18th Annual ASBS meeting

[Guest guest]

I received this link today:

http://www.wlscenter.com/ASBS_Conference.htm

This is a some of the information on the site:

Surgeons, allied health professionals and support group leaders gathered in Washington, DC this past week for the 18th annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery – and we were there!!! We exhibited my book Weight Loss Surgery, Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You. We had an unbelievably good response to the book, which I will detail later in this newsletter.

Unprecedented AttendanceConference organizers had been expecting about 800 attendees which would have represented an almost 30% increase over the previous year. However, they registered over 1,000 attendees, or more than a 70% increase, a sign of the explosive growth in the field of bariatric surgery. During our time there we met many surgeons who are expanding their practice to include weight loss surgery. Surgeons who have practiced in the field for some time are a bit nervous about this. Bariatric surgery has been held in less esteem than many other fields for quite some time. This came from the problems with older, dangerous surgeries and with the urban legends that prevail around stomach stapling. It was also associated with the morbidly obese who most believe should be able to control their eating and not resort to surgery. Now that the medical community is starting to view morbid obesity as a disease and to embrace the surgery, those who have been in the field are concerned that the newer surgeons will not have proper training, will run into problems and ruin the good reputation that these surgeons have spent years establishing. Time will tell.

Lap Band Approved by the FDAThe big news of the conference was the FDA approval of the lap band procedure, which came on the very first day of the conference. I had an opportunity to talk several times with the CEO of BioEnterics, Ellen Drake. BioEnterics is the company that makes the lap band, and their exhibit booth was right next to ours. Click Here for the BioEnterics website. Ms Drake responded to concerns that had been expressed to her during the week about the improper use of the lap band. Currently there are 30 centers installing the lap band in the United States. This number will increase to 100 centers by the end of the year. The FDA has approved the lap band, but only if it is inserted by a surgeon who has undergone specific training.

To learn more about the lap band procedure, Click Here.

Lap Versus Open DebateOn Wednesday of the conference, there was a lively debate concerning whether the members of ASBS preferred the laparoscopic procedure to the open procedure. The motion read, “that this house prefers open bariatric surgery to laparoscopic bariatric surgery.” Presenting the side in favor of the motion was Dr. Henry Buchwald and presenting the side against the motion was my surgeon, Dr. Phil Schauer. The debate followed the usual arguments that when a surgeon who is doing bariatric surgery laparoscopically gets into trouble, they have to revert to open, therefore they had better know how to do open procedures. Dr. Schauer’s arguments centered around the statistics of complications of hernias and wound infections with the open procedure. It was a very spirited debate with audience members offering their opinions within 5-minute limits. The debate ended with a straw vote of those present with an 8-vote margin in favor of the laparoscopic procedure. This was a very informal vote and did not reflect the position of ASBS, but of those members present. What was clear to everyone present is that regardless of what the surgeons prefer, the direction of bariatric surgery is toward the laparoscopic procedure because it is being driven by the patient’s preference.

SessionsDuring the conference there were general sessions for allied health professionals. These sessions included information for nurses, support group leaders, nutritionists and psychologists. Topics included the value of getting patients up and moving soon after surgery, whether obese patients continue to confront prejudice, the increased importance of “medically-supervised” diets for obtaining insurance approval, the role of exercise, post-op nutrition, vitamin management, etc.

There was an entire day for surgeons who are new to the practice. Topics covered included background information on morbid obesity and screening using NIH rules, different surgical techniques used to treat morbid obesity (RNY, VBG, DS, and lap banding), what complications can occur, and support issues such as support groups, billing insurance, hospital equipment, etc.

There was also 2 ½ days devoted to very technical issues and research of interest to experienced surgeons. Much of the research had been funded by the National Institutes of Health, which is starting to devote more funding into the study and treatment of morbid obesity.