AllBodySurgery.com
10 points!!!!!!!!summarize please?
With no magic weight-loss pill available and more focus on the increasing rate of obesity among adults, people struggling with obesity are turning to surgery, especially procedures that have become less invasive. For local surgeons and hospitals, that demand translates into a growing business for bariatric — stomach reduction — surgery. Some Bay Area hospitals and medical groups that have performed the surgery for a few years are now expanding, hiring more surgeons and buying more equipment geared for operating on people who weigh as much as 600 pounds. "There are more people understanding the significance of the health risk," said Dr. Mary Estakhri, director of minimally invasive surgery for ValleyCare Health System in Pleasanton. "Years ago, it was seen as incredibly drastic or it was seen as taking the easy way out. But now, frequently patients know other people who have had it, and it's more of a reality." Since 2000, Estakhri has performed stomach reduction surgeries at ValleyCare with laparoscopic surgery, a technique that is less invasive. The health system recently hired another surgeon since officials expect a 25 percent increase in bariatric patients over the next year. The procedure involves inserting a small camera in the surgical area through a small incision, and surgeons view the area on a video screen. They operate with instruments inserted through other small incisions. In the last three years, stomach reduction surgeries have almost doubled, increasing from almost 37,000 in 2000 to over 63,000 for the year ended in June, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. About 90 percent of those surgeries were performed in this country. Given average surgery costs of $25,000, that translates to more than $1.4 billion spent on bariatric surgery in the United States in the most recent year. And though many insurers cover it, some only cover a specific type of bariatric operation. It is not uncommon for patients to foot the bill themselves, hospital administrators say. For instance, 20 percent of the patients who have had stomach reduction surgery by Drs. Robert or John Rabkin in San Francisco pay for the surgery themselves, according to their office. Demand for surgeries in the future is expected to remain strong, though it's hard to say what it will be exactly since the decision to undergo the procedure is a personal one. The surgery is meant for morbidly obese people or those people at risk for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and back problems. About 16 million people in this country are morbidly obese, or at least 100 pounds overweight. "It's a service line that for most hospitals is profitable at this time," said Ken Steele, CEO of St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco. A combination of factors make the surgery more popular now, Estakhri and others say. In the last few years, celebrities including singer Carnie Wilson and NBC weather forecaster Al Roker have had stomach reduction surgery. And national attention has spotlighted the fact that more Americans are obese and that obesity is a high risk for diabetes, hypertension, a host of back problems and ailments like sleep apnea. Dr. John Feng, part of Laparoscopic Associates, a practice in San Francisco headed by Dr. Gregg Jossart, frequently sees patients at satellite offices in Petaluma and Eureka. Three surgeons in the practice perform three kinds of laparoscopic surgery on at least 200 patients a year, mostly at California Pacific Medical Center. The surgeons hold online chat sessions with patients to help them with questions about their recovery. "It's such a growing field right now that I think it will drive a lot of doctors to get this expertise especially in laparoscopic surgery because patients specifically look for that," Feng said. "It's not unusual to have patients come into the office who have read a lot about this surgery and they come into the office and ask" for a specific kind of surgery. "Unless we can find the underlying problems causing obesity, and those are multifactorial, I think it will only grow," Feng said of the demand. The surgeries reduce the size of the stomach and the rate at which calories are absorbed. So after surgery, a person does not want to eat as much. Results of the surgery vary but a person can lose anywhere from half to at least 70 percent of their excess body weight over a period of a year or two following surgery. The surgery can be especially beneficial for adults under age 60, Feng said, because it often enables them to get off expensive medication. Earlier this year, St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco spent about $500,000 to equip an operating room with special tables and equipment. CEO Ken Steele has been engineering a turnaround for the Catholic Healthcare West hospital, which is close to breaking even after losing more than $12 million in 2001. Steele estimates that about 160 bariatric opera
Public Comments
- I'm not going to read all of that and write a summary about it when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself. Stop trying to get other people to do your work for you, it's not helping you any.
- ya think were gonna summarize that? No way sister.
- Your homework? Not my job, man. Sorry, but you need to do it yourself if you're gonna get anything out of it.
