Surgical Specialists of Louisiana Becomes One of the First Sites in
the U.S. to Perform Bariatric Surgery with These Techniques
Incisionless Surgery Offers the Potential for Less Risk of Wound
Infection, Less Pain, Shorter Recoveries and No Visible Scars
COVINGTON, La., June 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bariatric surgeons at The Surgical Specialists of Louisiana have become one of the first teams in the U.S. to perform a new incisionless weight loss procedure to decrease the capacity of a patient's stomach. This incisionless procedure, dubbed POSE (Primary Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal), is the first of its kind performed in Louisiana. The Surgical Specialists of Louisiana is one of the first three sites in the country to make it available.
Bariatric surgeons Michael J. Thomas, MD, FACS, and Thomas E. Lavin MD, FACS, performed the groundbreaking incisionless procedures during the first quarter of this year. Clyde Harper, a 31 year old patient from Loranger returned home after a brief overnight stay following the procedure and immediately resumed normal activities including going back to work. Cindy Babylon, a native of New Orleans, was observed overnight and went home the next day resuming normal activity within a few more days after that.
"Incisionless surgery offers important advantages over open and laparoscopic surgery including reduced risk of infection, less post-operative pain, faster recovery time and no visible scars," Dr. Thomas said. "Bariatric surgery is the most effective tool patients have to lose weight and overcome the diseases often associated with it. However, many patients worry about the recovery time and complications associated with surgical incisions. This advanced incisionless procedure offers them a less invasive treatment option," Dr. Lavin said.
To perform the incisionless POSE procedures, Drs. Thomas and Lavin used USGI Medical Inc.'s (San Clemente, Calif.) Incisionless Operating Platform (IOP) and a flexible endoscope to visualize the stomach. They inserted the scope and the IOP through the patient's mouth and then used the IOP tools to grasp the stomach tissue and deploy suture anchors to create multiple tissue folds in the stomach wall to reduce its volume capacity.
Clyde Harper learned about POSE as a patient of the Surgical Specialists, which offers a comprehensive approach to weight loss, including the latest in minimally invasive -- and now Incisionless -- bariatric surgery. Since Clyde's procedure, he has lost 45 pounds and his Type II diabetes has been cured.
Cindy began battling her weight in her mid-twenties after both of her babies were born and as a result suffered with high blood pressure, and early signs of Type II diabetes. To date, she has lost 29 pounds and she is off of all of her medications. Cindy is also a breast cancer survivor. Like patients who have other types of bariatric surgery, both Clyde and Cindy have made dietary and behavior changes in order to see and maintain significant weight loss. "The procedure appealed to them because it would reshape their stomachs and help them to feel full earlier when eating, reducing their desire for more food," Dr. Thomas said.
The Surgical Specialists was chosen as one of a few select sites in the country to participate in a Data Registry that will follow patients who undergo the Incisionless POSE procedure.
Dr. Lavin and Dr. Thomas also offer an incisionless procedure to reduce the size of the stomach pouch and opening to the small intestine in Roux en Y gastric bypass patients who have started to regain weight because of changes in their anatomy. This procedure is known as ROSE, Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endoluminal.
More than 60 million people in the United States are overweight and more than 15 million suffer from severe obesity. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 35% of Louisianans are obese. Several serious diseases and conditions are commonly associated with obesity, including Type II diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. Surgical treatment of obesity has increased significantly in recent years; over 200,000 individuals in the United States underwent bariatric surgery in 2007.
The Bariatric Surgery Program at The Surgical Specialists of Louisiana makes a long-term commitment to patients' health and guides them from pre-surgery consultation and testing through surgery, recovery and continuing support. The Surgical Specialists of Louisiana specializes in laparoscopic weight-loss surgery including gastric bypass, gastric banding, duodenal switch, and gastric sleeve procedures, in addition to POSE and ROSE.
Dr. Lavin graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Miami University in Ohio. He received his medical degree from Medical College of Ohio and completed his General Surgery residency at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans in 1995. He is a board certified surgeon and has been a pioneer in developing and promoting the field of laparoscopic surgery. Dr. Lavin is the founder of the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana.
Michael J. Thomas, MD, FACS, is a native New Orleanian who graduated from Jesuit High School and summa cum laude from Tulane University. He received his medical degree from LSU Medical School and completed his general surgery residency at LSU in 1999 where he served as teaching chief resident. Dr. Thomas practiced in LaFouche Parish for two years before joining the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana. He is Director of Bariatric Surgery at Southern Surgical Hospital in Slidell.
For more information on the Bariatric Surgery Program at the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana call 1-877-691-3001 or visit http://www.whyweight.com/.