| Buffalo General program lauded
Buffalo General Hospital's Comprehensive Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Program has received national recognition for excellence. The American Society for Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a track record of favorable outcomes in the procedure. .
Wadley recognized as Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence
Dr. Ron Hekier and Dr. Rachel Keilin have received designation by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery and Surgical Review Corp. as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. Wadley Regional Medical Center has been designated as the affiliated Center of Excellence. "A program's designation publicly honors it as being the best of the best. In becoming a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, the program has held itself up to some of the highest standards in the industry. The designation is indicative of the Center's comprehensive commitment to a high level of bariatric care," according to the Surgical Review Corp. Hekier and Keilin have performed hundreds of Lap-Band surgeries resulting in successful weight loss and resolution of many life-threatening ailments. "Designation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence is an exciting achievement and testament to the level of care we strive to achieve for our Lap-Band surgery patients.
Area hospital wins bariatric 'excellence' designation
Middletown Regional Hospital has been named a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. The designation, awarded to centers that have the best patient outcomes across the country, allows the hospital to expand its services to include Medicare patients. .
Southern Surgical Hospital Awarded Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery
Southern Surgical Hospital announced it was recently awarded Center of Excellence status for bariatric surgery. Center of Excellence (COE) status is awarded to facilities who meet the high standards set forth by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) in safety, patient care, and overall positive surgical results. .
Local hospital OK’d for weight-loss surgery
Wadley Regional Medical Center was recently designated as a Bariatric Center of Excellence by the Surgical Review Corporation. The designation means that people on Medicare can get Lap Band surgery here in Texarkana and Medicare will pay for most of it. "This is a huge step for Medicare participants in our area," said Shelby Brown, marketing director for Wadley. Currently, Wadley has a list of 160 people waiting for the surgery, Brown said. In Lap Band surgery, a band is placed around the stomach and it makes a small pouch, so people eat less and feel satisfied with less food. "You have gradual weight loss," said Pam Daniel, coordinator for the Lap Band program. "There are less complications than with gastric bypass ... and you still get the nutrients and vitamins you need." Unlike gastric bypass, the Lap Band surgery is reversible.
Neuropathy, gastric bypass linked
Sami Harik did not think it was an accident that he was seeing neurological problems in patients who had had gastric bypass surgery. Harik, chair of the department of neurology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, got some flak when he told a patient who'd had the weight-reduction procedure that her neurological symptoms were being caused by a vitamin deficiency brought on by the surgery. The patient reported what Harik said to her surgeon, and the surgeon sent Harik a “frosty letter," challenging Harik to produce data. Now, Harik and colleagues in the neurology department, including lead investigator Dr. Katalin Juhasz-Pocsine, have published a study based on patients who've been treated by the department for the last 10 years. The results, reported in the May 22 issue of the medical journal “Neurology": Of the 150 patients who'd had the Roux-en-Y bypass surgery before being treated at UAMS' Neurology Clinic, the symptoms in 26 patients could be directly linked to the surgery.
Satiety Inc. raises $30M
Stomach stapling device maker Satiety Inc. raised $30 million in its fourth round of venture funding. Palo Alto-based Satiety was born in 2001 out of two medical device company incubators -- Thomas Fogarty Engineering and the Foundry. It makes a device, not yet approved by regulators, for stapling the stomach to help patients lose weight. A surgeon can insert the device through a patient's mouth and throat to reach the stomach, making the procedure less risky than other types of bariatric surgery. .
Everything to lose
The first person to call Robin Fritz fat was her pediatrician. She was 3.
She heard the doctor tell her mother she was grossly overweight and needed to be on a diet. Fritz battled obesity from that point forward going on yo-yo diets, having her portions cut, joining her mom on Weight Watchers.
I was humiliated, Fritz said, adding that she cried every time she had to return to the doctor and be put on the scale.
The doctor told her mother to withhold milk, bread and sweets. Fritz watched her older brother and sister eat off full plates while her portion sizes were cut in half. She remembers being so hungry shed sneak downstairs during the night to eat white bread straight from the bag.
She doesnt blame her parents for any of it. Admittedly, weight problems are in her genes.
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