you have a solid cancer. Would you operate for cancer? Yeah. So if you cannot lose that weight, get one of these procedures.”

USA Today recently reported on Dr. Oz’s advocacy of gastric bypass surgery, and stance that is causing quite a bit of buzz.

The subject of gastric bypass is a sensitive one. It’s risky and it’s not always supported as a wise choice by doctors. In Dr. Oz’s interview he made bold statements in support of bypass surgery. While his take is more bold and direct in it’s delivery than most, is he alone in his beliefs? Experts weigh in.

Dr. James Early, M.D. is the Medical Director of Via Christi Weight Management in Wichita, KS. He also was a collaborator with Dr. Oz on his book You on a Diet. On a daily basis, Dr. Early is dealing with over weight and obese patients and their struggles in health. While he did agree with Dr. Oz’s stance, he was clear to express that, “it’s very important that each patient is individually assessed.”

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Posted on October 3, 2023 by Lacy

Weight Loss Surgery Has Greater Results, More Risk

Gastric bypass is the most popular weight loss surgery around. It’s proven to be safe and effective in the vast majority of people who opt for it. However, there’s another weight loss surgery on the scene referred to as duodenal switch that is getting some attention, but not all for good reasons.

According to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine the lesser-known surgery offers superior weight loss, but it also is a higher long-term health risk.

Following 60 severely obese patients, researchers had the subjects of the study randomly assigned to have gastric bypass surgery or the more involved procedure known as duodenal switch. (more…)

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Jason

Weight Loss Surgery Can Trigger Eating Disorders

Many who have struggled with their weight for a lifetime look to weight loss surgery methods like gastric bypass or the lap-band procedure to solve their weight problems. While these types of surgeries are successful for some people, many others still struggle after their operation.

For those with underlying psychological food issues, weight loss surgery can trigger other eating disorders. According to a 2024 Harvard study, 60 percent of all individuals seeking surgical treatment for obesity suffer from an eating disorder, usually binge eating.  Those that have a previously unhealthy relationship with food and their body are at a higher risk of succumbing to other eating disorders after their operation.

Lap band and gastric bypass surgeries don’t typically create an eating disorder if there wasn’t previously one there. The major problem is that some who have these unhealthy food relationships have either left them untreated, or been unsuccessful in treatment prior to surgery. For binge eaters, the body cannot physically handle binge eating after surgery.

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Posted on July 1, 2023 by Descygna

Teen Weight Loss Surgery Patients Face a Harder Road to Results

Bariatric weight loss surgery is on the rise every year in America. Between 200,000 and 250,000 adults receive bariatric surgery annually. A smaller statistic that seems to carry more weight is the fact that about 1,000 American teenagers received some sort of weight loss surgery last year and the number is increasing every day.

The most common types of bariactric procedures are gastric bypass, gastric banding, and sleeve gastrectomy, and all involve surgery which is very risky, especially for teenagers.

While some of the risks for post-op teenagers come from the surgery itself, other risks come from the ability of the patient to follow rules. Since the procedures limit the amount of food one can eat, malnutrition is a very serious threat, made worse for teenagers who are still developing and need those nutrients for proper growth. Because of the risk of malnutrition, most patients are required to be on a strict vitamin regimen for the rest of their lives to ensure the body receives the vital elements it can no longer obtain from food.

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Posted on June 29, 2023 by Lacy

Number of Adjustments Found to Be Key for LAP-Band Success

Lap Band Weight loss deviceLAP-Band surgery is not a guarantee of weight loss, but new research shows that the number of post-operative adjustments can greatly impact a patient’s success. Conducted by David A. Nguyen, B.A., Grace J. Kim, B.A. and Carson D. Liu, M.D. of Skylex Advanced Surgical practice in California, the study analyzed the medical records of over 600 LAP-Band patients.

“For the patients who are able to make it back to their surgeon’s office, the adjustments are the key answer to continuing weight loss,” Dr. Carson Liu told DietsInReview in an interview.

The LAP-Band creates a small pouch at the top of the stomach, which allows patients to feel full after eating a small amount, roughly a half cup of food. The contents of this upper compartment then slowly pass through the band’s opening and are digested normally. “Once patients start to lose 30 to 40 pounds, a lot of the fat that is around the stomach and within the stomach wall is burned off, and they need to have that band filled,” said Dr. Liu. Each time the band is adjusted, it’s filled with a saline solution of isotonic salt water, tightening the opening.

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Posted on June 23, 2023 by Margaret

Fat Removed From Liposuction Reappears in Mysterious Places

Far too often people have the propensity to look for an easy way out when losing weight. While most of us lead busy lives and find it difficult to include exercise, ultimately it’s up to all of us to prioritize our health.

One example of how some people do not address the real issues associated with being heavy is through weight loss surgery. Liposuction has become the most popular plastic surgery, with more than 450,000 operations every year. While the vast majority of liposuction surgeries are done safely by highly trained physicians, there seems to be almost eerie side effect of having the procedure done. (more…)

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Jason

New Weight Loss Surgery and Memory Link Found

We all know that when you are obese or overweight, losing weight can improve your physical health.  According to the Los Angeles Times, a new study from Kent State University in Ohio suggests that obese patients who have their fat surgically removed may also see improvements in their cognitive function, including memory and concentration, when compared to obese people who didn’t have surgery.

As outlined in the study’s abstract, researchers from Kent State University in Ohio provided 150 obese patients in New York and North Dakota with a cognitive and memory test  that involved computer mazes and word recall.  Many of the patients scored in the low-average to average range before 2/3 of the group underwent bariatric weight loss surgery. Following the surgery, participants shed an average of 17% of their  body weight and rested for 12 weeks.

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Posted on April 19, 2024 by Maris

600 Pound Mom on OWN

oprah winfrey NetworkTune in to the Oprah Winfrey Network on Tuesday, April 12 to see Dominique’s story. Dominique is a 600 pound woman, who has six daughters. Her children are worried for her health and life, because she is so heavy that she can no longer leave her own home.

The whole family hopes that Dominique will undergo weight-loss surgery, but her current weight is too high for even this treatment. She must first lose 112 pounds to qualify for the surgery. This reality segment will follow Dominique as she struggles to lose the weight and save her life.

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Posted on April 11, 2024 by Health Buzz

Surgical Weight Loss for Teens Sometimes the Only Option

Kate Setter is a member of the media relations team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she contributes to and manages Change the Outcome (www.cincinnatichildrensblog.org), the hospital’s corporate blog. She most often writes about pediatric public health issues, including obesity, pre term birth and immunization.

Perhaps nothing has been written, talked about or wrestled with more in health care circles the past few years than obesity- and for good reason. Obesity is becoming a national epidemic. The cost to treat its related ailments is approaching $150 billion a year and almost one in three children in the United States is overweight or obese.

Pediatricians across the country, including at Cincinnati Children’s, are doing their best to address overweight and obesity issues with patients and families, but many morbidly obese teenagers are finding themselves out of options to reverse the trajectory of their weight issues.

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Posted on March 20, 2024 by GuestBlogger