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Oct 1, 2008 3:12 pm US/Eastern
Health Report: Gastric Bypass Fix
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
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A growing number of people who have had gastric bypass surgery are going back and fixing the fix.
CBS 3
A growing number of people who have had gastric bypass
surgery are going back and fixing the fix. In this case, it is because some
patients have gained back the weight they lost with the first surgery. Now,
there is a revolutionary new way to fix that. Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl gets
a first hand look at how it can be done.
Ever since she was a little girl, Suzanne Winand has
struggled with weight.
"I can remember being 150 pounds in third grade," said Suzanne.
As an adult, she tried every diet and eventually turned to
gastric bypass surgery five years ago. She went from 316 pounds, down to 198,
but she ended up gaining back about 50 pounds. It happens to one in five bypass
patients.
The reason for the weight gain is the patients' surgically
reduced stomach, called a pouch, stretches, mainly because they over-eat. The
weight gain brings back the health problems too, like diabetes, arthritis and
heart disease.
Desperate to control her weight again, Suzanne was the first
patient to have a revolutionary procedure called Stomaphyx.
"What we wanted to try to do is reduce the size of the
pouch without any incisions," said Dr. Fernando Bonanni of Abington Hospital,
who is the first in the area to use the new procedure.
Instead of an incision, a specially equipped endoscope
made by Endogastric Solutions, is inserted down the throat while the patient is
sedated.
Inside the stomach, tissue is gathered with a suction
device, and then it is stitched with sutures that work like a sewing machine.
"It's amazing. It's like a little vacuum cleaner, then a
little suture machine," explained Dr. Bonanni.
This is a new alternative for traditional revision
surgery, which is invasive and can be risky.
"It's a quicker, simpler, easier, and out-patient
procedure so basically in two days, they can go back to their normal lives,"
Dr. Bonanni said.
After the procedure, Suzanne will have a new smaller
stomach, so theoretically she will eat less and the pouch will not stretch out
again.
"I'm going to give it my best effort," Suzanne said.
Stomaphyx is currently only being used on gastric bypass
patients, but it could eventually become a quick and easy way to shrink stomach
size for anyone trying to lose weight.
"It's fantastic! This approach is also the doorway, or you
know, the entrance way to possibly helping with weight loss without any
incisions at all," said Dr. Bonanni.
This is a brand new procedure, so at this point doctors do
not know about potential long term issues. So far, no issues are reported.
For more information on the procedure contact Dr. Bonanni
or click on the link below:
Fernando B. Bonanni, Jr., M.D.
Abington
Memorial Hospital's
Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
215-441-6800 www.amh.org/bariatricsurgery
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