Congratulations to Dr. Robin Blackstone, Outgoing President, and All Members of the ASMBS on Another Great Year of Progress in the Field of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery!

Dear Readers of Bariatric Times:

By the time you read this issue, we may be together in San Diego, California, enjoying the beautiful landscape and weather while attending the Annual Clinical Congress of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This will be the last stand-alone ASMBS Congress as beginning October 2013 the ASMBS and The Obesity Society (TOS) will join to host one meeting in conjunction with the Walk for Obesity.

There will be a lot of great things to celebrate, learn, and discuss at this year’s ASMBS. We thank Dr. Robin Blackstone, 2011–2012 ASMBS President, for her terrific work, and we welcome Dr. Jaime Ponce as incoming leader for the 2012–2013 term. We wish Dr. Ponce the best of luck and endurance. I also congratulate Dr. Ninh Nguyen, ASMBS President-Elect. This honor is a more than well-deserved accolade for Dr. Nguyen after devoting so much time and work to the ASMBS as Program Committee Chair and Secretary. Last but not least, we also congratulate Drs. Alfons Pomp and John Morton who were recently elected members of the ASMBS Executive Council.

This year’s ASMBS Clinical Congress will be especially important for bariatric coordinators and database specialists to attend. Open houses and courses will be offered to introduce everyone to the new American College of Surgeons (ACS)/ASMBS accreditation system Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBS-AQIP). Attendees will have a unique opportunity to interact and discuss the change and learn how to work in this new exciting system.

In this month’s installment of “Surgical Pearls: Techniques in Bariatric Surgery,” Dr. Scott Shikora describes the bidirectional linear stapler jejuno-jejunostomy, a technique that has been shown to be safe with a low incidence of obstructions in thousands of patient cases. I personally use a unidirectional linear stapler technique with two applications instead and have seen low incidence of obstructions as well. As with many techniques in bariatric surgery, this decision depends on the surgeon’s preference.

We also present a new installment of Dr. Samuel Szomstein’s column “The Hole in the Wall” with this month’s contributing expert, Dr. Abraham Fridman. Dr. Fridman discusses the technical options available in mesh fixation and device techniques when performing laparoscopic ventral hernia repairs. I rarely repair hernias through the laparoscope unless they are small. Large hernias are cumbersome to fix, and patients often keep complaining about pain for weeks after the procedure is performed. In addition, we still have to deal with the large seroma.
As a devoted believer of the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) procedure, I agree with the article by Seeley et al, presented in this month’s Metabolic Applied Research Initiative Series, that those who classify LSG as a restrictive procedure are likely not observing the effects of the operation. In my opinion, LSG is a restrictive, anorectic, and metabolic procedure. There is enough evidence in the literature about LSG removing Ghrelin-producing cells and inducing rapid emptying and changes in pressure gradients, which are all physiological alterations that help in comorbid conditions remission or resolution.

In this month’s “Anesthetic Aspects of Bariatric Surgery,” Dr. Ashish Sinha discusses challenges anesthesiologist face while managing airways in patients with morbid obesity. Although fiberoptic intubation is not frequent, we should always be ready for this situation. I remember during my residency witnessing a difficult airway incident that resulted in severe hypoxic brain injury because the patient could not be intubated. Personally, I have had to perform emergency tracheostomy on two occasions for similar circumstances. I thank both column editor Dr. Stephanie Jones and contributor Dr. Sinha for this excellent discussion.

We also present a Symposium Synopsis by Drs. Natan Zundel and Elias Chousleb on the 13th World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery that took place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, this past April. I had the opportunity to attend the congress and was impressed by not only the attendance of over 2,500 surgeons from around the world, but also the quality of the sessions organized by the International Federation of Societies of Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES). My congratulations to Dr. Zundel, who was the president of this event.

With a focus on the upcoming ASMBS Clinical Congress, Laura Boyer presents a summary of the ASMBS Integrated Health Clinical Issues and Guidelines Committee. We also congratulate Dr. David Sarwer, recipient of the 2012 Circle of Excellence Award and all newly elected members of the ASMBS IH Executive Committee. Lastly, this month’s ASMBS Foundation News and Update contains important information on the happenings at the ASMBS meeting, including the Walk from Obesity, Surgeons for Success Putting Challenge, the P3 Pedometer Challenge, and the announcement of Dr. Kelvin Higa as recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award.

See you in San Diego!

Sincerely,
Raul J. Rosenthal, MD, FACS
Editor, Bariatric Times

Tags: Dr. Raul Rosenthal

Category: Editorial Message, Past Articles