Weight Loss Surgery Articles Blog

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com

A surgery to remove polyps blocking nasal airways might cost at least $33,000. That was cheapest price someone could find in Indianapolis, Indiana. The same surgery in a private hospital in Wales, UK would cost $2,930 [or £1,897].

An estimated 878,000 Americans will travel internationally for a medical procedure this year, according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. That number is expected to nearly double by 2012.

The majority of medical tourists are uninsured; however, the cost of health care in this country has become so expensive that even some U.S. health insurance companies are coordinating with hospitals overseas (anyone knows an insurance company doing this?).

According to the article posted in CNN, Companion Global Healthcare, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield, launched in 2007 a program "medical travel facilitator," allowing participating employers to add an international option to the health care plans they offer to staff. The company has partnered with 29 hospitals in 14 countries and offers negotiated rates that are lower than those offered at hospitals domestically.

Only a handful of insurance companies appears to be offering this type of service according to the Medical Tourism Association, an international trade organization that acts as a liaison between patients and their international providers.

An hear valve replacement in the states cost $170,000.
Compare this with:
Costa Rica, $30,000
Singapore $13,500
Thailand $22,000
Mexico $30,000

Maybe this is extreme, but prices for obesity surgery in Brazil are half of the cost in the USA. many more examples can be found. Weight loss surgeries are also searched on Google for foreign destinies as medical tourism.

Of course the recommendation is to make sure the hospital is accredited
Here's a list of hospitals accredited through the Joint Commission International. The joint commission inspects facilities to make sure they meet the necessary standards.

For example this is the list for:
Brazil

The following organizations are accredited jointly by Joint Commission International and the Consortium for Brazilian Accreditation (CBA). For more information about Joint Commission International Accreditation Partners, click here.

AMIL Resgate Saude
Rio de Janerio, Brazil
Program: Medical Transport
First Accredited: 28 November 2008

AMIL Total Care - Barra da Tijuca
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Ambulatory
First Accredited: 1 October 2005
Re-accredited: 8 November 2008
Rio de Janerio, Brazil

AMIL Total Care - Berrini
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Ambulatory
First Accredited: 24 September 2005
Re-accredited: 5 November 2008

AMIL Total Care - Botafogo
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Ambulatory
First Accredited: 10 March 2006
Re-accredited: 15 April 2009

Associação do Sanatório Sírio - Hospital do Coração
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Hospital
Date Accredited: 11 November 2006
Re-accredited: 12 December 2009

Centro de Transplante de Medula Óssea (CEMO) - INCA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: DCSC Certification (Bone Marrow program)
First Certified: 29 April 2009

Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz
São Paulo, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 7 August 2009

Hospital Copa D'OR
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 8 November 2007

Hospital do Câncer II - INCA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 6 December 2008

Hospital do Cancer III - INCa
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 6 December 2007

Hospital do Cancer IV - INCa
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Care Continuum
First Accredited: 2 December 2007

Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 17 December 1999
Re-accredited: 13 December 2002
Re-accredited: 18 February 2006
Program: Disease or Condition-Specific Care (DCSC)
Certification for the Stroke Program
Date Certified: 31 March 2007

Hospital Moinhos de Vento
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 13 December 2002
Re-accredited: 1 October 2005
Re-accredited: 20 September 2008

Hospital Sao Vicente de Paulo
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 27 August 2008

Hospital Sirio Libanes - Sociedade Beneficente de Senhoras
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 14 December 2007

Instituto Estadual de Hematologia - Hemorio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 1 December 2001
Re-accredited: 17 November 2003
Re-accredited: 30 March 2007

Instituto Nacional de Traumato e Ortopedia -Unidade Hospitalar-Into
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 10 March 2006
Re-accredited: 30 September 2009

PRONEP - Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Program: Care Continuum
First Accredited: 4 March 2007

PRONEP - Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Care Continuum
First Accredited: 1 March 2007

Sociedade Hospital Samaritano
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Program: Hospital
First Accredited: 16 December 2004
Re-accredited: 29 November 2007

This article was extracted from a post on CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/26/cheaper.surgery/index.html?hpt=C1

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com/bmi-children.htm

Pediatric researchers have found that a gene already implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes in adults also raises the risk of being overweight during childhood. The finding sheds light on the genetic origins of diabetes and may present an avenue for developing drugs to counteract the disease, which has been on the upswing in childhood and adolescence.

Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published the study Nov. 23 in the online version of the journal Diabetes.

"It has been a bit of a mystery to scientists how or even if these adult diabetes genes function during childhood," said study leader Struan F.A. Grant, Ph.D., a researcher and associate director of the Center for Applied Genomics of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This finding suggests that there may be genetic activity during childhood that lays the foundation for the later development of type 2 diabetes."

Type 2 diabetes occurs either when the pancreas produces too little insulin, or when the body cannot efficiently use the insulin that is produced because the cells have become resistant. Formerly called adult-onset diabetes and still most common in adults, type 2 diabetes has been increasing sharply among children and teenagers.

Grant and study co-leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital, investigated 20 gene variants, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), previously reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes. The researchers drew on a cohort of nearly 7,200 Caucasian children, aged 2 to 18 years, in an ongoing genome-wide association study of childhood obesity at Children's Hospital. Dividing the cohort randomly in half allowed the team to follow their discovery study with a replication study.

Researchers continue to unravel the complicated role of different diabetes-related genes in influencing body weight toward both lower and higher ends of the scale. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood is often influenced by factors in the first year of life, including lower birth weight, as well as by higher body mass index (BMI) during childhood. Obesity is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

A previous study earlier this year by the same study team found that another type 2 diabetes gene, CDKAL1, affects fetal growth and increases the likelihood that a baby will be underweight at birth.

The current study found that the gene HHEX-IDE does not affect birth weight, but makes it more likely that a child will become obese during childhood. The gene does not appear to predispose to obesity in adults, although by contributing to childhood obesity, it may set the stage for type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Grant cautioned that HHEX-IDE accounts for only a small proportion of the genetic contribution to the risk of type 2 diabetes, so many other gene variants remain to be discovered. However, he adds, HHEX-IDE may represent an important underpinning of the disease. "Previously we thought that this gene affects insulin production during adulthood, but we now see that it may play an early role in influencing insulin resistance through its impact on body size during childhood," said Grant. "One implication is that if we can develop medicines to target specific biological pathways in childhood, we may be able to prevent diabetes from developing later in life."

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/chop-t2d120709.php

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com

Gastric Bypass: This time, the TV weatherman did it

One of Al Roker's relavations in his new book: This time, the TV weatherman did it

The once robust Roker now weighs in at about 200 pounds, down from the 340 pounds he carried before his gastric bypass surgery in 2002. "I've added a few pounds in the last year or so, but I'm working on it. I like to be under 200."

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com/bmi-children.htm

A Brazilian non-profit group last year complained to prosecutors that the promotion of the toys violated the country's consumer protection legislation.

This week a Brazilian prosecutor asked a judge to nationally ban toys sold with meals in fast-food outlets like McDonald’s and Burger King, because it can lead children to develop bad eating habits. The move comes amid wide-spread concern over the link between some fast food and illnesses such as diabetes, as the U.S. congress considers requiring chain restaurants to disclose calories on their menus to help fight endemic obesity.

Prosecutor Marcio Schusterschitz, a federal prosecutor in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, said fast-food toy promotions encourage children to buy high-fat meals through “the abusive creation of emotional associations” that turn them into life-long eaters of high-fat foods. Read the full article on uk.reuters.com.

A judge must first decide whether or not to hear the request, which targets combination meals offered by McDonald's, Burger King and Brazilian chain Bob's that typically include hamburgers or chicken nuggets, french fries and soft drinks.

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com

A new market research report published by RNCOS indicates a booming global obesity drug and product Market.

By 2012, it’s expected that more than two billion people will be overweight and 600 Million will be obese. The prevalence of obesity is increasing globally at alarming rates. Obesity drugs market has shown a radical growth currently.

This obesity drug because the market has high unmet demand, and any drug that manages to provide am improved benefit to risk ratio compared to bariatric surgery can expect to be successful. In spite of some of its recent failures, new obesity drugs are increading and a large number of drugs are in phase-III and late phase-II trials. If some of these drugs manage to reach the market and posses a strong efficacy and safety profile, they can quickly become billion-dollar businesses.

Country-wise, the US is presently the biggest market for weight loss drugs with around 68% of its population either overweight or obese. The US is followed by the UK and other European countries. Emerging economies such as China, Russia, India and Brazil are also expected to become a huge market for weight loss products. China’s obesity and overweight levels are expected to exceed 665-670 Million in 2015, China will emerge as one of the most potential weight loss market.

In contrast, the market for weight loss drugs has failed to match this growth. The market for weight loss drugs is hit by several recent failures. A number of drugs have failed to get approval, some have been recalled, and those that have entered the market either suffer from serious side effects or have just failed to give the desired weight loss results consumers expected from them. Refusal of healthcare authorities to grant reimbursement to these drugs has also slowed the growth.

Obesity is seen by drug manufacturers as a growth industry, the fatter people get, the more money the drug manufacturers make. If a lot of money can be made with drugs that according the report “possess a strong efficacy and safety profile” there will be no motivation to find a cure, as chronic diseases will keep people taking pills for the rest of their lives!

The report also list available weight-loss techniques an d products: Weight-loss Surgery, Liposuction, Weight-loss Foods & Drinks, Diet Centers and Weight-loss Drugs.