Does the bariatric surgeon truly care about your health and wellbeing, or does the surgeon just view you as a dollar sign on legs?

In truth, this question could go one way just as easily as the other. There are plenty of bariatric surgeons in this country who truly care about their patients. There are also quite a few who simply want to get rich … the surgeons with the “rock star syndrome.”

The question is, how do you tell one from the other?

Well, there’s really no scientific way to get inside the minds of bariatric surgeons to learn their true motivations. But here’s something you might find useful in your research.

Slick Marketing Aimed at the Ignorant

Have you ever seen an advertisement like this on the website or brochure of a bariatric surgery center? I see these kinds of ads all the time while doing research online. Granted, the tongue-in-cheek nature of this ad is my own creation, but you get the idea.

Do you think I’m exaggerating with this mock advertisement? Look around the Internet at some of the leading weight-loss surgery websites and judge for yourself. How many use real patients, and how many have attractive models plastered everywhere?

If you ask me, this is a great way to judge the level of compassion a bariatric surgeon has, or the complete lack of it. This type of marketing is deceitful, in my opinion, because it gives the potential patient false hope. It uses stock photos of models and makes the suggestion — however subtle — that weight loss surgery helped them become what they are.

This kind of marketing insults the consumer’s intelligence. Right from the start, it shows that the surgeon or surgery center behind the marketing is willing to do just about anything to get your “business.” In many regards, that’s what bariatric surgery has become these days … just another money-making pursuit.

The number of bariatric surgeries has skyrocketed over the last decade. There are more surgeons today, which means more competition. The criteria bar has been lowered as well. Weight loss surgery used to be reserved for those patients who were morbidly obese (people who would soon die from their obesity).

These days, however, there are bariatric surgeons who will gladly operate on anyone, including teenagers and people who are just a little bit overweight. I’ve seen before-and-after pictures where the patient was just a little heavy before — something that could easily be corrected with minor lifestyle changes like regular exercise.

You’ve heard the marketing slogan that “orange juice is not just for breakfast anymore”? Well maybe the bariatric surgery industry should adopt the slogan: “Weight loss surgery … it’s not just for the obese anymore!”

I guess what I’m saying is this. If you have already decided to have some type of bariatric procedure, you have another important decision to make. You must decide on a surgeon to perform the procedure. In doing so, you must ask yourself some important questions…

Do I want a surgeon who uses aggressive marketing practices that border on outright lies? Can I really trust somebody who puts models on their website and brochures, with the “subtle” suggestion that the models have undergone bariatric surgery? Should I temporarily turn over my health and wellbeing to a company that prays on the ignorance of its intended audience?

Obviously, I cannot answer any of these questions for you. But if you’re reading this article, I have faith you’re smart enough to answer them for yourself.

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We have just posted a new article that compiles some Lap-Band surgery failure stories that are floating around the Internet. We also put them into perspective by adding a few success stories as well.

Click here to watch the success stories / videos

As you know, we try to present both sides of the bariatric surgery here at BLC, and this is another prime example. If you spend some time on YouTube looking at Lap-Band failure stories and videos, you’ll notice that most (if not all) of them were created by one particular doctor. That doctor specializes in the mini gastric bypass procedure, and it quickly becomes clear that he is one of the “band bashers.”

Here’s how the process usually unfolds. A doctor who does not perform gastric banding will feel threatened by the success stories and all of the advertising of the band surgeries. After all, the rising popularity of Lap-Band and similar banding procedures could hurt the doctor’s bypass business. So the doctor will seek out all of the negative / failure stories he can find, and he will present them for your reading or viewing pleasure.

In other words, always consider the source and take these things with a grain of salt. Many of the happy success stories you find online were collected and presented by Lap-Band surgery centers … for obvious reasons. Many of the failure stories you find online were gathered by gastric bypass doctors … again, for obvious reasons.

But there is some value in the surgery failure stories we have collected for you, as well as the success stories you can find on this website. When taken as a whole, they help you get a broader picture of Lap-Band surgery in general.

Here’s the bottom line. Bariatric surgeries are like any other medical procedures in that they have pros and cons associated with them. Some of them go smoothly, while others do not. The same can be said of Lasik eye treatments, knee surgeries, appendectomies … you get the idea.

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by Brandon Cornett

An explanation of adjustable gastric banding in general, and a look at the two FDA-approved banding products available to patients in the United States.

Bariatric weight-loss surgery continues to grow in popularity, in the United States and elsewhere around the world. There are two major reasons for this growth — the rise of obesity and the increased variety of surgery options.

In particular, the medical use of adjustable gastric banding has evolved a lot in recent years. Today, in the United States, patients have more options for this procedure than every before. In this article, I’ll explain what gastric banding is, how it works, and what options patients have when getting this type of surgery.

The Adjustable Gastric Band

With this popular and relatively new form of weight loss surgery, a special kind of band is medically inserted around the upper part of the patient’s stomach. In most cases, the gastric band is inserted through small incisions using laparoscopic instruments. This is less invasive approach than other surgeries, such as the gastric bypass.

Once the adjustable banding is in place, it basically segments the stomach into two sections — a small upper portion, and a larger lower portion that is no longer used. This reduces the patient’s stomach capacity, and thus the capacity for food as well.

A key advantage of gastric banding over other bariatric procedures is the fact that it’s reversible. The bands cannot only be adjusted after placement, but they can be completely removed as well. Typically, patients will keep them in place permanently as part of their weight-loss and weight-management program. But they can be removed if necessary.

Two Banding Options for U.S. Patients

At the time of this article (August 2008), there are two FDA-approved gastric bands that can be used within the United States. If you are considering this approach to weight-loss surgery, you will probably have to choose between (A) the REALIZE™ Band and (B) the LAP-BAND® System. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

• The REALIZE™ Band – This is the most recent device to “hit the market.” This banding device is manufactured by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a medical development company under the Johnson and Johnson umbrella. The FDA approved the Realize Band for use within the United States in September of 2007. It has been used outside the U.S. for more than a decade, though under a different product name.
• The LAP-BAND® System — There’s a good chance you’ve seen commercials for this product on television. I see them all the time, in primetime and on the major networks. The Lap-Band is made by Allergan, Inc. The FDA approved it for use within the U.S. in June of 2001. It’s been around the longest, so it’s the most popular option at the time of this article.

While these adjustable gastric bands are made by different companies, they perform very similar functions. In fact, the FDA approval notes for these products are nearly identical. For both products, the FDA states that: “the band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch that can hold only a small amount of food.”

Learn More Before Deciding

It’s not the point of this article to tell you which type of band to use, or even to suggest bariatric surgery is right for you. Those decisions are yours to make. The point of this article is to explain the basic process of adjustable gastric banding, and to let you know you have options. If you are considering one of these procedures, or some other form of weight loss surgery, you owe it to yourself to do plenty of research and ask plenty of questions. Good luck, and good health!

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Testimonials have never been a comprehensive measure of quality, whether it’s for a weight loss surgery center or a pool builder. The reason is that testimonials only show one side of the picture. So when researching surgery centers and surgeons for your procedures, keep in mind that weight loss surgery testimonials should be taken lightly.

For example, let’s say that I run a bariatric surgery center in a major city, a center that performs more than 100 weight loss surgeries per year. My website and brochure features testimonials from a dozen satisfied patients.

But what about the other surgeries performed each year? How do those patients feel about the results? Well, you really wouldn’t know. Maybe the weight loss surgery testimonials on the website are truly indicative of the big picture.

Or, maybe the testimonials represent the minority, and most patients were unhappy with their weight loss procedures. In this case, the testimonials on the website would actually give you a false picture of things.

The point is, you just can’t see the big picture by looking at surgery testimonials from a handful of patients. This is true of weight loss surgery or any other procedure that uses patient comments as a marketing tool.

Sure, it can be helpful to see what other patients have said about a particular surgeon. But you never know if those weight loss surgeries represent the minority of the majority. So when researching surgeons, be sure to ask these other questions well.

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The popularity of bariatric (weight loss) surgery has soared in recent years. One study found that the number of bariatric surgeries increased five-fold between the period of 1998 to 2006. The study, published in the journal Health Matters, stated that there were 71,733 bariatric surgeries performed in the U.S. in 2002, a significant increase from the 13,386 surgeries performed in 1998.

By 2004, the number of bariatric surgeries in the U.S. had increased to a staggering 140,000, more than ten times the 1998 figure. This year, in 2008, there will probably be more than 200,000 of these surgeries performed in the United States.

Why are there so many more bariatric surgery procedures today than a few years ago? Several reasons, really:

1. More Surgery Options

For one thing, there is a wider variety of surgical procedures today than there were ten years ago. In the past, weight loss surgery basically meant a gastric bypass, with few other options. But today, patients considering a bariatric surgery have more options available to them, such as the increasingly popular gastric banding procedures.

2. More Publicity

Increased media coverage has also fueled the growth of bariatric weight-loss surgery in the United States. There are even spokespersons for it today, which is not something we saw in the past. For example, Muhammad Ali’s daughter Khalia Ali represents the LAP-BAND (r) System of weight loss surgery. As a result of all this media coverage, the American public is much more aware of the various weight loss surgery options, and thus more likely to pursue them.

3. Increased Need for Surgery

The third reason bariatric surgery is increasingly popular has to do with the rising number of obese people in this country. It is estimated that 30% of the American population is obese, a much higher percentage than ten years ago. Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have likely contributed to these numbers.

These are disturbing trends for many reasons. For one thing, the criteria for screening bariatric surgery patients seem to have broadened quite a bit over the years. For years, this type surgery was reserved for people who were morbidly obese, patients who were so severely overweight that it was likely to kill them if drastic measures were not taken.

These days, however, it seems that anyone who is a bit overweight can find a bariatric surgeon ready and willing to alter their digestive process. We are even seeing this in children as young as 13, who are nowhere near the definition of morbid obesity. Does anyone remember the concept of lifestyle changes anymore?

It’s important to remember that weight loss surgery is still surgery, and as such it requires careful consideration and education on the part of the potential patient. It should not be considered a “quick fix” to being overweight, because there is no such thing. Bariatric surgery also fails to address the psychological factors that lead to overeating. This is why many post-surgery patients end up compensating with other vices such as alcohol abuse.

What’s my point? Simply that bariatric surgery should only be used as a last resort, and only for people who are morbidly obese. For people who are merely overweight, but not yet in the morbidly obese category, lifestyle changes should be the first plan of attack. Bariatric surgery is not a glamorous new trend in medicine. Nor is it a “fix all” solution to overeating. It is serious surgery that requires serious consideration.

Brandon Cornett is the publisher of Bariatric City, an online resource that provides bariatric information specific to certain cities across the U.S. (such as this latest guide to New York City bariatric procedures). Learn more by visiting http://www.bariatriclearningcenter.com/city

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