Re: Yakima-Herald Story (long)

[Guest guest]

Ah, journalists. Gotta love 'em. They have so many words to fit

the story in, but sometimes they leave out the most important

ones. That said, I've taken some paragraphs out of context here

for comments. I'm probably not saying anything that nobody

knows, but thanks for letting me wax on (like the Karate Kid).

Thanks for posting this, Judie! All things considered, it is a great

story! Thanks to for providing the link.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/cgi-bin/liveique.acgi$rec=37890?

home

> The procedure, introduced in 1988, is called a distal

> gastric bypass with duodenal switch. During the 2 1/2-hour

> surgery, Dr. Heap of Richland will remove

> three-quarters of Mahoney's stomach, leaving her physically

> unable to overeat.

This is a description of the stomach staple. The other important

aspects of the DS surgery (duodenal switch, malabsorption,

pyloric valve, etc.) are not mentioned...at all.

> Bariatric surgery is far from foolproof, though.

> Information from the WebMD shows that about 1 percent of the

> procedures result in death, and that as many as 20 percent

> of patients need additional surgery to mend complications,

> such as abdominal hernias. Roughly 30 percent of patients

> develop nutritional deficiencies.

Sounds bad, eh? Author leaves out the fact that the 1% is the

same for almost all surgeries; the 20% doensn't mean all are

life-threatening complications (some people keep their hernias

for a long time until repaired during tummy-tucks or panni

removal); the 30% nutritional deficiencies can include cures

such as " take your vitamins " or a B12 shot.

> " It's like going from a Chevy to a Cadillac with this new

> procedure, " the 62-year-old surgeon says. " My patients who

> have had the surgery have so few complaints with this

> particular hook-up that I'm really quite amazed. I like my

> patients to be able to lead a normal life -- surgery

> shouldn't be a punishment. And, once you've lost 100 pounds,

> you're as happy as a dog with two tails. "

If my dog had two tails, he'd faint from over-stimulation!

> Heap is one of just two Eastern Washington surgeons who

> performs the surgery. And though he believes in the

> procedure, Dr. Ted Rudd, president of the Yakima County

> Medical Society and a practicing OBGYN since 1972, offers a

> differing opinion.

An OBGYN. Sounds like a spectacularly uninformed one, at that.

> " We have to deal with medical liability and malpractice, "

> he says. " This kind of surgery is just an open minefield

> because you could easily hurt the patients. And I think the

> results are not that successful generally. There's a reason

> more surgeons aren't doing it. "

Personally, I think the more reasons why surgeons aren't doing it

is training. It is complicated surgery that requires skill and

expertise...and a fair amount of compassion and caring for your

patients. I doubt it is considered a glamorous or glorious road

out of medical school. Additionally, based on the many stories

I've read about non-compassionate doctors, I think that as long

as there are doctors who see MO as a character flaw, there will

be less surgeons interested in treating it. I don't see a

groundswell of support coming from medical schools, so it may

take longer than I would hope.

> " There are times when people are so severely obese that

> surgery is the only thing they can resort to, " [Rudd] says.

> " It's certainly the last thing you resort to -- the measure

> you take after everything else has been tried and the

> patient's health is so severely compromised. But if surgery

> were the answer to the problems of obesity in this country,

> I think we'd be doing it pretty regularly. "

Maybe it's just me, but if you consider DS, RNY, and Lap-band,

doesn't it seem like it IS being done pretty regularly?? The major

obstacle being, of course, insurance?

> In specific cases, though, obesity surgery can be the

> answer -- and it's no more risky than other surgeries, says

> Dr. Walter Medlin, 37.

>

> " In selected patients, bariatric surgery can be quite

> appropriate and quite successful, " the Yakima-based general

> surgeon says. " There are patients who have complications

and

> some who die from the surgery, but that's the case with all

> surgeries. We're continually re-evaluating all types of

> surgery and we're always trying to improve, but in terms of

> the approach of bariatric surgery, there's nothing else

> that's proven to be nearly as effective in reducing

> obesity. "

Therein lies the difference. I've read hundreds of research

reports on how such-and-such diet can be successful in

LOSING x amount of weight. As far as KEEPING IT OFF, the only

successful studies I've read point to surgery.

My $0.02,

maria