Health

Obesity Surgery Gets Safer and Easier

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:41 AM EST / CBS

In this morning's HealthWatch, with no end in site to the obesity epidemic, surgery for severe obesity is becoming more and more common, Dr. Emily Senay is here to show us how surgeons are making it safer and easier.

For many obesity patients, the diets and the drugs just don't work. And although bariatric surgery to make the stomach smaller is effective, many people are reluctant to undergo what amounts to major surgery. But now doctors are perfecting the art of bariatric surgery by going high tech and minimally invasive, eliminating the need for an open incision.

Nancy Bianculli is a typical obesity patient. She has struggled most of her adult life trying to keep her weight down, yet no matter how she tries, she is still 175 pounds overweight. "I want to be healthier. I want to take care of myself, and I want to exercise. I want to have energy," says Bianculli. "I've dieted and I lose 50, I gain 70. I lose 70 and I gain 100."

For Nancy, the time is fast approaching when her weight could become a serious health issue. Her doctor told her that bariatric surgery may be the best way to help her lose weight--by dramatically reducing the size of her stomach and limiting the amount of calories she can ingest and absorb.

"He told me that he thought diabetes and hypertension were knocking at my door and that I was the perfect age to do this and that I should do this," says Bianculli.

In just the past few years doctors like Phil Schauer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have been refining obesity surgery. Now it is safer than ever. The operation is essentially the same as it was a few years ago, but the key has been to use minimally invasive surgical tools inserted through very small incisions rather than a large open incision.

"It dramatically reduces the pain and suffering patients have after the operation," says Schauer, codirector of the university's minimally invasive surgery center. "The incisions are less. There's less problems with the wounds--like the wounds opening up and infections occurring. There's less stress to the heart and the lungs and patients recover quicker."

The surgery now accepted as one of the most effective treatments for severely obese patients does not mean the struggle with weight is over after the surgery. Diet, exercise, and discipline will still have to be part of Nancy's life.

"I'm still going to have to go through the dieting part. I'm always for the rest of my life gonna have to eat certain foods and watch. I mean it's gonna change my life totally," says Bianculli.

Nancy is doing fine after the surgery. Dr. Shauer says she can expect to lose 100 to 150 pounds. As more and more surgeons learn this technique it will likely become a very common treatment for severe obesity.

What are the side effects?

The side effects are relatively few. During the early period after surgery patients may have some nausea or vomiting. If a patient cheats by eatig a high-calorie food, they'll get sick--cramps and sweating--and feel ill. They develop an adverse reaction to those types of food and avoid them in the future.

Will insurance cover it?

It depends on your insurance company, but some consider it cosmetic surgery and don't cover it. But given the health benefits when it comes to avoiding long-term problems like diabetes, it may actually save money in healthcare costs in the long run.