Surgical Weight Loss

Christine Ackely : So I went up to about 280, 290, then I hit 300. Dr. Dean Edell: Christine Ackely was morbidly obese. Dr. Caroline Cederquist: Someone who is 100 pounds or more overweight. Dr. Dean Edell: She and others in her shoes often suffer from a host of medical conditions. Dr. Caroline Cederquist: Diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, arthritis, cancer, heart disease. Dr. Neil Hutcher: Anywhere from about 10-17 years are deducted from your lifespan simply by having a weight of this magnitude. Dr. Dean Edell: Desperate to lose weight, they turn to a surgical solution. Gastric bypass or bariatric surgery. Dr. Neil Hutcher: You create a small pouch that will hold about one ounce and then the food bypasses the lower stomach and the first five or six feet of the small intestine and then empties into the lower 75% of the intestine. Dr. Dean Edell: The surgery is often performed using minimal invasive techniques. Dr. Myriam Curet: We prefer to do a laparoscopic. The old way of doing it open surgery with the large incision, create a lot more pain. Dr. Dean Edell: After the surgery patients must adhere to drastic lifestyle changes. Sandra Fisher: We can't eat like we normally do, but our head still think we can. Dr. Dean Edell: That's why peer and family support is crucial to success. Christine Ackely: It's so important to be able to talk to other people who are going through exactly the same thing. Female Speaker: The surgery is not a magical pill. Dr. Dean Edell: But a tool, patients say to help them achieve a goal that for so long was out of their reach. I am Dr. Dean Eden.