NEJMx2

Dear Bariatric Times Editor:

In March, the New England Journal of Medicine published two important, prospective, randomized, and controlled series[1,2] that compared the outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) treated with intensive medical therapy versus a similar cohort treated with bariatric surgery. Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor:

This letter is in response to the an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by Ludwig and Murtagh entitled, “State intervention in life-threatening childhood obesity.”[1] As a frontline childhood obesity physician, I strongly disagree with the premise of this article. Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor: Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor: Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor:

I was duly impressed with the advanced laparoscopic skills demonstrated by the authors of the article “Single-incision Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy” in your February 2011 edition of Bariatric Times. Their successful completion of a challenging operation safely testifies to their technical abilities. Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor:
I read the November 2011 installment of the column “Nutritional Considerations for the Bariatric Patient,” entitled “Pica: An Ancient Disorder with Modern Casualties,” by Liz Goldenberg, MPH, RD, CDN. I was pleased to see the author present such an excellent overview of the management of iron deficiency in bariatric surgery, which is an issue that goes unrecognized in many practices. However, I disagree with some of the recommendations. In my experience, the degree of gastrointestinal (GI) intolerance is independent of a form of inorganic iron you use: sulfate, gluconate, or fumarate. Rather, the degree of GI intolerance is more dependent on the total dose of elemental iron; the higher the dose of elemental iron, the greater the GI side effects. Read the rest of this article »

Popularity: 3% [?]

Goodbye to the BMI

Dear Bariatric Times Editor:
At last—we finally have federal recognition that access to bariatric surgery should no longer be limited by an arbitrary body mass index (BMI=kg/m2)! On December 6, 2010, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel voted 8 to 2 in favor of approving an expanded indication for an implantable adjustable gastric band (Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding System, Allergan, Inc., Irvine California) to be used for weight reduction in patients with a BMI of at least 30kg/m2 and less than 40kg/m2. Read the rest of this article »

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Dear Bariatric Times Editor:
Thank you for the opportunity to ask my question on financial transparency to exiting ASMBS President Dr. Scott Shikora in this month’s issue of Bariatric Times (Please see Dr. Shikora’s exit interview).

I asked Dr. Shikora the following question:
In this age of “transparency,” as we continue to grow exponentially, and profits from bariatric surgical support materials can be very lucrative, many are attracted to our field for other than altruistic reasons. Therefore, rather than ask the generic question about “disclosures,” do we have the right to ask to what degree and how much authors and researchers are actually paid by a commercial entity for their research and opinion about same? Read the rest of this article »

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