Weight Loss Surgery News and Research

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Erchonia launches Zerona body-contouring laser in South East Asia

Erchonia, the global leader in low level laser healthcare applications, today announces the launch of the Zerona® body-contouring laser in South East Asia's SAARC. Erchonia Asia will exclusively market and sell the Zerona throughout the region. This new expansion coincides with the recent U.S. FDA-approval of the Zerona Laser, a non-invasive, painless treatment that guarantees the removal of fat.

30 Sep 2010

UNC's bariatric surgery center receives BSCN accreditation

The program has been accredited as a Level 1b facility by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network (BSCN) Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This designation means that UNC Hospitals has met the essential criteria that ensure it is fully capable of supporting a bariatric surgery care program and that its institutional performance meets the requirements outlined by the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program.

24 Sep 2010

Individual costs of being overweight and obese in the U.S.

The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services' Department of Health Policy today released a report that, for the first time, calculated the startlingly high individual costs of obesity to Americans.

22 Sep 2010

Bariatric surgery rates rise among adolescents

According to recent surveys more and more adolescents need bariatric surgery for morbid obesity. This procedure was earlier reserved only for adults. Researchers say that from 2005 to 2007, the rate of gastric banding has jumped nearly seven-fold among youths aged 13 to 20. The process involves placement of a band around the upper part of the stomach using a laparoscope. The study appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

21 Sep 2010

Metagenics announces acquisition of Catalina Lifesciences

Metagenics, Inc., a San Clemente, California-based life sciences company, today announced its acquisition of Catalina Lifesciences, Inc., the Irvine, California-based maker of Bariatric Advantage.

20 Aug 2010

Bariatric surgery can result in sustained reversal of obesity, type 2 diabetes: Study

Results of a large national study show that nearly three-quarters of obese patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo weight-loss surgery are able to stop insulin and other antidiabetes drugs within six months. In the Johns Hopkins study of insured, obese, diabetic patients, researchers also found that in the third year following surgery, average annual health care costs per patient decreased by more than 70 percent. The study is published in the Archives of Surgery this month.

17 Aug 2010

Sleeve gastrectomy for weight loss surgery with no scars

Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have achieved what is believed to be the nation's first stomach reduction via the mouth. The novel weight loss procedure, known as a sleeve gastrectomy, reduces the stomach to 20 percent of its original size. The smaller stomach leads to less caloric intake and increased feelings of fullness. This is the first time in the U.S. that the excess stomach has been removed through the mouth rather than a large open incision.

10 Aug 2010

Scottsdale Healthcare surgeon elects as new president for ASMBS

Scottsdale Healthcare surgeon Robin Blackstone, MD is the new president-elect of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), recognizing her leadership and expertise in the field of weight-loss surgery.

2 Aug 2010

Patients denied insurance for bariatric surgery develop new obesity-related diseases, conditions

Patients who were denied bariatric surgery for insurance reasons developed a slew of new obesity-related diseases and conditions within three years of follow-up, according to a new study presented here at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

24 Jun 2010

"Lap Band" weight loss surgery improves physical, psychological health in extremely obese adults

One year after weight loss surgery with laparoscopic gastric banding, extremely obese adults demonstrate not only better physical health but also improved psychological health, a new study shows. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

21 Jun 2010

Obesity epidemic may be flattening out - still much to be done

The prevalence of childhood obesity might be stabilising in developed countries, but there is still much to be done to combat this major threat to health, according to a Seminar published on Online First and in an upcoming issue of The Lancet.

6 May 2010

Baptist Hospital extends discount for Lap-Band procedure for self-pay patients

To allow more patients the opportunity of affordable weight loss surgery, the Metabolic Surgery Center at Baptist Hospital has extended its discount for Lap-Band surgery for self-pay patients. The cost of the Lap-Band procedure has been reduced by 25 percent - from $16,100 to $12,000 - for self-pay patients only.

21 Apr 2010

Bariatric surgery can reduce pregnancy complications in obese women

Obese women who have bariatric surgery before getting pregnant are at significantly lower risk for developing dangerous hypertensive disorders during pregnancy than those who don't, according to a study of medical insurance records by Johns Hopkins experts.

15 Apr 2010

Surgery helps reduce weight from 118 kg to 62.8 kg

Weight control is one of the important topics for modern people. In addition to proper diet, regular exercise and appropriate use of medicine, obese suffers may consider weight loss surgeries for faster effects. The first successful case in NCKU Hospital reduced her weight from 118 kg to 62.8 kg one year after the surgery.

29 Mar 2010

Lap band surgery acceptable only for morbidly obese adolescents over 15

Lap band surgery is a procedure that involves placing a ring around the stomach and thus restricting it. It is a controversial procedure undertaken in obese patients to decrease food absorption.

24 Mar 2010

Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery increase their risk of developing kidney stones

Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience changes in their urine composition that increase their risk of developing kidney stones, research from UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators suggests.

10 Mar 2010

Electromagnetic pulses decrease pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis of knee

Electromagnetic pulses significantly decrease pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis of the knee, according to Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

7 Mar 2010

Gastric banding surgery offers fewer complications, but more research needed

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery can effectively treat obesity in adolescents and seems to offer a better alternative than gastric bypass surgery, but further study is needed to determine whether it's better than nonsurgical options, a UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeon writes in an editorial in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 Feb 2010

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

4 Feb 2010

Obesity related health complications more dangerous than risks associated with bariatric surgery

Bariatric weight-loss surgery may sound dangerous and complicated, but a Geisinger physician warns that the real danger may be a life of obesity.

30 Jan 2010