Puget Sound Surgical Center

A new agreement with the Canadian Health Care system will allow Canadians to cross the boarder into the United States and have weight loss surgery performed. Canada is ill-equipped to handle bariatric weight loss surgery compared to the US. It will also help decrease the amount of time it takes for a Canadian patient to receive treatment. Currently, Canadians waiting to receive weight loss surgery are on a five year waiting list.

Mark Corrales hadn’t been able to tie his own shoes in 15 years. He suffered from obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, severe gout and degenerative joint disease. Add to that a case of GERD and borderline diabetes, and you have a picture of Mark’s physical health: uncomfortable, unhealthy and definitely un-Mark.

Gastric bypass surgery at Puget Sound Surgical Center helped Mark lose 213 pounds and improve his overall health. “The weight loss tool that was given to me changed my life,” he wrote in a testimonial for the center.

Mark’s treatment went beyond the surgery. “They connected me with an excellent nutritionist and people who were able to relate to my needs and cravings,” he said. “I started to eat things that were healthier, and surprisingly, I enjoyed them! I couldn’t believe it!”

Today, he participates in a fitness center cycling program and enjoys hiking. He has received promotions at work and more doors are open to him because he’s taking more challenges.

Mark’s success story revolves around a comprehensive program Puget Sound Surgical Center has set into place. The program begins before the patient’s bariatric surgery and continues one to two years after the surgery. “We don’t want to give a patient new surgery and a new chance of life, then simply send him on his way,” Torie McIntyre, public relations coordinator, explained. “We want to give our patients support for mind, body and spirit.”

That support comes in the form of nutrition therapy, an exercise program, counseling services and support groups that provide interaction with the other weight-loss patients. Puget Sound Surgical Center specializes in minimally invasive bariatric surgery including Lap-Band and Lap Sleeve surgery. The center also provides the latest in aesthetic cosmetic procedures such as SmartLipo, which tightens skin and eliminates fat using laser liposuction technology.

Upcoming surgical weight-loss seminars are scheduled for November 18th in Bellingham and December 10th in Edmonds. For details, contact Torie at the surgical center. She can guide you to educational information, help you sign up for a seminar and introduce you to staff specialists who will influence your success in building a healthier new you.

CNN – Reports on the controversy regarding the need for medical insurance to pay for weight loss surgery procedures for the morbidly obese. The debate arrises from the notion that a person’s obesity is a result of personal responsibility and not any known naturally occurring medical condition. However, medical insurance companies do not deny medical treatment due to lung cancer if the person was a chronic smoker all their life.

By reimbursing for weight loss surgery, overall health care cost would be reduced significantly since surgery patients would be less likely to obtain a secondary diseases like high blood pressure, stoke, heart attack, edema and diabetes once the weight comes off.

Most experts believe that there would be a national reduction of health care costs since less money would be spent on treating morbid obesity related diseases which in turn would also help to reduce insurance premiums.

CNN – Reports of a new procedure called Transoral Gastroplasty or TOGA. This experimental new minimally invasive surgery is incision free and performed entirely through the mouth. It involves inserting a tube like apparatus through the mouth down the esophagus that staples the stomach to form a thumb-sized tube that holds only a small amount of food.

What makes the TOGA procedure so unique is that no incisions are required to perform this surgery. Transoral gastroplasty is part of a new generation of surgery that uses natural orifices, like the mouth, anus or vagina to perform surgery instead of cutting through the skin.

Over the past 3 years more than 100 people in Europe and Mexico have had the TOGA procedure performed with an average weight loss of 40 percent of their excess body fat after one year post operative.

The TOGA system for transoral gastroplasty is being developed by Satiety, Inc, a medical device company based in Palo Alto, California. The company is now conducting clinical trials and is hoping for FDA approval in the near future.

According to CNN, research and development into new non-invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of obesity have been successful. Some of these procedure use non-traditional surgical entries that limits scaring and recovery time. One such procedure performed at Puget Sound Surgical Center is called Stomaphyx. This procedure uses a device that is inserted down the throat, into the stomach pleating it, resulting in weight loss due to a smaller stomach/pouch size.

Other experimental procedures recently tested at Stanford University include entrance through the vaginal opening in women. This has the benefit of having direct access to the body cavity and it’s internal organs. Recover and pain associated with this method has been minimal with pain similar to menstrual cramps.

Weight-loss procedures using natural orifices are under way in many clinical trials. Their success could minimize risks encountered in standard bariatric surgery procedures. Contact Puget Sound Surgical Center and talk to one of our board certified surgeons about these new procedures.

Hey y’all!   I am one week post surgical and have my good days and bad days – mostly good.  I never thought that finally being able to have pureed potatoes would excite me more than a new pair of shoes but here I am!

So let’s have some fun!  What are some habits that make you a “Gold Star” earner as a Lap Band-ite? What are some that might put you in detention?  With school starting soon it makes for a fun game.  I’d love to hear from y’all – I would hate to think I am alone on this board!

Go Hawks!

Jill

I have lapband surgery almost a year ago.  While I lost 35 lbs during the first 6 months, I did not lose more weight from months 7-10  As I’m sure many of us know, the nutritionists are very conservative in their approach to fills, and we understand why.  However, at 10 months I was only at a fill of “2″.  A friend of mine who had the same procedure done in Olympia talked to me about the bariatric xray that she’d had and how you could see what was getting through and when a fill was enough.  One of our nutritionists suggested that I go to a 2.2 fill.  I went ahead and scheduled the X-ray prior to the fill and Dr. Billing found that it wasn’t until 2.9 that I personally (and I know this is a personal situation for each of us) was getting any type of true restriction.  Now I can actually feel fuller yet still get enough protein through to be healthy!  Thank heavens for modern science and equipment that helps us “know” where the restriction works rather than have it based on guess work.  I’m now starting to lose weight again. Good luck to you all in your journeys- Jan Schiffner

Hi!  I just found the new weblog site.  This is so great!  We now have our own surgical center blog!  I was at a seminar at the clinic this evening and Dr. Billing told me about this.  The seminar was really fun and informative.  It brought back memories of a year ago January when I was one of those people sitting and gathering info, trying to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.  So glad I did!  I think at least 5 people asked me if it hurts to get a fill and I, who am deathly afraid of needles, said no, it doesn’t hurt a bit…and it wasn’t a lie!  There was one woman there who said that two of her friends had lapbands inserted last year and neither one is doing very well with the band.  She said they have no support system, no nutritionist, nothing… It’s sad that there are places out there doing this surgery and then just kind of “throwing” the patient out there with no support to help them along.  We’re so blessed… Anyway, glad I found the new site.  Have a great rest of the week!  :0) Allison