Researchers Explore New Horizons in Weight Loss Surgery

The world is facing a public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. Millions of overweight and obese men, women, and children are suffering as a result of less-than-healthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. Scores of debilitating diseases and health conditions are worsened by the stress that excess weight can place on the body.

Although the health risks associated with obesity are now well-known, for many people, the prospect of shedding excess pounds can feel like an uphill battle. Often, the challenge of carrying out a complete makeover one?s eating habits and lifestyle can be overwhelming.

As a result of this conundrum, surgical procedures designed to help people lose weight have skyrocketed in popularity over the last several decades. Once rare, these procedures are now performed over 200,000 times each year in the United States alone. Although results vary depending on the patient and the procedure, a significant number of the individuals who undergo weight loss surgery experience health improvements as a result.

Still, the rising popularity of weight loss surgery has also attracted some controversy. One frequently cited concern is the relatively high risk of problems and complications that have been linked to traditional weight loss surgery techniques.

To help overcome this dilemma, some researchers have begun focusing on developing new weight loss surgery procedures that are safer and carry fewer risks of complication. This week, we?ll review the results of several recent studies that have described and assessed new weight loss surgery techniques.

Researchers Create Non-Invasive Approach to Secondary Weight Loss Surgery

In an effort to reduce the relatively high risks of morbidity and even mortality that have been linked to traditional methods of weight loss surgery, researchers are working to develop new techniques that bear less potential for complications. A new technique devised by researchers at the Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, New York may represent the leading edge in this type of work ? the team?s weight loss-inducing procedure is completely non-invasive.

There?s just one catch: the new technique, known as StomaphyX, is only effective on patients who have previously undergone traditional gastric bypass surgery. In some cases, patients who have already had surgery for weight loss continue to gain weight when, over a period of time, their surgically-shrunken pouches begin to return to normal size. When this occurs, surgeons can use StomaphyX to help resize the pouch and limit stomach capacity.

In the preliminary study, the new technique was used successfully to resize the gastric pouches of five patients. At press time, no negative effects had been observed. While more research will be needed to definitely determine the safety of the procedure, it may well prove to be a significantly safer alternative to a second or third round of invasive gastric bypass surgery.

Ulcer Treatment Procedure May Provide Safer Alternative to Gastric Bypass Surgery

A minimally-invasive procedure that has been used to treat ulcers for decades is now being considered as a way to help patients lose weight without incurring the high risks of complications associated with gastric bypass surgery.

The procedure involves the removal of part of the tissue known the vagus nerve in the esophagus. In preliminary testing, this has been shown to result in safe, rapid weight loss with few or no side effects. The first study showed that overweight patients were able to lose an average of 18.4 percent of their excess body weight in the first six months after the procedure was performed.

Although the procedure has been used as an ulcer treatment for many years, it was not considered as a viable weight loss procedure until recently, when the public health threat associated with growing rates of obesity and overweight began to be more widespread. The results of the study assessing the promise of this procedure as a tool for weight management were presented in a session at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

Mesh May Help Prevent Hernias for Gastric Bypass Patients

Post-surgery hernias are one of the most common ? and potentially dangerous ? complications faced by patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery. However, the results of a new study conducted by researchers at the Department of General and Transplant Surgery at Barlicki Hospital in Lodz, Poland suggest that the strategic use of mesh may help circumvent this problem.

In a study that compared 34 patients in whom surgical mesh was used to close incisions with 36 in whom standard sutures were used, the patients whose wounds were closed with mesh clearly benefited. While eight of the patients with standard sutures developed hernias, none of the patients in the mesh group followed suit. More testing will be needed before the procedure is widely accepted as common practice in the field, but this new technique may significantly increase the overall safety of gastric bypass surgery.

If you?re considering gastric bypass surgery, consult with a specialist to determine if one of these less-invasive procedures may be right for you. Don?t forget to check back each week for more of the weight loss research news you need to succeed!