A North Carolina Band story

[Guest guest]

(I sure would not want to be among the first 50-75 patients of a band

surgeon, though - he will be very inexperienced with not only the

surgery, but also fills, nutrition, counselling, and all the other

post-op needs -

The stats tell us that surgeon needs to have done 50-100 bands to be

considered experienced and have the common post-op

problems decrease. Sandy )

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Diets, pills done, she'll try surgery

By Calhoun

Staff writer

Bernice underwent a procedure to wrap a band around the upper

part of her stomach to limit the amount of food she can eat. The

surgery has been done at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in

Lumberton since August.

LUMBERTON — Bernice sits in a hospital bed, listing the names

of the diets and pills she's tried in attempts to lose weight over

the years.

The words trip off her tongue as though she's naming her children:

Slimfast; Weight Watchers; Atkins; South Beach; D-12; Adipex; Phen-

Phen; Xenical.

She's sure there are more, but she can't remember them all.

Now she's trying something else — the laparoscopic adjustable gastric

banding procedure, or lap-band — in which a band is wrapped around

the upper part of her stomach to control the amount of food she can

eat.

, who is 54, was the first person to undergo the procedure at

Southeastern Regional Medical Center on Aug. 15.

Dr. Barry on, who performed the laparoscopic surgery, said 30

patients are already lined up to receive it. He expects to do about

three surgeries a week, or more than 150 a year.

The surgery is not cheap. At Southeastern Regional, lap-band costs

between $15,000 and $20,000, depending on the length of hospital stay

and other factors. It also doesn't include the surgeon's fees, said

Faith Ferguson, bariatric program coordinator at the hospital.

Weight-loss surgeries, such as gastric bypass and gastropexy, can

cost $30,000 or more in the United States. In some cases, insurance

will pay for a portion. Medicare will pay when a hospital has been

approved as a Bariatric Center of Excellence, Ferguson said.

Being obese can be even more costly.

on estimated that it costs about $18,000 a year, per person,

in doctor and hospital visits, diet plans and dining out, as well as

the side effects from diabetes such as long-term dialysis resulting

from kidney failure.

Fresh start

For , health concerns were only part of the reason she decided

to have the procedure.

Mostly, she just wants a fresh start — a chance to try for a better

life.

has been overweight for more than 30 years, since she had her

twins. As she's gotten older, it has been harder to lose weight, she

said.

" When you hit your 40s and 50s, man, this stuff is like glue, " she

said.

The excess weight has caused health problems such as high blood

pressure. said she worries about developing diabetes like her

grandmother, who eventually went blind after her kidneys failed.

" I want to get off the blood pressure pills, " said. " Stuff

really hides in this fat — diseases, illnesses. "

But she also wants to lose weight and experience the little things

about life that she quit enjoying years ago.

" I want to walk up steps and not be out of breath, " she said. " I just

hope I keep losing forever and ever. As long as I'm maintaining that

healthy weight, I'll be satisfied. "