Questions in the Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Forum have been answered by Dr. Kevin Pho who is board certified in Internal Medicine and by doctors from Henry Ford Health System.

Question Title: Adjustable Gastric Band Surgery

Forum: The Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Forum
Topic: Digestive


I am a 42 year old male and have been overweight all of my life,
despite being extremely active as a youth and playing sports
year round. In the last few years I ruptured a disc in my back
and my activity level has fallen drastically while my weight
has gone completely out of control (almost 400 lbs. now). Diets
are like a yo-yo, up and down and back up.
Understanding that the Adjustable Gastric Band Operation has not
been approved by the FDA in America, I wish to find information
about doctors in Canada or Latin America that are performing the
operation. I would consider Sweden or Austria but cannot afford
the cost.
I cannot get insurance because of pre-existing conditions and do
not have a lot of money. This will have to come out of my
pocket. I had heard that in Canada this procedure could be
performed for around $6,000. and that is half of what it would
be overseas.Could anyone help me with information?
_


Detroit, June 2 1998

Dear Mr. Keith:

Laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric band for the treatment of obesity was developed in Europe and is currently under investigational use in the United States.
There are few centers in the USA performing this procedure, one of which is the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Richmond VA 23298.
The appropriate equipment is manufactured in California: LAP-BAND Adjustable gastric Banding System; BioEnterics, Carpinteria, CA. (They may have more information regarding American centers performing this surgery.)
The following are some other centers that are performing this surgical procedure:

· First Surgical Department, Charles University Teaching Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.
· Department of Surgery, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
· Department of Surgery, Karolinska Institute, Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
· Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona Spain.
· Medicosurgical Department of Hepato-gastroenterology Hospital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium.
· Departamento de Cirugia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Hospital San Juan de Dios, Santiago de Chile.
· Cardston Municipal Hospital, Alberta, Canada.

A note of caution is warranted. It is currently uncertain whether this surgical approach will permit you to lose weight and to maintain the weight reduction. Additionally, the long term safety of this approach remains to be proven

We hope this information will be useful for you.

This information is provided for educational purposes only. Always discuss specific medical problems with your personal physician.

HFHSM.D.-ab
*keywords: obesity, nutrition, gastric surgery
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