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Friday, May 11, 2012

Don’t Be Afraid To Take That Step

That’s the message that Shiv Sahani of Queens has for people considering weight-loss surgery.

Shiv comes from a close-knit Indian family. He’s 28 years old, and for the past six years, he’s been working with his father as a New York Life Insurance agent. Previously, he owned his own recording studio and was one of the engineers who recorded Lady Gaga’s first album.

“I’ve been overweight my whole life,” says Shiv, who is 5-foot-10 and once weighed 358 pounds. “I grew up in New York City public schools and was always being made fun of. It really hurts when someone picks on you because of your weight. I don’t think people understand that.”

Weight-loss programs? He tried them all. “I’ve seen a nutritionist, a personal trainer, tried every diet in the book, pills — nothing ever worked for me. Or if it did, I would drop 20 to 30 pounds, but it wouldn’t sustain itself. The weight would just come back on.” He describes himself as goal-oriented. “I asked myself, what are my goals for my life? I knew I wanted a family. I want to have kids. Being overweight doesn’t keep you from that, but it sets limits on your lifestyle. I wanted to be able to run with my children, to go to the park and throw a ball around with my son. I realized I needed to take some sort of action to better my life situation.

“I did my research and came across lap band surgery. I brought up the idea to my parents, and right away, they shot it down, which was disappointing. My parents are very old-school, but we are a tight unit at home, and out of respect, I always tell them everything. They didn’t like the idea of surgery. They didn’t understand that I’ve tried everything else.

“I decided to do a little more research, and learned about two great doctors — Dr. Sean Garber and Dr. Spencer Holover. I saw that they did seminars about the lap band system. One day, I decided to attend one with my sister and brother-in-law. It was an eye opener.

“I made an appointment to meet with them personally, and they told me I’d be a perfect candidate. From there, we started the process. I went back and told my parents that this was something I needed to do to get my life back. Whether they liked it or not, it was going to happen, so please give me your blessing. At that point, they were more supportive. They saw I was willing to take the risk.

“But there really wasn’t any risk. Lap band surgery is one of the safest procedures out there. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

Shiv had lap band surgery on Oct. 25, 2010. Since then, he has lost more than 110 pounds.

“That’s like losing a whole person. Imagine the amount of energy you gain back with that. It builds your confidence. It gives you your life back. Before, I could hardly keep up with my dad when we went to see a client in the city, and my dad is 40 years older than me. Now he’s having a hard time catching up with me.”

Why does the surgery work? “Think of the lap band as a signal — like a red light, green light,” says Shiv. “If you’re overweight, it’s not your fault. For some reason, because of our body chemistry, we just don’t get the signal to stop when full. Now after the surgery, I do get the signal. My stomach tells my brain: Shiv, you’re full. Don’t take another bite. It’s really a cool thing. The surgery helps you realize your limits. It’s controls your food intake.”

Describing the surgery, Shiv says, “It wasn’t scary at all. There were a lot of friendly faces in the operating room. I went in around 10 a.m., and around 11:30 a.m. I was waking up in the recovery room. When I woke, they put me in my hospital room, and within 30 or 45 minutes, I started walking again. The hospital stay was actually fun. I was there less than a day.”

Shiv now weighs 234 pounds and is working to get down to 185. “I go to the gym two times a week — four if I’m lucky. I went from a size 58 pants to size 42. My shirt size went from 4XB to XXL from a regular store. That’s a good feeling.”

About his diet, Shiv says, “I enjoy food, and I enjoy life, but it’s all about control for me. If my family goes out for pizza, I’ll have a slice — or a half a slice — and I’ll be happy with that. But I make sure I also get a salad with some chicken, and I have that first, so I get my protein in. I love salads. I don’t stay away from anything. If you want to give me a nice piece of steak, fine. Just understand that I’ll probably eat four or five bites and I’ll be full.”

And about his new life, he says, “It’s the little things that mean something now. I like to dance, I like movies, and hanging out with my friends. Before I wouldn’t always want to go out, wondering what to wear and how I would look. Now if there’s any opportunity, I jump on it.”

To those considering surgery, Shiv says, “It’s a big decision, not something you take lightly. But it’s a chance to get your life back, so why not do it?”

Category: Health Benefits, Obesity, Post Surgery, Uncategorized, Weight Loss

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

For Our Customers: The Terms We Use

Bariatric … Gastrectomy … Laparoscopic … Weight-loss surgery has a language of its own. To help our patients, potential patients and family members feel more comfortable with the terminology we use, we offer this mini-glossary:

Bariatrics — the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity.

Gastrectomy — surgical removal of all or part of the stomach.

Laparoscopic Surgery — also known as minimally invasive surgery; a technique that allows surgery to be performed without the long traditional incision. By using multiple small incisions, each a few centimeters long, the surgeon inserts instruments including a tiny camera. The camera allows the surgeon to visualize the surgery. Incisions are made through the skin, muscle and other tissue, making laparoscopic surgery safer as less tissue is cut.

SILS — stand for Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery. New York Bariatric Group surgeons are among a select group in the country now offering SILS, which is performed through a single incision hidden in the belly button. This results in much quicker recovery and almost scarless surgery. Ask your doctor if you are a candidate for the new SILS technique.

Gastric Bypass — a surgical operation that typically involves reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting the smaller stomach to bypass the first portion of the small intestine to restrict food intake and reduce caloric absorption in cases of severe obesity.

Adjustable Lap Band Surgery – In this procedure, an inflatable silicone device is placed around the top portion of the stomach, creating a small pouch and a narrow passage into the larger remainder of the stomach. The band is then inflated with a salt solution. It can be tightened or loosened over time to change the size of the passage by increasing or decreasing the amount of salt solution. The system helps the patient eat less by limiting the amount of food that can be eaten at one time and increasing the time it takes for food to be digested.

Sleeve Gastrectomy — In this procedure, the stomach is converted from a 1200 cc muscular reservoir into a 120 cc muscular tube shaped like a banana. The extra portion of stomach is removed. With most of the stomach removed, large amounts of food simply cannot be eaten, since there very little stomach left to collect it.

Endoflip — a new device that can be used as an adjunct in the operating room to achieve immediate proper adjustment at the time of insertion of the adjustable lap band. The endoflip is inserted into the stomach after the band is placed. Once the band is in position, the band is adjusted in the operating room, while the endoflip gives immediate feedback about how tight the band is becoming as saline is added. Using the endoflip, the surgeon can adjust the band so when patients leave the operating room, the band is properly adjusted. Hitting the “sweet spot” from the day of surgery, jump starts a patient’s weight loss.

Rose Procedure — an incision-less surgical procedure that restores the size of the stomach pouch and stoma (the connection between the pouch and small intestine) close to the original post-surgery proportions for patients whose stomach pouch or stoma may have stretched out in the years since their original surgery.

We hope this introduction of terms increases your comfort level in discussing the options available to you. We invite you to scan back to the top of this web page and click on the “Live Chat” button.

Category: Expert Advice, Obesity, Procedures, Uncategorized

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS): Virtually Scarless Sleeve Gastrectomy

When science makes our lives easier and better, what’s not to like?

The New York Bariatric Group is proud to be among the first and only surgeons in the area to perform single-incision sleeve gastrectomies. With just one incision through the belly button, recovery times are quicker, and there is virtually no scar.

In most cases, patients spend just one night in the hospital following the procedure.  And since there is no need to cut through stomach muscle, there is less pain.

Not too long ago, weight-loss surgeries required a long incision, which, of course, would leave a large scar.  Then came laparoscopic surgery, known as minimally invasive surgery, which involves multiple small incisions, each a few centimeters long, and the use of a tiny camera, enabling the surgeon to visualize the surgery and to cut less tissue.

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery — or SILS — is even less invasive.

We already have done several hundred SILS lap band cases, so we have extensive experience with the approach. It is only in the past year that single-incision sleeve gastrectomies have become more common. New York Bariatric Group surgeons are among a select group in the country now offering this procedure. About 40 percent of our patients are now choosing this option. As a group, we have performed about 100 single-incision sleeve gastrectomies, and these patients have been doing very well.

Virtually Scarless Single Incision Sleeve Gastrectomy

Virtually Scarless Single Incision Sleeve Gastrectomy

Single-incision sleeve gastrectomies are simpler to perform than gastric bypass operations, resulting in lower complication rates.

During surgery, about 75 to 80 percent of the volume of the stomach is removed, while maintaining the natural openings into and out of the stomach.  Because the gastrointestinal track is not changed, the chances of complications like vitamin deficiencies that can occur with gastric bypass surgery are decreased.

The data shows that the overall weight loss with sleeve gastrectomy is similar to gastric bypass. The weight loss helps patients get rid of their medical problems.  Because a long tube is created with a lot of resistance, it does severely limit the amount of food that a patient can eat, which contributes to sustained weight loss.

The disadvantage of a sleeve gastrectomy is that because it is a relatively new operation, long-term data is not yet available.

Minimally invasive surgery is a scientific advance that has improved the quality of life for many.  Ask your surgeon if you qualify for the new virtually scarless, single-incision sleeve gastrectomy.

Category: Expert Advice, Obesity, Post Surgery

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Two New Studies Find Surgery Tops Medicine for Diabetes

In case you missed it, these headlines were in the news recently:

The findings come as no surprise to the team of surgeons at the New York Bariatric Group, who has received many positive reports from their patients following bariatric surgeries.

A study by Australian physicians in 2008 found similar results when comparing bariatric weight-loss surgery with other forms of treatment.

However, the new studies are being called the first to rigorously compare medical treatment with surgery as a way to control diabetes.

“Diabetes is typically a progressive disease, but weight-loss surgery really does represent a realistic hope for a cure,” said Dr. Shawn Garber of the New York Bariatric Group. Dr. Garber has performed more than 2,500 laproscopic gastric bypass procedures, 2,000 lap band surgeries and 300 sleeve gastrectomies.

The two new studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

via healthybodydaily.com

Dr. Shawn Garber

One of the studies was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Chicago last month by a research team from the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University. This study involved 50 patients who had a sleeve gastrectomy, 50 who underwent a Roux-en Y gastric bypass and 50 who received a treatment of medication, monitoring, diet and exercise.

The results: Diabetes remission rates one year after surgery were lower by 42 percent and 37 percent, while only 12 percent of the patients who did not have the surgery experienced remission.

The researchers said the surgeries help control diabetes not just because they help people lose weight, but the changes in anatomy also alter the levels of hormones that affect the metabolism of sugars and fats.

The other study was conducted by the Catholic University of Rome. It compared remission rates two years after surgery. In this study, for the two types of surgery, complete remission rates were 75 percent and 95 percent, while there were no complete remissions in patients receiving the medical treatment.

In both studies, the patients undergoing surgery also were more successful with sustaining their weight loss.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that can lead to strokes, heart disease, blindness, foot amputation, kidney failure and other issues that can reduce life expectancy. It is estimated that 20 million people in the United States have it, and the number is growing rapidly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of patients with diabetes in the United States has tripled in the last 30 years.

An editorial accompanying the two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine called Type 2 diabetes “one of the fastest growing epidemics in human history,” adding that while surgical weight-loss procedures were “not yet” a panacea for diabetes, the new research “suggests they should not be seen as a last resort.”

The American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes for Health list surgery as an option for obese patients seeking a cure for diabetes.

If you’re obese and suffering from diabetes, let’s talk. We invite you to scan back to the top of this web page and click on the “Live Chat” button. We’re here to help.

Category: Expert Advice, Lapband, Obesity, Procedures, Uncategorized, Weight Loss

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Are You Unwittingly Sabotaging Your Diet?

It is a picture of a fridge full of energy dri...

Energy Drinks

Did you know that calorie counting is the most common weight-loss strategy used by dieters? Think about it. It’s a weight-loss strategy that doesn’t require fancy gym equipment, doesn’t require a nutritionist, and doesn’t require much thought about which foods to eat. It’s fairly straight forward and simple, especially when you compare it to the fancy diets and extreme fitness regimes that populate the web today.

However, despite its simplicity, despite the sheer number of dieters that practice this strategy, the most common complaint that dieters make is the inability to lose weight! Some even complain about weight gain: putting on nearly double the weight that they started at. (more…)

Category: Nutrition, Obesity, Weight Loss

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