Weight Loss Surgery Link blog

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p008gt15

The BBC reported on a new study that contradicts the assumption that exercise prevents obesity. Use the link above to to read BBC's observations.

For more information on the Early Bird Diabetes Study got to:
Early Bird Diabetes

Key findings from the study are:
• Obese children – parents unaware and unconcerned.
• Children’s activity not determined by environmental opportunity
• Social inequalities no longer a major factor in obesity.
• Obesity leads to inactivity, rather than the other way round.
• Healthy weight for life? Start at birth.
• Obese parents – in particular those of the same gender – key to childhood obesity.
• Girls at greater risk of type 2 diabetes than boys.
• Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes essentially the same disorder of insulin resistance, differing only in tempo.

Link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesityinchildren.html

For more information on childhood obesity, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Link: http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/150/2/94

Bariatric surgery leads to substantial and durable weight reduction. Nearly 30% of patients who undergo bariatric surgery have type 2 diabetes, and for many of them, diabetes resolves after surgery (84% to 98% for bypass procedures and 48% to 68% for restrictive procedures). Glycemic control improves in part because of caloric restriction but also because gut peptide secretion changes. Gut peptides, which mediate the enteroinsular axis, include the incretins glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide, as well as ghrelin and peptide YY. Bariatric surgery (particularly bypass procedures) alters secretion of these gut hormones, which results in enhanced insulin secretion and sensitivity. This review discusses the various bariatric procedures and how they alter the enteroinsular axis. Familiarity with these effects can help physicians decide among the different surgical procedures and avoid postoperative hypoglycemia.

PHYSIOLOGY IN MEDICINE: A SERIES OF ARTICLES LINKING MEDICINE WITH SCIENCE.
Narrative Review: Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
20 January 2009 | Volume 150 Issue 2 | Pages 94-103

Link: http://www.robertorizzi.com/plastic_surgery.htm

Just got across this excellent article (follow this link)decribing a full body lift several years after a succesfull gastric bypass surgery.

For many this is the final step to a new life. The body lift is the most extreme transformation of the body that cosmetic surgery can provide.

Link: http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=216611

Robotics is a cutting-edge method of performing surgery using only a few small incisions, or keyholes similar to that used in laparoscopic cases, as ports for instruments that allow access to the heart, lungs and abdomen, while at the same time fine-tuning the technical skills of the surgeon. This surgery is performed in a three dimensional image compared to the two dimensions of laparoscopic surgery. Robotic instrumentation works by mimicking the motions and movements of the surgeons’ hands and fingers. This provides an added element of dexterity for the surgeon. Furthermore, the da Vinci’s wrist action capabilities allow the surgeon to get around corners and in tight spaces for improved precision.

Robotics surgery is a particularly good option for bariatric patients who choose the gastric bypass procedure.

When performing a gastric bypass procedure, the most complicated and important part of the surgery is creating the communication between the stomach and small bowel after creating the gastric pouch. The most common approaches in connecting them are to either staple or to hand sew them together, but the best results to date and the least complications have been demonstrated with the sewing approach. The robot makes hand sewing much easier by increasing the dexterity, precision and vision of the surgeon in the tight space. More and more studies are now showing that not only in bariatrics but also in other surgical specialties complication rates are less in the robotic assisted approach when compared to the standard laparoscopic approaches.