Before all else — your health comes first. Before you can use the LAP-BAND® System to help you lose weight and live healthier, you need to qualify medically. This means being currently healthy enough for the minimally invasive procedure. While only a physician or surgeon can give you a complete medical evaluation, the criteria listed… Continue Reading »
Category: Bariatric Surgery
A recently released Medscape article in Medscape Pharmacists shows that a recent change in the definition of diabetes remission will impact the stated effectiveness of various bariatric surgeries. This leads medical experts to conclude that bariatric surgeries such as gastric bypass and Lap-Band may be best viewed as management tools rather than diabetes cures. The… Continue Reading »
A new Medscape article from Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology states that there is an imbalance in the US between the high number of patients suffering from obesity and the low but growing number of patients choosing to have bariatric sugery. According to the report, advances in the procedure will make it more accessible to patients,… Continue Reading »
A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that bariatric surgical procedures such as lap-band and gastric bypass outperformed traditional medical therapy in a recent pair of clinical studies. These randomized studies were performed in Ohio and Italy by leading medical doctors in the field. Both studies focused on the treatment of… Continue Reading »
A recent interview posted on Medscape details a number of weight-related factors that should be considered in the treatment of diabetes, including the surprising information that bariatric surgery may be used to treat diabetic patients of normal weight. The interview featured doctors Henry R. Black and Louis J. Aronne, both of whom are prominent members… Continue Reading »
University of Southern California Dr. Anne Peters recently released a special report on Medscape entitled, “Bariatric Surgery a ‘Magic Bullet’ for Diabetes?” In her report she concludes that bariatric surgeries such as the Lap Band procedure are “something we need to recommend for our patients.” As an endocrinologist, Dr. Peters has seen first-hand a large… Continue Reading »
As reported in a recent NFL.com story, Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Rob Ryan will be undergoing Lap Band surgery during this offseason, following in the footsteps of his brother, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, who had the procedure in 2010. The two brothers are twins, and have both had long-term struggles with their… Continue Reading »
According to a recent New York Daily News story, treatment with bariatric procedures such as Lap Band surgery may provide a reversal or cure of type 2 diabetes. Doctors report that it should be recommended more quickly in the treatment process rather than as a backup or last resort. The two recently released studies, published… Continue Reading »
Study is first of its kind to assess patient-reported outcomes of procedures to reduce abdominal fat
Arlington Heights, Ill.– Patients undergoing cosmetic liposuction and/or abdominoplasty (“tummy tuck”) procedures report significant improvements in self-esteem and quality of life, according to a study in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Outcomes are especially good with liposuction plus “tummy tuck,” although they include somewhat higher pain scores and longer recovery times, reports the new study by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Eric Swanson, MD, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kan.
Study Shows Improved Quality of Life and Other Benefits
Dr. Swanson formally evaluated quality of life and other outcomes in 360 patients undergoing liposuction and/or abdominoplasty to remove excess abdominal fat. About 60 percent of patients underwent liposuction alone, while 35 percent underwent a combination of liposuction and abdominoplasty. The rest underwent abdominoplasty alone.
The patients’ average age was 42 years; 85 percent were women. Thirty percent of patients underwent other cosmetic plastic surgery procedures (such as face lift or breast augmentation) at the same time. Outcomes were assessed an average of four months after surgery.
Patients undergoing liposuction alone had shorter recovery times: average time off work was about six days, compared to 16 days with abdominoplasty (with or without liposuction). The liposuction-only patients also had less discomfort: average pain score 6 out of 10, compared to 7.5 for those undergoing abdominoplasty.
Combined Procedure Yields Best Results
Patients undergoing abdominoplasty rated their cosmetic outcomes higher than others: average score 9 out of 10, compared to 8 out of 10 with liposuction only. Liposuction plus abdominoplasty produced the highest patient satisfaction rate-over 99 percent-with no increase in pain compared to abdominoplasty alone.
Ninety-eight percent of patients undergoing liposuction plus abdominoplasty said they would undergo the procedure again and 99 percent that they would recommend it to others.
Overall, 86 percent of patients reported an improved sense of self-esteem after surgery. About 70 percent reported improved quality of life, more commonly after liposuction plus abdominoplasty.
Quality of life is an increasingly important focus measure of effectiveness for all types of medical and surgical treatments. Even though liposuction and abdominoplasty are among the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery procedures, few studies have formally evaluated their impact on quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes.
“Liposuction and abdominoplasty, individually and in combination, produce high rates of patient satisfaction and reliably improve self-esteem,” Dr. Swanson writes. By formally assessing these important outcomes in a large number of patients, he hopes his study will provide a clearer picture of the expected results and recovery times associated with these widely performed cosmetic surgery procedures.
After losing over 150 pounds following a previous gastric bypass surgery in 1999, Carnie Wilson had a Lap-Band procedure done in January and has lost 30 pounds since the surgery, this Huffington Post article reports. Wilson stated that she wanted the second surgery to get her back on the right path after being unable to… Continue Reading »
