by Margaret Houk, RN, BSN

Margi Houk, RN, BSN, is a case manager with Saint Mary’s Health Plans, Reno, Nevada.

My Journey to Surgery

I have struggled with my weight since my birth. It is a family disease; my older brother has also dealt with a lifelong battle against morbid obesity and all of its associated health problems. In the fall of 2002, my brother nearly died while on a hunting trip to Colorado from complications of being at a high altitude. He was in the ICU on a ventilator for seven days and was the forced to be dependent on a supplemental oxygen tank for a full year following the trip. That development was the slap in the face I needed; I suddenly saw myself going down the same path and realized that with my similar health and weight situation, I was staring at an untimely and young death looming on the near horizon.

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TELL US ABOUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LEAD STAFF AT YOUR FACILITY.

Western Bariatric Institute is an established, highly experienced, multidisciplinary, surgical weight loss center located in Reno, Nevada. With a long track record of professional care, compassionate service, and outstanding outcomes, we are dedicated to providing our patients with the highest level of care available. Our practice houses four board-certified surgeons, three advanced practice nurses, a registered nurse, two medical assistants, a dietitian, and a whole line of support staff to care for our bariatric patients through every step of the process towards weight loss surgery. In total, we currently have 24 employees who specialize in providing outstanding patient care and service.

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JONES: Laparoscopic vs. Open Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Does the Data Support One Method Over the Other?

Kenneth B. Jones, Jr., MD, FACS, is Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Louisiana State University, Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana.

The term “minimally invasive, open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass with a left subcostal incision (RYGBP-LSI)” appears to be an oxymoron. “Open RYGBP” means a xiphoid to umbilical midline incision, but that may not always be the case. Many bariatric surgeons use a much smaller incision, and in over 4,000 bariatric cases (including various gastroplasties earlier on and then RYGBP in the past 20 years), I have used a left subcostal incision exclusively, which levels the laparoscopic versus open playing field, relative to abdominal access.

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