Dear Readers:

As I write this message, I am preparing for the 9th Annual Surgery of the Foregut Symposium being held February 14 to 17, 2010, in Coral Gables, Florida.

This month’s issue of Bariatric Times is a special one for those of us who are passionate about bariatric surgery. Read the rest of this article »

Dear Readers:

In this issue of Bariatric Times, we present three articles that discuss frequent medical conditions that relate to the obesity disease and bariatric surgery. These conditions are osteoarthritis (OA), fatty liver infiltration/nonalcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH), and marginal ulcerations (MUs). Read the rest of this article »

Dear Readers:

We close the year 2009 with another issue of Bariatric Times filled with excellent articles that I am sure you will enjoy reading.
I would like to highlight the article by Tracy Martinez on pain management in the postoperative bariatric patient. Most of our patients present with a history of osteoarthritis and joint disease and are already taking analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and in some cases narcotics preoperatively. Not only should the predisposition of our patients to develop marginal ulcers concern us, but our ability to properly and safely manage their pain postoperatively should too. I am lucky to have an excellent pain management team I can rely upon to manage these challenging patients; however, I believe in many facilities there is a dearth of information when it comes to managing pain in the challenging postoperative bariatric patient. I thank Ms. Martinez for this excellent contribution.
On a happy note, I just read that in the state of New Hampshire, the Commission to Prevent Childhood Obesity released a list of 14 recommendations to prevent childhood obesity. Among those are the following: Read the rest of this article »

Dear Collegues:
I just returned from the American College of Surgeons 95th Annual Clinical Congress in Chicago, and, as is always the case, I was impressed with the mathematical organization and size of the meeting. There were thousands of surgeons present, buses going back and forth, and the never-ending walk through the Moscone center.

The highlight of the meeting for me was the amount of marketing, driven mainly by members of industry and a group of surgeons, for single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) or single-port surgery. I cannot hide my discontent at seeing the large amount of dollars and energy spent on what I believe is, at this point, a dangerous approach. Let me share with you my thoughts and reasons on why I say that. Read the rest of this article »