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Lourdes Adds Option in Weight Loss Surgery

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 December 2005, 18:01 CST

By Angie Kinsey, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Dec. 7--Lourdes hospital will offer a new weight loss surgery less invasive than gastric bypass surgery and reversible. The Lap-Band procedure will be offered to obese patients after the first of the year.

"The nice thing about the band is there is no rearranging of the intestines to get the weight loss," said Dr. Alex Argotte, who performs both procedures. He said the surgery is new to the area.

Lourdes has offered gastric bypass for more than two years. During the bypass operation, a small portion of the upper stomach is separated to create a small pouch, and the intestine is connected to the pouch. The surgery cannot be reversed, so patients will eat small amounts for the rest of their lives.

In the Lap-Band system, an adjustable band is fastened around the upper stomach to create a tiny stomach pouch, allowing patients to be satisfied with smaller amounts of food. The band is implanted through several tiny incisions and the hospital stay is usually less than 24 hours.

Adjustments to the band are made during outpatient visits and are determined by the patient's weight loss and other health factors. If necessary, the band can be removed with no damage to the stomach.

Both surgeries are intended for patients who are morbidly obese or at least 100 pounds overweight. Lap-Band patients can expect large weight losses, but "it is slow," Argotte said. "It is not as fast as gastric bypass. If you tend to be a sweets eater, you would not be a good candidate. The quantity of food for each one is the same, but the type of food for gastric bypass is very limited. The Lap-Band won't prevent you from eating (certain foods), but with gastric bypass you get very sick and can't tolerate it."

Argotte said each surgery has its own risks. Most insurance plans cover gastric bypass, but not the Lap-Band, he said. The cost runs from $14,000 to $18,000.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Lap-Band procedure in 2001, and 150,000 people have had the surgery worldwide. "In the United States, gastric bypass is the most common operation being done, but Lap-Band is the most common around the world," Argotte said.

A free seminar on the procedure is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Borders Community Room in the Marshall Nemer Pavilion at Lourdes.

Lourdes also announced Tuesday it was one of five hospitals in the state and the only one west of Lexington to receive a Hospital Quality Improvement Excellence Award from Health Care Excel.

Health Care Excel is the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Kentucky. Lourdes demonstrated excellence in the treatment of heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.

Lourdes was also recognized last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as the top performer among 270 participating hospitals in a nationwide study for treatment of heart failure.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

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Source: The Paducah Sun

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