by Jaime Ponce, MD, FACS

Dr. Ponce is Director for Bariatric Surgery, Dalton Surgical Group, PC, Hamilton Medical Center, Dalton, Georgia.

Introduction

One of the key features of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) procedure is its adjustability.[1,2] The success of this procedure is directly dependent upon the optimal use of this capability. An adjustment (also known as a “fill” or “unfill”) is the injection or aspiration of saline fluid from the inner balloon through a subcutaneous access port connected to the gastric band. Read the rest of this article »

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

The lead staff at Citizens Bariatric Center consists of two full-time bariatric surgeons and a nurse coordinator. There are many departments with individual directors, all of whom are members of a multidisciplinary team that meets on a monthly basis. These include psychotherapy, dietary, exercise, OR, ICU, ER, continuing education, quality management, and marketing.

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by Harry Pino, PhD and Alexis Smith, MS

From the Obesity Consult Center, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

“To understand the obese child, one needs to remember that he accumulated his extra weight while living in a family that, wittingly or unwittingly, encouraged overeating and inactivity.”[1]

INTRODUCTION

By simply taking a look at children playing in a schoolyard, it can be clearly seen that the obesity epidemic has now reached our most vulnerable population, our children, who are our future. There is much debate as to the most contributable cause of this epidemic, but researchers are now coming to some sort of consensus by slowly accepting the idea that obesity is a multifactorial problem.

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