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Cincinnati Weight Loss Center Offers New Incisionless Procedure to Treat Weight Regain After Gastric Bypass

Posted on: Monday, 17 March 2008, 12:00 CDT

CINCINNATI, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cincinnati Weight Loss Center, a member of the Synchrony Health Network, is one of the first weight loss surgery centers in the U.S. -- and the first in Ohio -- to offer a new Incisionless surgical procedure to reverse weight regain after gastric bypass surgery.

Surgeons Brad Watkins and John Mobley started performing the procedure on March 7. The incision-free procedure, which physicians have coined "ROSE" (Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal), reduces the size of a patient's stomach pouch and stoma to the original post-gastric bypass proportions to help them back onto the path of weight loss.

"Gastric bypass patients work very hard to manage their weight and adjust their lifestyle after surgery," noted Dr. Watkins. "Sometimes, through no fault of their own or their surgeon, the benefits of the bypass procedure are not permanent. To-date, revision options have been expensive, difficult to perform and risky for the patient, effectively leaving them without any treatment options. This incisionless procedure presents a new and dramatically less invasive way to correct a key cause of weight regain."

Gastric bypass surgery (GBS or RYGB) offers an effective means to lose significant weight. It is not, however, always a permanent fix. Up to 44 percent of patients who undergo gastric bypass begin to regain weight -- and the dangerous health problems associated with it -- a few years after their initial operation.

Studies show that post-gastric bypass weight regain sometimes occurs because the stomach pouch and the opening to the small intestine slowly stretch out, allowing the patient to eat more without feeling full.

By eliminating skin incisions, this new procedure, may provide important advantages to patients including reduced risk of infection and associated complications, less post-operative pain, faster recovery time, and no abdominal scars.

To perform the ROSE procedure, the Cincinnati Weight Loss Center surgeons utilize a small flexible endoscope and a new EndoSurgical Operating System(TM) (EOS) developed by USGI Medical Inc. (http://www.usgimedical.com/). The scope and the EOS are inserted through the mouth and into the stomach pouch. The EOS tools are then used to grasp tissue and deploy suture anchors to create multiple, circumferential tissue folds around the stoma, reducing the diameter of the opening to original post-gastric bypass proportions. If needed, additional anchors are then placed in the stomach pouch to reduce its volume capacity. No cuts are made into the patient's abdomen during the procedure, so the patients report little or no postoperative pain.

Ideal candidates for the ROSE procedure are patients who were initially successful losing weight after their gastric bypass and now are regaining weight. After an initial screening, candidates undergo a series of evaluations including nutritional and dietary counseling, a full medical exam and endoscopy to determine if they are good candidates.

More than 15 million people in the United States suffer from severe obesity and the numbers continue to rise. Several serious diseases and conditions are commonly associated with obesity, including type II diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. Surgical treatment of obesity has increased significantly in recent years. Over 200,000 individuals in the United States underwent bariatric surgery in 2007, and it is estimated that over 125,000 patients today are candidates waiting for an incisionless revision procedure.

About Cincinnati Weight Loss Center

Cincinnati Weight Loss Center, a member of the Synchrony Health Network, is part of a national team of health care professionals that are honored to have been selected by more than 3,350 patients to assist them in their personal weight loss journey. Our primary focus is providing the safest, most effective weight loss surgery available through laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Our practice has seen the frustration of gastric bypass patients who have not continued to be successful for whatever reason, and we are excited to be able to offer those patients a non-invasive alternative. Our patients to date have lost more than 125,000 pounds. Because of our vast experience, we are thrilled to have been selected by more patients than just about any other practice in the country. We view the surgery for the patient as only the beginning of the journey, but we emphasize the aftercare to assure our patients success every step of the way.

For the convenience of our patients, we offer Saturday hours in West Chester and satellite hours in Columbus. Our main office in West Chester is now open Monday through Friday, and now every Saturday from 8 am to 4pm for regular office visits and initial consults as well. We also offer outreach in Columbus through support groups and Seminars. Please call our office at 513-939-2263 to schedule an appointment or for additional information. Please visit our website at http://www.cincyweightloss.com/.

Cincinnati Weight Loss Center Contacts: Dr. Brad Watkins Dr. John Mobley 513-939-2263 brad.watkins@synchronyhealth.com USGI Medical Media Contact: Fern Lazar President, Lazar Partners 212-867-1762 flazar@lazarpartners.com

Cincinnati Weight Loss Center

CONTACT: Dr. Brad Watkins, brad.watkins@synchronyhealth.com, or Dr. JohnMobley, both for Cincinnati Weight Loss Center, +1-513-939-2263; or FernLazar, President, Lazar Partners, +1-212-867-1762, flazar@lazarpartners.com,for USGI Medical

Web site: http://www.cincyweightloss.com/http://www.usgimedical.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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