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May 11, 2007 (Wheeling, OH)
An Ohio woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit for the wrongful death of her husband after he underwent gastric bypass surgery and experiencing difficulties which the doctors failed to diagnose properly as a perforated viscus.
May 10, 2007 (Dallas, TX)
A report on the rise in botched lap band and gastric bypass operations prompted a flurry of calls and emails, most of them from patients who said they also had problems. None of the patients reported their problems to authorities, including 49-year-old Ellie Plunkett. Plunkett said her esophagus was punctured during a laporascopic lap band procedure. "I was in ICU for five days on a ventilator," she said. "I was septic. I came home with five tubes. I was near death. "The damage is permanent. Two years later, her stomach doesn't empty properly and she has difficulty eating. She said she never filed a complaint against the doctor who performed the original surgery.
May 3, 2007 (Fredricksburg, VA)
With the settlement of one lawsuit this week and the dropping of another last week, the final chapter may have been written for Mary Washington Hospital's first weight-loss surgery program. The hospital's first attempt at bariatric surgery lasted only nine months, from August 2002 to June 2003. Dr. Bradford L. King, a Fredericksburg surgeon, did 57 gastric-bypass operations during that time. Four of those surgeries resulted in malpractice claims by the patients or their families. Three of the lawsuits involved patients who died soon after their surgeries. One of the claims ended Monday in Fredericksburg Circuit Court. Judge John W. Scott Jr. approved a settlement between the two sides and sealed the amount paid to the patient's estate.
May 2, 2007 (Omaha, NB)
Douglas County, NB finds itself as the defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit because the original defendant doctor was never served papers. The injured patient seeks $450,000 in damages, the amount her attorney claims she would have recovered from the gastric bypass doctor she originally sued for medical malpractice. A judge last year ruled that a server from the sheriff's department did not properly serve Kudym's physician. Meanwhile, the statute of limitations for malpractice lapsed, eliminating the physician from possibly having to pay damages. For the county to be held liable, the injured patient must prove malpractice occurred and that the county's error cost her the opportunity to proceed with her gastric bypass malpractice case seeking damages against the doctor.
April 27, 2007 (Colorado Springs, CO)
In what the investigators called the first scoring system validated for clinical use, patients with a high risk score were 12 times more likely to die than those in the low-risk group, while those in the medium-risk group were six times more likely to die, found Eric DeMaria, M.D., of Duke, and colleagues. The system -- which takes weight, gender, age, blood pressure, and pulmonary embolus risk into consideration -- was assessed in a multicenter study of 4,431 bariatric-surgery patients, the investigators said at the American Surgical Association meeting. "Until one can predict risk, it's hard to do risk reduction..."
March 18, 2007 (Petoskey, MI)
A fatal mistake in a gastric bypass surgery resulted in a $1 million medical malpractice jury verdict. Karin Lobaina, whose husband died following surgery at Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey about four years ago, won the sizeable verdict last week.
March 14, 2007 (** Alert: Take Your Vitamins **)
People who undergo weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass, are at risk of vitamin deficiency that can lead to memory loss, confusion, lack of coordination, and other neurological problems. These findings are published in the journal Neurology. Morbid obesity is a chronic disease that afflicts approximately nine million adult Americans. People who are morbidly obese are at high risk for developing numerous illnesses that often reduce life expectancy, mobility, and quality of life, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoarthritis. Currently, surgery is an effective treatment for morbid obesity, resulting in significant weight loss and accompanying health improvements.
March 12, 2007 (Richmond, VA)
Obese patients who undergo weight-loss surgeries such as gastric bypass can develop a rare but serious brain condition linked to vitamin deficiency, a new study warns. Taking vitamin supplements after gastric bypass surgery surgery can prevent the brain illness, called Wernicke encephalopathy, which is caused by a deficiency of thiamine, a B vitamin. The syndrome is "a problem everyone needs to be aware of," said Dr. Neil Hutcher, immediate past president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
March 7, 2007 (Austin, TX)
An 841lb women from Austin died Sunday after undergoing a gastric bypass surgery. She was the largest women to have ever gone under the knife for the procedure.
March 1, 2007 (North Carolina)
Negative experiences with North Carolina doctors who allegedly botched, mishandled or misrepresented their cases are prominent in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday that seeks to compel the state's regulatory medical board to open up the selection process of its physician members. The Gastric Bypass malpractice of Dr. Stephen E. Olchowski, who formerly practiced in Wilmington, is prominently mentioned in the lawsuit.
February 20, 2007
A Suffolk Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in former Patriot coach Charlie Weis's medical malpractice lawsuit today after two doctors involved in the case came to the aid of juror who passed out during testimony. The juror began audibly gasping and collapsed at about 10:15 a.m. Several doctors -- including the two surgeons accused of botching Weis's gastric bypass -- rushed to help. People in the courtroom began to shout: "Call 911! Call 911!"
February 13, 2007
Trial Begins in Weis' Lawsuit over Gastric Surgery, The lawyer for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday that doctors failed to recognize life-threatening complications after Weis' gastric bypass surgery, allowing him to bleed internally for more than a day. Weis' lawyer, Michael Mone, made his comments at the start of the coach's malpractice trial. Weis had the surgery in June 2002 while he was an assistant coach for the New England Patriots after battling obesity for years. He weighed about 350 pounds at the time.\
January 31, 2007
FDA Warns Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Mathias A.L. Fobi Over Experimental Implants, A Los Angeles-area doctor who lent his name to a type of stomach-shrinking surgery failed to obtain the full informed consent of 175 patients implanted with an experimental medical device, according to a federal warning letter released Tuesday. Dr. Mathias A.L. Fobi also implanted 185 patients with an experimental device before receiving approval to do so from either the Food and Drug Administration or the institutional review board overseeing the study, amid other violations of federal regulations, according to the Jan. 24 letter. The FDA posted a largely blacked-out copy of the letter to its Web site on Tuesday.
January 30, 2007
Gastric Bypass Malpractice Wrongful Death Lawsuit Goes to Trial in Nebraska, A wrongful death suit alleging former North Platte surgeon Andrew Chontos was negligent in the medical treatment of Catherine Jane Keeney began Tuesday in Lincoln County District Court. Keeney died April 1, 2003, after Chontos did a gastric bypass procedure and two subsequent surgeries on the 35 year old.
January 24, 2007
Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis' Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit Goes to Trial, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis' medical malpractice lawsuit against two doctors involved in his near-fatal gastric bypass surgery is scheduled to start in Suffolk Superior Court next month. Weis had the gastric bypass surgery in June 2002 while he was still offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots after unsuccessfully battling chronic obesity for years. He has said he weighed about 350 pounds at the time.
January 22, 2007
Gastric Bypass Patients Experience Complications, Gastric bypass surgery promises to help the obese lead better lives, but about 40 percent of patients have complications in the first six months. Lou Michaels, who had gastric bypass surgery five years ago, meets with friends for coffee every morning -- but coffee is about all he can order at McDonald's. "Am I tired? I'm tired all the time," he said. "I really would love to try some real food again."
January 12, 2007
Gastric Bypass Surgery Grows to Billion Dollar Industry, Obesity surgery is a billion-dollar growth market for patients from ages 18 to 54. Bariatric surgery procedures for patients from the ages of 55 to 64 in the United States increased by 2,000% over a seven-year period, from 772 in 1998 to 15,086 in 2004, according to a report released by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) here.
January 8, 2007
Gastric Bypass Surgery "Re-Do's" Without an Incision, U.S. firm EndoGastric Solutions said Monday its device StomaphyX has been used successfully in five transoral, "redo" obesity procedures. Obesity re-do procedures are for patients who, after having gastric bypass surgery, have regained their weight. The company said that in each procedure the patient's stomach pouch was reduced to 50 percent its original size in a 20-minute, post-gastric bypass process that required no incision. All five patients experienced the onset of satiety and a significant change in their eating habits, said their stomachs felt similar to the four- to five-week period after the original surgery, and began to lose excess weight, the company added.
January 7, 2007
Gastric Bypass Surgery: New Bill Would Mandate Insurance Coverage, Weighing 386 pounds, Jeff Haaga believes he will be dead soon without gastric bypass surgery. "My doctor said, 'You're going to die if you don't lose weight,' " the 52-year-old West Jordan man said. His insurance company, SelectHealth, an Inter- mountain Health Care company, has denied his appeals for the company to pay for Gastric Bypass Surgery and he fears going ahead alone. "If I paid for it myself, they don't cover any complications from the surgery," he said. "It could bankrupt someone like me if I got pneumonia or something else related to the surgery."
January 4, 2007
Some Gastric Bypass Patients Find They'll Need More Surgery, Sherri Blatt decided to have gastric bypass surgery in April 2005, after her weight climbed to 240 pounds. In the months after surgery, she learned to scrutinize food labels. She took up running. In short order, she went from a size 22 to a size 4. But one aspect of Blatt's new body resisted all self-improvement efforts: pounds of excess skin. Stretched-out skin doesn't always spring back, forcing bariatric patients to undergo multiple plastic-surgery procedures - face-lifts, thigh-lifts, tummy tucks and full-body lifts - to tailor baggy skin to fit newly trim frames.
December 20, 2006
Patient Wins $2M for Skin Foul-Up after Gastric Byass Surgery, A jury Tuesday awarded more than $2 million to a Paterson woman who had sued a Wayne plastic surgeon for malpractice after botching the removal of hanging skin after dramatic weight loss from gastric bypass surgery.
December 6, 2006
Some Bariatric Patients Trade Addictions, A few weeks ago Oprah devoted a whole show to people who claim they became addicted to alcohol, drugs or sex after weight loss surgery.
A growing number of people are now fighting the battle of the bulge with bariatric surgery. Whether it's a gastric bypass or a lap band procedure - patients are losing weight. But could they also be gaining an addiction?
November 29, 2006
A Gastric Bypass Gone Wrong, Like many morbidly obese people, Loren Root hoped to lose her excess fat through gastric bypass surgery. She did, losing over 200 pounds, but the problem was -- she couldn't stop losing. As her weight plummeted to a life-threatening 87 pounds, her doctor did something shocking: He told her she could die of malnutrition.
November 15, 2006
Gastric Bypass Surgery Lead To Increased Kidney Stone Risk, Patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity have increased risk factors for the formation of kidney stones, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego. "Gastric bypass surgery appears to lead to changes in the chemical composition of urine that could favor the formation of kidney stones," comments Dr. Rajiv Kumar of Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the study authors. "Based upon this information, we suggest that patients take appropriate measures to reduce the potential for kidney stone formation."
October 5, 2006
Lawsuits Against Former Wilmington "Gastric Bypass" Doctor Remain Open, Several lawsuits remain open against a former Wilmington doctor whose license was revoked for performing questionable surgeries. The state medical board found then Dr. Steven Olchowski had charged patients for one type of gastric bypass, and then performed a simpler procedure resulting in serious medical complications. Lawsuits against Olchowski filed by several patients have still not been resolved.
October 4, 2006
Gastric Bypass Surgery May Alter Drug Absorption Pattern, Obese individuals who undergo gastric bypass surgery may not properly absorb certain medications and nutrients from vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements afterwards, a review of published studies suggests. "Patients should always inform all of their healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and other physicians, that they have undergone bariatric (stomach) surgery and ask them if their medications, vitamins, minerals, or dietary supplements will be properly absorbed," advises Dr. Kelly M. Smith of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in Lexington.
September 28, 2006
Plastic Mesh Improves Gastric Bypass Outcomes, A polypropylene mesh can help shield gastric bypass patients from a common and debilitating complication, researchers say. Incisional hernias, which occur in about 25 percent of patients who have open gastric bypass surgery, can lead to serious complications. Polish researchers at Barlicki Hospital, in Lodz, tracked the outcomes of obese patients who had undergone gastric bypass surgery. They used a polypropylene mesh to help close incisions in 34 patients, while another 36 patients had their incisions closed with standard sutures.
September 19, 2006 (Des Moines, IA)
Woman Awarded $1.5 Million in Gastric Bypass Lawsuit, A Polk County jury has awarded $1.5 million to a woman who claimed her weight-loss surgery was botched by a doctor. The jury decided the doctor, Akella Chendrasekhar, acted too slowly after the patient, Jody Moore of Des Moines, showed signs of a dangerous infection after the gastric-bypass operation in 2003.
September 11, 2006 (Springdale, AK)
Hospital Did Not Anticipate Complexities of New Bariatric Surgery Program, In February 2004, Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, Ark., launched a bariatric-surgery program with high hopes of boosting its bottom line while meeting booming demand for the increasingly popular weight-loss procedure, viewed by many as a last hope for severely obese patients. But just four months and 25 surgeries later, the 180-bed hospital shuttered the program after its medical staff complained of being overtaxed by the needs of its new patients -- who, by the very nature of their extreme weight, are at heightened risk of postoperative complications. Northwest's chief operating officer and administrator admits that the hospital had not fully anticipated the clinical complexities of running a bariatric-surgery program. Patients, she says, often developed respiratory problems, requiring immediate intervention by the hospital's pulmonologists. Its internists, intensivists and cardiologists were called in to deal with stomach leakages, bowel obstructions and blood clots. Even the hospital's sole infectious-disease specialist was kept busy because of the patients' tendency to develop infections.
August 25, 2006 (Des Moines, IA)
Gastric Bypass Surgeon Cited For Incompetence, Iowa State regulators have filed incompetency charges against a former Des Moines bariatric surgeon who quit performing the operations after several patients died. Dr. Akella Chendrasekhar said in 2003 that he would no longer perform gastric-bypass operations after disclosures that at least six of his patients died of complications. Chendrasekhar, who has since left the state, has expressed sorrow for the patients who died, but defended the surgeries he performed on obese, often fragile patients.
August 12, 2006 (Fredricksburg, FL)
Jury Awards Patient $3.5 Million Gastric Bypass Blamed for Brain Injury, Jury's malpractice award is $3.5 million in gastric-bypass suit. A Fredericksburg Circuit Court jury awarded $3.5 million yesterday to a woman who suffered a brain injury during gastric-bypass surgery. The award came at the end of a five-day trial. It is believed to be one of the largest medical malpractice awards ever in the Fredericksburg area. The damages are expected to be reduced to $1.65 million, the state-mandated malpractice cap at the time of the injury. Tamatha Cooley brought the civil suit against Dr. Bradford L. King and his practice, Surgical Associates of Fredericksburg, following her weight-reduction surgery in May 2003.
August 3, 2006 (Winchester, MA)
Warnings for Weight Loss Surgery Patients, A study recently released by the Duke University Medical Center indicates five characteristics of patients most at risk for developing fatal complications from gastric bypass weight loss surgery, a procedure which reduces the size of a morbidly obese patient's stomach while mildly reducing calorie absorption. Winchester Hospital Director of Bariatric Surgery Darius Ameri, MD, FACS, agrees with the findings of the study, which revealed that patients' risk factors increase if they: have a body mass index (BMI), or calculation of weight versus height, of 50 or higher (more than double the normal range); are male; currently or previously suffered from hypertension; have had or are at risk for developing pulmonary embolus, or blood clots in the lung; and are over 45 years of age.
July 24, 2006 (Riverside, CA)
Gastric Byass Obesity Surgeon Gives Up License, GASTRIC BYPASS: The doctor disputes medical board findings but says he lacks funds for a fight. A Riverside weight-loss surgeon accused of gross negligence and incompetence in connection with his treatment of gastric-bypass patients -- some of whom died -- has agreed to surrender his license. In June 2005, the Medical Board of California accused Dr. Terry L. Sanderfer of delaying treatment or failing to act promptly when problems arose, failing to adequately evaluate patients before and after surgery, abdicating patient care to others and keeping medical notes that were incomplete or illegible. Speaking publicly for the first time Monday, Sanderfer said he surrendered his license rather than fight the charges because he has no money to defend himself.
July 24, 2006 (Washington, D.C.)
Gastric Bypass Surgery Riskier than Believed, While the death rate is low -- 0.2 percent -- 40 percent of people who undergo gastric bypass surgery get complications in six months. "Obesity surgery is helping thousands of Americans who have not succeeded at losing weight reduce their risk of diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, but this study shows how important it is for patients to consider the potential complications when they make the decision to undergo the procedure," said Carolyn Clancy, director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which performed the study.
June 16, 2006 (New York, NY)
Gastric Bypass May Lead To Vitamin A Deficiency, A new study by U.S. researchers concludes that a boom in gastric bypass surgery could lead to an increase in vitamin A deficiency among patients that raise their risk for blindness. The U.S. researchers studied the medical histories of patients who were nearly blind or had very poor eyesight but no family history of blindness. Published in the current issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology, the study focused on three patients over the age of 65 who were diagnosed with vitamin A deficiency and have undergone major intestinal surgery in the last 20 to 35 years.
June 1, 2006 (Sheffield, UK)
Woman Died Following Gastric Bypass Weight-Loss Operation, A SELF-CONFESSED South Yorkshire chocaholic desperate to lose weight so she could fit into designer clothes died days after undergoing obesity surgery, an inquest heard. Lynda Taylor, aged 33, from Rotherham, suffered a severe reaction to an abdominal infection after gastric bypass surgery. Devastated husband Peter Taylor, a HGV driver, today warned others not to undergo the operation unless it was a matter of life or death."We all told her not to do it but it was something she wanted so badly," said Mr Taylor, who was married to his wife for just 13 months before her death.
March 21, 2006 (New York, NY)
Bariatric Surgery Patients See Large Drop In Blood Pressure, Researchers find that the blood pressure in super obese patients with untreated hypertension drops 18 months after bariatric surgery. The report shows the reduction was most dramatic in those with untreated hypertension prior to surgery. According to Medpage Today, patients taking anti-hypertension medication only saw a small drop in blood pressure. The researchers reviewed 347 patients who had received bariatric surgery. About 285 of them had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and 62 had a vertical banded gastroplasty. For both groups, blood pressure stabilized at about 35 some 12 to 18 months following surgery.
March 20, 2006 (Portland, OR)
Bariatric Surgery Found Riskier for Older Patients, Older patients are at increased risk for complications of bariatric surgery, researchers here have concluded. Every extra year of age carried an additional 6% increased risk for complications, including serious complications, such as leaking, dehiscence, or hemorrhage, said surgeon Robert W. O'Rourke, M.D., and colleagues at Oregon Health & Science University here.
March 20, 2006
Age and Increased Complications After Bariatric Surgery, Older patients and those who undergo a certain type of procedure known as duodenal switch have an increased number of complications following bariatric surgery, according to a study in the March issue of the Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
March 5, 2006 (Washington, D.C.)
Gastric bypass rules standardized - Government will pay for elderly, disabled to have gastric bypass, Health care officials are applauding new federal regulations that provide national standards for Medicare coverage of obesity surgery. Previously, the rules concerning reimbursement for such operations, known as bariatric surgery, varied across the U.S. But under the new regulations, a handful of gastric bypass and banding procedures will be covered across the country for the elderly and the disabled, said Dr. Steve Phurrough of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
March 1, 2006 (Philadelphia, PA)
Local Women Have Tragic Results From Gastric Bypass Surgery, Al Roker had it and so did Carney Wilson. It works by making your stomach smaller and, in turn, you eat less. Some experts consider the surgery is high risk as The Investigators' Vince DeMentri reports. Last year, the Investigators reported on Shirley Baals. She had complications from gastric bypass surgery performed by a South Jersey doctor. After her story aired, the NBC 10 Investigators learned of two more women who had the same doctor and who also had problems with their surgery.
February 28, 2006 (St. Paul, MN)
Synovis Life Technologies Provides Updates on Gastric Bypass Market at Annual Shareholders' Meeting, At the Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNO - News) annual shareholders' meeting today, President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Gilles Larson commented on coverage developments in gastric bypass surgery, a primary market for the company's Peri-Strips® (PSD and PSD-Veritas®) products. These buttresses are used to reinforce surgical staple lines and reduce the risk of leaks of air, blood or bodily fluids that can cause surgical complications.
February 22, 2006 (Jamestown, NC)
Gastric bypass provides serious approach to serious problem, One procedure, often referred to as a gastric bypass, reduces the size of the stomach and bypasses part of the small intestine to limit not only the amount of food one can eat but also the amount of absorption from the calories and nutrients that are consumed. People considered for this type of surgery are usually at least 100 pounds over their idea body weight and have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher. Persons less than 100 pounds overweight may be considered if they have a BMI of 35 and at least two other co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.
February 2, 2006 (Huntington, WV)
Man sues after botched gastric bypass surgery, A Cabell County man is suing a physician at Cabell Huntington Hospital and the hospital itself after complications from a gastric bypass surgery caused him to be hospitalized for three months. In a suit filed Jan. 3, William Shaffer claims he entered a comatose state for three months because of the negligence of the surgeon who perofrmed the gastric bypass surgery, and the hiring practices of the hospital. Shaffer decided to undergo open gastric bypass surgery after attending the hospital's weight loss clinic and information seminars. Shaffer's physician and the gastric bypass surgeon deemed Shaffer in medical need of the weight loss surgery. On Dec. 4, 2003, Shaffer underwent gastric bypass surgery. According to the suit, the surgical technique used was "a technique that is not and should not be performed by surgeons performing bariatric surgery."
January 26, 2006 (Morgantown, PA)
Pennsylvania woman sues two surgeons over gastric bypas surgery , MORGANTOWN -- Two Monongalia County surgeons are facing a trial by jury for a gastric bypass surgery gone wrong. Frankie Crider, of Dillner, Pa., is suing her gastric bypass surgeons for personal injury after three surgeries and four years of pain. In a suit filed on Jan. 17, Crider stated that on May 16, 2001, she opted for a Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery for obesity. However, there were complications during the surgery. There were leaks in her distral gastric pouch that required suturing, and also, her distral gastric pouch was burned by an electrocautery. But no one told Crider.
January 24, 2006 (Washington, D.C.)
Gastric bypass surgery on the rise, As America's waistbands continue to grow, so has our need for an easy solution, like bariatric surgery. The number of weight loss surgeries performed in the U.S. has grown by 450 percent from 1998 to 2002, according to a recent study among surgeons.
January 22, 2006 (Yonkers, NY)
Consumer Reports Examines Gastric Bypass Surgery, Consumer Reports (CR) February 2006 report, "Surgically Slim," examines the two types of weight-loss surgery available-gastric bypass surgery and adjustable gastric banding-and illustrates the pros, cons, and risks of each type. This report also discusses liposuction for targeted slimming.
January 19, 2006 (Dayton, OH)
Many Should Bypass Gastric Operation, With New Year's dieters falling off wagons like leaves on a windy day, all those local ads for gastric bypass surgery might start to look like a tempting treat. It's not. Of every 1,000 people having bariatric surgery to essentially shrink the stomach or intestines, 46 die within a year, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in October. Even in the 35-to-44 age group, more than five percent of men and nearly three percent of women don't survive the next year.
January 14, 2006 (Des Moines, IA)
Hospital resumes weight-loss surgery, DES MOINES, Iowa A Des Moines hospital that dropped its weight-loss surgery after several patients died is restarting the program. Iowa Methodist Medical Center suspended the surgery in 2004 after surgeons decided to stop performing them, partly because their malpractice insurance rates had spiked. The news came after disclosures that seven patients had died after undergoing the surgery. The hospital has recruited a surgeon who has performed hundreds of gastric-bypass operations, and he's hiring a support team that will include specialists in nutrition and mental health.
January 14, 1006 (NY,NY)
Patient info programs guard docs from suit, Patient-information programs create an electronic 'trail' to help guard doctors and hospitals from post-surgery lawsuits.Increasingly popular programs such as Expectation Management and Medical Information (EMMI) provide computer simulations of surgical procedures to inform patients of the risks of surgery, including post-surgery infection and anesthesia risks.
January 12, 2006
Controversial weight-loss surgery resumed |
Procedure was dropped in 2004 after deaths, Iowa Methodist Medical Center is restarting its weight- ss surgery program, which was suspended in 2004 after seven patients died.The Des Moines hospital has recruited a surgeon who has performed hundreds of gastric-bypass operations, and he is hiring a support team that will include specialists in nutrition and mental health.
January 1, 2006
Doctors Debate Safety of Bariatric Surgeries for Obesity, As more people abandon New Year's resolutions to lose weight and turn to obesity surgery (bariatric surgery), doctors are debating which type is safest and best. The most common bariatric surgery in the U.S., gastric bypass, or stomach-stapling surgery, may be riskier than once thought. Yet bariatric surgeons still favor gastric bypass surgery for people who need to lose weight fast because of heart damage or other serious problems.
December 28, 2005 (WebMD)
Disability After Gastric Bypass Surgery, After gastric-bypass surgery, a 35-year-old woman lost a lot more than weight. She ended up back in the hospital, barely conscious and with weakness of all four limbs. A vitamin deficiency had affected her brain and nervous system. Because of appetite loss, nausea, and vomiting after surgery, the woman got too little vitamin B-1, or thiamine. That led to a severe deficiency and a hard-to-recognize syndrome called Wernicke encephalopathy. It's the same kind of condition that can be seen in long-time alcoholics, and it can lead to permanent disability.
December 24, 2005 (San Francisco, CA)
New Study Aimed at Understanding the Effects of Bariatric Surgery, Bariatric Surgery study conducted by weight-loss surgeons at Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco hopes to uncover the factors that lead to post-surgery success for obese patients. Bariatric surgeons in San Francisco have launched a new study, “Bariatric Research and Cohort Evaluation Study.” The study will follow 40 patients after their participation in any of the four major types of weight loss surgery performed at Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco: Lap Band surgery, Vertical Gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and Duodenal Switch.
December 18, 2005 (Wilmington, NC)
Gastric Bypass Surgeon Changes Name after Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, A former Wilmington gastric bypass surgeon facing dozens of lawsuits for medical malpractice just made it more difficult for his old patients to track him down. We have learned that Dr. Steven Olchowski has changed his name. Dr. Steven Olchowski is now Dr. Steven Hawkins. His attorney told members of the media the doctor changed his name so he could have a fresh start.
December 15, 2005 (Salt Lake City, UT)
Plaintiff seeks more compensation in gastric bypass surgery medical malpractice lawsuit, Kathleen Flemming went in for gastric bypass surgery, but came out with more than she ever bargained for. A jury awarded the woman more than $3 million for complications after her gastric bypass surgery at St. Marks Hospital in Salt Lake. Her attorneys are seeking additional compensation and are going back to court.
December 14, 2005 (Wilmington, NC)
Frequently Sued Surgeon Changes His Name, According to a report from WWAY News Channel 3 in Wilmington, North Carolina, a former gastric bypass surgeon, who is facing dozens of lawsuits for medical malpractice, has changed his name. In the wake of a flood of malpractice lawsuits, the gastric bypass surgeon lost his medical license in both Michigan and North Carolina.
November 28, 2005 (Spokane, WA)
Provider Stops Gastric Bypass Suregery, Morbidly obese patients on government-sponsored health care can no longer receive gastric bypass surgery in Eastern Washington because of low reimbursement rates and high medical malpractice premiums, according to a local doctors' group. Surgical Specialists of Spokane, one of three regional health care providers approved by the state to perform gastric bypass surgery on Medicaid patients, this month stopped offering gastric bypass surgery to patients covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
November 28, 2005 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Gastric Bypass Surgery Patient Die, A follow-up story on the death of Willis Collins. He's the local man who had gastric bypass surgery and lost 500 pounds. He died last week, after being admitted to the hospital for an intestinal blockage, believed to be related to his gastric bypass surgery.
November 28, 2005
Gastric bypass surgery is no sure-fire antidote for obesity, Barbara Ilardi, I thought it would by the answer to my prayers. When my osteoarthritis was so severe that a mobility scooter was my only way to get around, my orthopedic surgeon said he would not attempt hip replacement surgery with my weight at over 300 pounds. That surgery on both hips was the only way I could regain the ability to walk. So when my endocrinologist suggested I consider gastric bypass surgery, I believed it was indeed the answer to my prayers.
November 24, 2005
Medicare to pay for some bariatric (gastric bypass) surgeries, Medicare will pay for gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity but only for disabled beneficiaries, the agency said Wednesday, expressing concerns about possible risks from the procedure among older patients.
November 17, 2005
Gastric bypass surgeon's license pulled, Michigan State officials suspended the medical license of a surgeon who last practiced at Ionia County Memorial Hospital and is under fire in North Carolina for alleged wrongdoing related to gastric bypass procedures. Dr. Steven Olchowski, who has changed his name to Steven Hawkins, lost his license based on a finding that he was a threat to public health and safety, state officials said.
November 15, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgery has High Risk of Early Death, November 15, 2005,
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, The number of gastric bypass surgery, operations for severely obese people has skyrocketed in recent years. But these surgeries are riskier than previously thought -- especially for elderly people and those suffering from heart disease -- with nearly 1 in 20 Medicare patients dying within the first year after the surgery, a new study shows. Previous reports from a limited number of surgeons have suggested the risk of death was about 1 in 100 to 1 in 500.
November 13, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgery Risks to Elderly, The number of stomach-shrinking gastric bypass operations for the severely obese has skyrocketed in recent years, partly fueled by extreme makeovers of once-portly celebrities such as weatherman Al Roker, singer Carnie Wilson and American Idol judge Randy Jackson. But these surgeries are riskier than previously thought -- especially for the elderly and those suffering from heart disease -- with nearly 1 in 20 Medicare patients dying within the first year after gastric bypass surgery, a new study shows.
November 10, 2005
Jury: Gastric bypass malpractice not to blame for patient's blindness, A jury has found that a Des Moines surgeon is not to blame for a former gastric-bypass patient's blindness. Jurors say the gastric bypass surgeon and the Iowa Clinic where he once worked are not negligent in the treatment of 58-year-old Nora Davis. Davis and her husband filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million in damages. A lawyer for Davis told jurors the doctor failed to treat Davis properly as her condition declined following a December 2002 operation.
November 9, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgeon Under Fire For Alleged Malpractice, A Central Florida gastric bypass surgeon who has helped morbidly obese patients for years is under fire for alleged mistakes in the operating room, according to an exclusive Problem Solvers report. Dr. Edward Tenewitz is one of a handful of Central Florida surgeons with a record of performing gastric-bypass surgery -- a risky procedure considered a last resort for the morbidly obese. Local 6 News reported that several of his patients wanted to sue because of post operation complications. Two of Tenewitz's patients died because of post-op complications, according to the report
November 8, 2005
Gastric Bypass – Drastic, But Increasingly Popular, Government figures released this year say the number of people who undergo gastric bypass surgery to lose weight has quadrupled since the late nineties. Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach a small pouch and re-routes the intestine, so food is not well absorbed. Those who choose gastric bypass surgery can lose weight -- but they must meet strict criteria for a doctor to perform gastric bypass surgery and for insurance to cover it. Bariatric surgeon Tom Sonnansteine said, “You have to have a bmi which is a body mass index we do of weight and height--that has to be 35 or greater with three big health problems--diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea...or a bmi of forty or greater without any of these things. For most people that translates into about 80 to 100 pounds above their ideal weight.”
November 8, 2005
$1.026 million verdict in gastric<strong bypass malpractice trial, In early 2002, Pamela Laws underwent gastric bypass surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital to treat her morbid obesity. The gastric bypass surgery was successful, but the aftermath was not.
November 4, 2005
Patient's Story: Gastric Bypass Surgery, We all have moments where we'd like to lose a little weight. But most of us don't have to take dramatic steps, like Richard Quiroga. "The gastric bypass, what it's supposed to do is help you lose weight, but it's up to you to keep it off," he explains.We have followed his progress for two years through a life-threatening surgery and recovery. Recently, he sat down with News 4 WOAI's Jacqueline Ortiz after undergoing another surgery.
November 2, 2005
Bariatric surgery can complicate pregnancy, One of the nation's greatest health risks is morbid obesity. Since 1991, the number of obese Americans has increased by 75 percent. Increasingly, people are opting for bariatric surgery as a steppingstone to dramatic and long-term weight loss. Simply stated, bariatric surgery is the banding of the upper portion of the stomach to restrict food intake. It does not interfere with normal digestion of food. Gastric bypass surgery reduces the size of the stomach and "bypasses" part of the intestine, resulting in decreased absorption of food and decreasing the number of calories that would normally be digested by the "bypassed" portion of the intestine.
November 2, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgery Safety, Terri Russell, Three years ago Bill Colonna weighed more than four hundred pounds. With multitudes of health problems his primary care physician told him he wouldn't live long. That's when he decided to look into gastric bypass surgery. Colonna says, "Changing your lifestyle so radically is not easy, it's anything but an easy fix. In fact, dieting is easy I could diet better than anybody. This is not easy this was the hardest thing I have ever done." In gastric bypass surgery, surgeons make a smaller stomach, about the size of an egg, and make a shortcut to the intestine so less food goes into and is used by the body.
November 2, 2005
Safety boosting the first studies of gastric bypass surgery, The number of surgeries for diseased obesity is rising with 1 in 20 Americans overweight by 100 pounds or more. Doctors say many patients remain conscious about the safety of undergoing an elective procedure that contract the size of stomach from to an egg.
October 31, 2005
Should teens risk gastric bypass surgery?, More obese teens are trying gastric bypass surgery. NBC's Al Roker checks in with one young man who has had the surgery
October 29, 2005
Practice makes a difference in gastric bypass surgery survival rates, By David Steinkraus, Just last week, the Journal of the American Medical Association devoted several pages to bariatric surgery, its prevalence and its risks. The risk found by researchers were higher than had been published in previous studies. They looked at data from 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent bariatric [gastric bypass] surgery between 1996 and 2002 and were followed until August 2004. The gastric bypass surgery patients had an average age of 48, with 91 percent younger than 65; 76 percent were women.
October 28, 2005
Wyoming Woman Recounts Gastric Bypass Surgery Nightmare, Every year, ten of thousands of Americans take the chance... all in the hope of losing weight. One local woman says she knows firsthand of the risks may not be worth the reward. Two years after gastric bypass surgery, she's still housebound.
October 26, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgery to be Aired Live at OR-Live.com, Live Webcast: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at 5:00 pm EST, GREENVILLE, NC -- Bariatric surgeons at Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) in Greenville, N.C. will perform a gastric bypass surgery to treat morbid obesity live, via webcast, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. Dr. Kenneth G. MacDonald will moderate the surgery, as Dr. William H. Chapman, III performs the procedure. Gastric bypass, a type of bariatric surgery, is a non-reversible treatment option for morbidly obese patients. Individuals who weigh at least 100 pounds above their ideal body weight, have a body mass index of 35, and suffer from associated health problems -- such as hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea and joint pain -- are ideal candidates. Patients who have a body mass index of 40 with no associated health conditions also are considered to be candidates for the procedure.
October 25, 2005
Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery boom, Northwest Medical Center and Dakota Clinic are offering a new type of gastric bypass surgery that is claimed to increase a patients’ rate of recovery from surgery by 66 percent. Virtually identical to traditional gastric bypass surgery, Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery offers a claimed recovery time of just two weeks.
October 24, 2005
Elderly are at greater risk of death after gastric bypass surgery than once thought, A study of Medicare patients has found that men over 65 are at greater risk than formerly believed after undergoing a gastric bypass, with a death rate of five percent within a year, a significant increase in the previous estimate of 0.5 percent. Related articles on this topic are also available on the NewsTarget Network, including: Gastric bypass surgery should be a last resort, not a choice of convenience.
October 21, 2005
Patients have increased hospitalization rate after gastric bypass surgery, Patients who have gastric bypass surgery have double the rate of hospitalization in the year following the operation than in the year preceding surgery, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA. Bariatric surgical procedures such as gstric bypass surgery are an increasingly common treatment for morbid obesity, according to background information in the article. More than 100,000 Roux-en-Y gastric bypasses (RYGB)--the primary bariatric procedure now done--are performed annually in the United States.
October 19, 2005
Gastric Bypass Medical Malpractice Lawsuit gets Underway, Des Moines, October 19th, 2005 - A Des Moines hospital and one of its former doctors is on trial. Doctor Akella Chendrasekhar, also known as Dr. A.C. is accused of botching a West Des Moines woman's gastric bypass surgery. Phyllis Davisson's malpractice is one of 11 filed against the doctor who performed hundreds of gastric bypass surgeries between 2001 and 2004. Some of those problems included the deaths of six people in 2003, all patients of Dr. A.C. More filed lawsuits claiming malpractice. Doctor A.C. moved to Ohio and a year later Iowa Methodist Medical Center and the Iowa Clinic stopped performing gastric bypass.
October 19, 2005
Risks Of Gastric Bypass Examined, With 1 in 20 Americans overweight by 100 pounds or more, the number of surgeries for morbid obesity is rapidly increasing. Yet doctors say many patients remain concerned about the safety of undergoing a procedure that shrinks the stomach from the size of a melon to that of an egg.
October 19, 2005
Hospitalization Before and After Gastric Bypass Surgery
JAMA. 2005;294:1918-1924.
Context: The use of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of obesity and its related comorbidities. Utilization of inpatient services after RYGB is less well understood.
Objective: To determine the rates and indications for inpatient hospital use before and after RYGB.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective study of Californians receiving RYGB in California hospitals from 1995 to 2004.
Main Outcome Measure: Hospitalization in the 1 to 3 years after RYGB.
Results: In California from 1995 to 2004, 60 077 patients underwent RYGB—11 659 in 2004 alone. The rate of hospitalization in the year following RYGB was more than double the rate in the year preceding RYGB (19.3% vs 7.9%, P<.001). Furthermore, in the subset of patients (n = 24 678) with full 3-year follow-up, a mean of 8.4% were admitted a year before RYGB while 20.2% were readmitted in the year after RYGB, 18.4% in the second year after RYGB, and 14.9% in the third year after RYGB. The most common reasons for admission prior to RYGB were obesity-related problems (eg, osteoarthritis, lower extremity cellulitis), and elective operation (eg, hysterectomy), while the most common reasons for admission after RYGB were complications often thought to be procedure related, such as ventral hernia repair and gastric revision. In multivariate logistic regression models predicting 1-year readmission after RYGB, increasing Charlson Comorbidity Index score, and hospitalization in the 3-year period prior to RYGB were significantly associated with readmission within a year.
Conclusions: Increases in hospital use after surgery appear to be related to RYGB. Payers, clinicians, and patients must consider the not-inconsequential rate of rehospitalization after this type of surgery.
October 19, 2005
Gastric bypass patients returning to hospital, Wed 19 Oct 2005 08:48 am CST, Patients who have gastric bypass surgery have double the rate of hospitalization in the year following the operation than in the year preceding surgery, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA. Bariatric surgical procedures are an increasingly common treatment for morbid obesity, according to background information in the article. More than 100,000 Roux-en-Y gastric bypasses (RYGB) - the primary bariatric procedure now done - are performed annually in the United States. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of bariatric procedures determined that the average percentage of excess weight loss after operation was 61 percent, with rates of resolution or improvement for the following co-existing illnesses: diabetes 86 percent, hyperlipidemia 70 percent, hypertension 79 percent, and obstructive sleep apnea 84 percent. Utilization of inpatient services after RYGB is not well understood.
October 18, 2005
Gastric Bypass Malpractice Lawsuit, Three years ago, Phyliss Davisson underwent gastric-bypass surgery to lose weight. She lost more than that. The West Des Moines woman says she lost some of her hearing, and suffered dehydration, vomiting and eventually had to be hospitalized for months. Davisson blames the operation. Today testimony will begin in her lawsuit against her doctor -- the first case to go to trial since eight patient deaths ended the gastric-bypass program at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.
October 18, 2005
Risks of gastric bypass, New study finds that patients 65 and older are more likely to die after bariatric surgery than earlier believed. Medicare patients who undergo weight-loss surgery face a considerably higher risk of death than has been reported for other patients in previous studies, with 2 percent dying within 30 days of surgery and almost 5 percent dying within a year, a study of Medicare patients of all ages found. Risks were amplified for men, those over 65 and patients whose surgeons were less experienced in such surgery. The American Society for Bariatric Surgeons and several earlier studies have put the death rate from the surgery at 0.5 percent, or one in 200.
October 17, 2005
Gastric bypass doctor's first malpractice trial begins after eights deaths, Phyliss Davisson was 30 years old, weighed 295 pounds and was borderline diabetic, according to court records, when the West Des Moines woman underwent gastric bypass surgery in May 2002. Since then, Davisson says, she has endured complications that include "dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping." She also spent several months in the hospital, some of the time in a coma, and suffered neurological problems that included hearing loss. She blames her doctor and filed a lawsuit against him for gastric bypass malpractice.
October 16, 2005
Kentuckians file gastric bypass malpractice lawsuits over complications and death, By Barbara Isaacs, HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER, At 367 pounds, Rebecca Hurley saw the ads, heard the testimonials and believed gastric bypass surgery would safely melt off pounds and change her life. "I never once thought my life was at risk," Hurley said. "They told me I would be there two days, tops. Then I'd get on with my new life." Instead, the then-23-year-old Winchester woman spent 104 days at Saint Joseph East Hospital, 79 days on a ventilator, battling a life-threatening infection, collapsed lungs and respiratory distress syndrome. Hurley was one of 1,439 gastric bypass patients last year in Kentucky.
August 31, 2005
Gastric bypass malpractice wrongful death lawsuit suit filed against Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Madison County, Illinois, The parents of a man who allegedly died due to complications from gastric bypass surgery filed a medical malpracice wrongful death suit in Madison County Circuit Court Aug. 26 seeking damages under either the Missouri or Illinois wrongful death statute. Vanessa Allen and Warren Allen, Sr. claim that Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis failed to diagnose B-12 and Thiamin deficiencies which were the cause of their son, Warren Jr.'s, difficulty ambulating and numbness in his hands and feet
August 15, 2005
Robotic Gastric Bypass Surgery Passes Test, Experience Counts, Using robotic arms to perform gastric bypass surgery may be the future of this increasingly popular weight-loss procedure, researchers report. Dramatic weight loss with gastric bypass is achieved by reducing the size of the stomach, and is usually done by a minimally invasive procedure called a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y procedure. However, this procedure is considered one of the more difficult laparoscopic procedures
July 7, 2005
Gastric bypass bariatric surgeon accused of negligence, Associated Press, RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A bariatric (gastric bypass) surgeon was accused by state regulators of gross negligence, medical malpractice, and incompetence in the treatment of 11 gastric-bypass patients, including six who died. Dr. Terry L. Sanderfer allegedly delayed treatment or failed to act promptly when problems arose, failed to adequately evaluate patients before and after surgery, abdicated patient care to others and kept medical notes that were incomplete or illegible, said the Medical Board of California. The board is seeking to lift Sanderfer's medical license
February 10, 2005
Doctor Accused of Doing Wrong Gastric Bypass Surgery, A doctor may have performed the wrong type of gastric bypass surgery (search) on more than 50 patients at a Wilmington hospital, officials said. Dr. Steven E. Olchowski (search) performed the surgeries between December 2000 and the spring of 2002 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center (search), which is facing eight malpractice lawsuits stemming from the weight-loss operations. "We cannot be sure about any conversation in Dr. Olchowski's office between him and his patients," Dr. Samuel Spicer, vice president of medical affairs at New Hanover Regional, said Wednesday. The lawsuits claim Olchowski told patients he would perform a gastric bypass surgery known as Roux-en-Y (search), which usually is covered by health insurance. According to the lawsuits, he performed minigastric bypass (search), which usually is not covered.
January 21, 2005
Gastric Bypass Surgery Gone Bad, NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2005, (CBS) Gastric bypass surgery, the drastic procedure used to help some obese people lose weight, continues to grow in popularity. It's estimated that 140,000 people had this procedure in 2004, with the number expected to grow even higher this year. And for the majority of patients, this surgery is a lifesaver, but not for all
