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A Look at Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The laparoscope is then connected to a tiny camera allows the surgeons to perform the surgery by viewing it on a screen.

There are many benefits to laparoscopic bariatric surgery. By eliminating the large abdominal incision, patients generally recover more quickly and experience less pain following the surgery. Also, the occurrence of complications such infections and hernias are significantly reduced with the use of laparoscopes. Many laparoscopic surgery patients find that they have a better cosmetic result, with smaller incisions and less scarring.

Gastric banding is particularly well-suited as a laparoscopic procedure, and laparoscopic removal of the band is also possible once sufficient weight loss has been achieved.

In some cases, patients with prior surgeries or who are very morbidly obese may not be eligible for laparoscopic bariatric surgery. In rare casesFree Reprint Articles, patients who encounter problems during laparoscopic surgery may awake to find that their surgeons have had to perform open surgery instead.

5 Things You May Not Know About Bariatric Surgery

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Bariatric is based on the Greek word that means weight. Bariatric surgery is a major operation that seal most of the stomach reducing the amount of food a person can eat and also rearranges the intestines in such a way that reduces calories that the body can absorb. Bariatric surgery is in no way a quick or easy solution and really is a very serious piece of gastrointestinal surgery. Bariatric surgery is actually a collective term that incorporates the different types of weight loss operation that are available but each comes with their own risk and there own benefits. Bariatric surgery will mean some serious life changes following the operation and you should seriously consider whether there is a more viable alternative before you consider going under the knife.

1- One of the first things you should know, and probably already know, is that Bariatric surgery is by no means a cheap alternative to a life of dieting. At around $25,000 it is expensive. Insurers are beginning to recognize that obesity is a serious health issue and some time in the future they may offer to cover part of these costs.

2- Bariatric surgery will mean major lifestyle changes and many of them will be forced on you. For a start you physically won't be able to eat as much. Your stomach has been shrunk meaning that there simply isn't the room to place large amounts of food.

3- Patients tend to lose between 100 and 200 pounds in weight and this sudden change can have it's own effects on your body. You may suffer from quite severe back pains and other complications with joints and muscles. You will need to take it easy at first, don't assume that because you weigh 100 pounds less you can suddenly run the marathon.

4- You must be considered morbidly obese before you will be considered for Bariatric surgery. This means you are overweight by at least 100 pounds or you are unlikely to be considered for the operation.

5- If you are seriously obese then you may need to be taken into hospital prior to the operation to ensure that there are fewer risks with the surgery. You will likely have to spend some considerable time in hospital after the operation and will need to attend regular checkups with your physician and your specialist.

Bariatric Surgery: Cosmetic or Necessary?

During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. Thirty states have obesity rates of more than 20 percent. Currently, more than 44 million Americans are considered obese, the result of our fast-food life style and lack of exercise.

As a result, more obese Americans are turning to bariatric surgery. In 1995, just 20,000 weight-loss operations were performed in the United States. Last year, physicians performed 103,000 bariatric surgeries, an increase of more than 500 percent. The projection for 2005 rises to 144,000.

These surgeries are in the range of $30,000 each and if complications arise, even more. Even though some health insurance groups do not include this surgery in their plan language, requests for independent medical reviews regarding bariatric surgery have surged over the past year.

Most of these reviews hinge on what's considered medically necessary or optional when it comes to bariatric surgery. As a claims manager, there are several issues to consider when making a decision about a patient's claim for bariatric surgery:

Is the person suffering from morbid obesity? (The term morbid obesity refers to patients who are 50-100% or 100 pounds above their ideal body weight.)

Has the patient failed one or more non-surgical multi-component weight loss programs? (Was this an evidence-based, integrated weight loss program — such as the one offered by the Ornish Program — that has sustainable, reproducible results?)

Does the patient have a medical illness related to obesity and is he/she willing to participate in a pre-surgery weight loss effort to improve the success of surgery? (Even a somewhat slimmer patient has reduced cardiac risk.)

Can the patient make the lifestyle adjustment necessary to sustain weight loss? (Many of the dietary limitations are more severe than those needed to lose weight in the first place.)

Only by answering these questions, or using the expertise of your IRO, can you make an informed decision as to whether the claim is medically necessary or considered a cosmetic procedure.

Excitement Of Community Blogger

Monday, April 28, 2008

Bariatruc Surgery for Your Obesity

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

For people who have serious weight problems there are some options that can be tried out. The most well known routes are ones which involve diets and exercise. When these methods refuse to work due to excess body weight there are still other options. And some of these options include weight reduction surgery. This type of surgery is called by many names including bariatric surgery.

There are various medical documents where you will be able to see what bariatric surgery is all about. When you are informed about the choice of having bariatric surgery you may want to ask your doctor what this surgery is like. This will help you to get the right choice of surgery. On the surface, all of the surgical procedures like this one may seem the same but there are differences.

In bariatric surgery the stomach size is reduced so that you will need to reduce your food intake. While there are some popular ways of getting the weight reduced using bariatric surgery you should understand that some of these treatments are not easily reversible. For this reason make sure that you ask your doctor all of the questions and alternative treatments which can help you instead.

One of the first items that you should see about when you are getting bariatric surgery is the costs which you will be incurring. This is important as you will need to have this amount available to go ahead with your surgery. However, there are also times when your medical insurance will be able to help you out. But you should still know what the cost is.

With all of these details under your belt you can then decide which is the better option in bariatric surgery. In one of the treatments your stomach is divided into two with a small adjustable belt. This procedure does have some drawbacks in the amount of weight loss which can be achieved but can be the better option for some people.

This is because there is no severe damage done to your stomach during this type bariatric surgery. Other options that you can see about are ones like are a gastric bypass surgery.

In this form of bariatric surgery the main part of the stomach is bypassed during the surgery, ultimately limiting your intake of food. This is an operation which you should go through with some care as there is no easy way of reversing it. With all of the bariatric surgery procedures though, you as the patient, will notice most likely notice a loss of weight within a few weeks if not days.

A Look at Bariatric Surgery Patients

Individuals who are interested in bariatric surgery need to be aware of the ramifications. Although significant weight loss can be achieved with the procedure, patients need to have realistic weight loss expectations. Even after the surgery, most patients will not achieve their ideal body weight. Patients with a lower BMI to begin with generally lose a greater percentage of excess weight, while those with a higher initial BMI will likely lose more total weight.

Patients who approach the surgery with a goal of improving their health resulting and quality of life will have the most success.

Patients also need to be aware that bariatric surgery is just the first step. Post-surgery, they will require lifelong medical surveillance and must go into the procedure with a complete understanding of the surgery, the possible risks, and the lifelong changes it will require.

With that said, severely overweight people who have tried diets and exercise but have not achieved lasting weight loss may be candidates for bariatric weight loss surgery. To be a suitable candidate, a person must meet certain criteria prescribed by a doctor or insurance company. Example criteria include excess weight of 100 pounds (or 100 percent over ideal weight), age range between 18 and 60 ears, a BMI (body mass index) of 40 or greater.

Other qualifying criteria include a BMI of between 35 and 40 coupled with one or more of the following conditions: diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, or degenerative joint disease. Also, repeated and failed attempts to lose weight with the aid of diets, exercise, behavior modification, or weight loss drugs make bariatric surgery an attractive option. Finally, patients should show no history of drug and/or alcohol abuse.

Bariatric Surgery Centers in the U.S.

Many hospitals and medical centers now have bariatric surgery centers onsite. These centers do more than just perform surgeries; many offer a multidisciplinary approach, including the expertise of surgeons, psychologists, registered dietitians, physical therapists, exercise physiologist, meditation specialists, and others. Some centers will also communicate with the patient’s insurance company for the pre-approval and appeal process. Most provide ongoing medical check-ups to monitor patient health and weight-loss post-operatively.

On occasion, bariatric surgical centers will partner with others to form a cooperative, essentially doubling the services they can provide and the number of patients they can assist. Many also contract with contract with financial institutions to offer financial assistance to patients who do not have insurance but who still want bariatric surgery.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) recommends choosing a bariatric center that completes at least 125 bariatric surgeries per year. According to the ACS, well-equipped centers will typically have two or more bariatric surgeons on staff, and highly experienced surgeons would be certified by the American Board of Surgery and complete at least fifty bariatric operations per year.

There are bariatric surgery centers located across the entire country. Prominent bariatric surgery centers include the Alsam Bariatric Center, the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence P.C., the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Hackensack Bariatric Surgery Center, the Bariatric Institute of Kentucky, and the California Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery’s Advanced Bariatric Surgery Center of Fresno, among many others.

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