Goodbye for Now, BT Readers! Beginning in December 2015: Guest Editorials from Past Presidents of the ASMBS
A Message from Dr. Raul J. Rosenthal
Raul J. Rosenthal, MD, FACS, FASMBS, Clinical Editor, Bariatric Times; Chief of Staff, Professor of Surgery and Chairman, Department of General Surgery; Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery and The Bariatric and Metabolic Institute; General Surgery Residency Program Director; and Director, Fellowship in MIS and Bariatric Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, Florida.
Dear Friends and Readers:
Welcome to the November issue of Bariatric Times, which is also our Obesity Week edition. As usual, we have outstanding contributions to share with you.
Dr. David Provost provides a full update on the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). MBSAQIP is a unified accreditation program under the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Connie Stillwell provides an update on the ASMBS Foundation. During Obesity Week, the ASMBS Foundation will host its annual LEAD Awards Luncheon. I extend congratulations to the Award recipients: Lifetime Achievement—Dr. Scott Shikora; Dr. Edward Felix—Excellence in Clinical Care; Dr. Dan Jones—Safety and Quality; Distunguished Industry Partner—Chuck Kennedy; Master Educator—Dr. Bruce Schirmer; Excellence in Nutrition—Cynthia Buffington; Surgical Innovation —Manoel Galvao.
Harvard Medical Student Victor Babatunde discusses low back pain in patients with obesity, and the role bariatric surgery may play in treatment. I always make sure I record this symptom in my preoperative notes since back pain can be a symptom of impending leak. The question to ask when patients complain about back pain postoperatively is, “Is the back pain new?” If the patient answers “yes,” and is also showing signs of possible leak, the surgeon should be very suspicious and worried. However, if the back pain was present before the operation and has been well documented, it is less worrisome.
This month, we feature a wonderful review article that is also a continuing education activity for nurses under our Clinical Nursing Education Series. The authors discuss the use of motivational interviewing when talking to patients with obesity. They provide interesting patient vignettes to illustrate how the the technique might be used in real conversation.
In “The History of Bariatric Surgery,” edited by Drs. George Blackburn and Daniel Jones, Dr. Ricardo Cohen discusses his involvement in metabolic surgery research and progress made in the field. This is a timely topic as two important meetings just occurred in September—the 3rd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes and the 2nd Diabetes Surgery Summit. Dr. Cohen was involved in both of these events. If you’re interested in learning more, read our exclusive interview series with the meeting organizers, which ran from June to September 2015.
We feature another MBSAQIP accredited center in this month’s “Bariatric Center Spotlight.” Medical Director Dr. Stephen D. Wohlgemuth welcomes us to Senatra Weight Loss Comprehensive Solutions in Norfolk, Virginia.
I write this editorial with mixed feelings as it is my last message until November 2016. As mentioned in last month’s message, I have decided to take a hiatus from writing my monthly editorial in order to maintain transparency and avoid conflicts as the new President of ASMBS. I have invited past ASMBS Presidents to contribute guest editorials monthly. I am sure you will enjoy this series of “presidential editorials,” and I look forward to resuming my monthly editorials in November 2016.
I hope to see many of you during Obesity Week in Los Angeles, California.
Sincerely,
Raul J. Rosenthal, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Category: Editorial Message, Past Articles
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