Question:
anyone know of dr in philia area does surgery on sixteen yr old 250pds
— dorothy C. (posted on October 15, 2003)
October 15, 2003
I know when I had my surgery last year in Philadelphia, my surgeon, John
Meilahn at Temple University Hospital, performed a bypass on a 17 year-old
who was 500 lb. You may want to contact him. I believe that telephone
number is 215.707.1464.
— Kimberly L. A.
October 15, 2003
I know of a couple of teens who have gotten the lap band. You might check
on the Yahoo SmartBandsters board.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters/?yguid=6535337
— TMF
October 17, 2003
There are two DS surgeons in PA, here's a link.
http://duodenalswitch.com/Surgeons/surgeons.html I also think the lapband
may be better for a teenager. It has less weight loss success on average,
but it alters the body the least. In someone so young, that's an important
consideration. Better surgery or non-surgical methods are sure to be
developed in the future, and at that point the person could switch to the
new method. With DS, the intestinal bypass could be reversed and you'd
still have an intact stomach. With RNY, the unused part of the stomach
eventually deteriorates and becomes unusable; converting the pouch back to
a regular stomach is very difficult and becomes more so over time.
— Chris T.
October 17, 2003
Chris I hate to disagree but the DS removes permanetely a large portion of
your stomach. The RNY leaves all the parts and changes how they work. The
DS has a larger malabsorbtion component too. <P>Now wether the RNY or
DS is a good choice for a teenager is a large issue too. If I had a child I
would likely lean towards the lap band. Because kids need all the nutrients
to develop fully. Unless that kid were 500 pounds or really big. My surgeon
does teenagers in sekect cases.
— bob-haller
October 17, 2003
Bob, while I agree with both you and Chris that the least invasive and most
reversible treatment would be best for a teen, you don't seem to understand
the DS very well, and you keep making assertions about it that are simply
incorrect -- particularly when Chris posts. In the DS procedure, the
gastric reduction part of the procedure removes a large portion of the
stomach -- but it is the redundant tissue of the greater curvature of the
stomach, leaving all the functional parts with a smaller volume (leaving a
4-6 oz functional stomach). Because only redundant tissue is removed, and
because the body attempts to heal where it can, in fact over time (about
18-24 months) the tissue regrows, leaving the DS patient after a couple of
years (and most if not all of the weight loss) with a stomach that is about
2/3 - 3/4 of its original size, and able to eat like a normal person with a
smallish appetite -- there are few if any food restrictions on the DS
patient (other than the sensible caution to watch sugar consumption, since
sugar is fully and comfortably absorbed). In fact, a reasonable amount of
fat is not an issue for a DS patient -- it is poorly absorbed, and eating a
meal with fat not only increases the sensation of satiety, but is a
non-guilty pleasure. Of course, as with ANYBODY, eating too much fat can
cause bathroom issues, but as with most things, moderation (rather than
abstenance) is key. The malabsorptive aspect of the DS, which is the
switch, is surgically adjustible if too much or too little absorption
results, and is (in most cases) completely reversible.<P>
In contrast, according to what I have read, the RNY stomach can rarely if
ever be put back together again to have normal function, especially after
an extended period of time. The unused portion loses its functionality,
and the upper portion is permanently altered by the artificial stoma.
Moreover, the pouch is designed to cause extreme restriction for life, and
I don't believe any RNY patient expects to ever eat "normally"
again. There are lifelong food restrictions, chewing what you can eat to a
pulp, dumping (although I understand that may resolve over the course of a
few years), etc. I realize that many people think some of these are good
things that help them control their demons, but I (and most DSers) don't
feel like I need a lifetime of punishment for my "sin" of
gluttony -- first, I was never a glutton -- I have a genetically slow
metabolism and a sedentary job -- but even if I was, I STILL don't think I
deserve to be punished. Maybe you don't feel that way, or don't feel
punished by your restrictions, but I would.<P>
Finally, another few words on obesity research and teens: I am both a
Ph.D. molecular biologist and a lawyer (which professions I have combined
into the job of biotech patent attorney). I know quite a bit about
biology, medicine and where the most cutting edge research is going these
days. Before admitting that I needed surgery, I spent 1-1/2 years in a
Phase III clinical trial on a biotech company's injectible drug for
obesity, which I researched up the yin-yang. Sadly, while the Phase II
trial, which lasted 12 weeks, showed some excellent results, in the longer
term trial 70% of the patients (including me) eventually developed
neutralizing antibodies to the drug and got no benefit. The company is
trying to develop another modification to the drug to make it less
antigenic, but I knew it was time for me to do something guaranteed to
work. I had my DS 12 days before I turned 50.<P>
I also have a 21 year old daughter who is unfortunately following in her
mother's ample footsteps. She is healthy, muscular -- and about 50 lbs
overweight at 5'1". I hope she NEVER has to have WLS of any type,
because I hope my company or some other company develops the "magic
pill" I sought for so many years, the one that will allow her to
effortlessly control her weight. I will encourage her to watch what she
eats (NOT diet! We KNOW that won't work, and will make her metabolism
worse!), stay fit, stay healthy and wait for the benefits of the genomic
revolution to be realized -- and hope that it happens before she ends up
with a BMI of almost 50 like I was before surgery.<P>
Diana Cox, DS 8/5/03; 285/244/160?
— [Deactivated Member]
October 17, 2003
This area is of much interest to me. My surgeon generally doesnt do the DS
because of the larger risk of anemia his words. I will ask him about these
issues and get back to everyone hopefully with a website to answer this one
way or the other. Barb Henson had the DS, and reversal, and still has
troubles with anemia, her profile is here.
— bob-haller
October 18, 2003
Just a short comment about Barb Hanson -- from what I have read and
understood (and I did some specific research about her and her problems
before surgery), her surgeon was Dr. Booth (I believe in Mississippi) who
has since "retired" -- and Barb herself acknowledged that a
number of his patients had "bad problems." I believe Barb
reported that when she was reversed, her new surgeon discovered serious
issues with what Booth had done -- he had clearly not performed the DS
surgery the way it was supposed to be done. There are risks in any
procedure, including risks related to having an incompetent surgeon, and
risks of unexpected post-op problems. Barb surely had her share -- but
that should not unduly affect anyone's choice to have the DS.<P>
As for anemia, some DSers AND some RNYers get anemia, for a variety of
reasons. Fortunately, this is a simple, inexpensive problem to test for,
and relatively simple to fix if there is a problem, including taking
periodic iron infusions. Most people have no problem with iron absorption,
and most WLS patients eat a sufficient amount of protein in the form of
meat, which has iron in it. It is not a serious problem (if detected and
treated), even if it occurs, and I can't imagine a surgeon using that
particular post-op issue as a reason to not offer the DS as a WLS option.
More likely is the fact that the DS surgery is technically more difficult
to perform -- it requires measuring the entire small bowel to get the
proportions of biliary-pancreatic channel, digestive channel and common
channel correct, as people's small bowel can vary in length, as well as the
fact that the anastamosis of the ilium to the duodenum is more difficult
than stitching other parts of the small bowel, because of the nature of the
duodenal tissue. From what I have read, a general surgeon can learn to
perform the RNY fairly quickly, but the learning curve for the DS is much
steeper -- therefore, an RNY-only surgeon is predisposed to "dis"
the DS, because he can't do it himself. And the skill required to do the
lap DS is even higher -- I am very fortunate to live in the SF Bay area,
and to have been able to have my lap DS surgery with Dr. Robert Rabkin, who
has done over 1000 of them. Diana
— [Deactivated Member]
October 18, 2003
Dorthey, Iam from Suburbs of philly, (levittown) the waiting list is
unbeleivable in Philly your talking the middle of may of 2004 just for a
consultation I went to New Jersey right over the Burlington Bristol Bridge
to Lourdes Hospital Dr Greenbaum, I had my surgery August 7th and Iam now
down 63 1/2 pounds I started the end of april with him and surgery the
first week of August. Look up in this site for Doctors in New Jersey and Dr
Greenbaum, he hosts every other Monday nights in the Hosptial cafateria
support meetings, and yes he has done a 16 year old, the one thing he
charges 950.00 support fee one time fee and it pays for ALL his speakers
that do come to the meetings and it pays for our christmas partys and
halloween party and picnic's and much more it is well worth it. I have met
so many new friends at this place. You have to come to a meeting then his
nurse gives you a packet of papers and you must fill them all out then mail
them back to her. And you have to see a few Doctors from the Nutrionist to
the shrink and heart and lung he is very good with that. If you have any
other questions feel free to e-mail me. Good Luck. P S it would acually be
faster coming from lansdale to NJ then to philly right from the turnpike to
the bridge and its 3 miles from there. Well like I said Good Luck and If I
can help you in any other way, feel free to e-mail me. Christine
— blainejrjeni
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