“Surgical Pearls: Techniques in Bariatric Surgery” Returns to Cover the Intragastric Balloon Device and Procedure, “Pearls” Compendium Coming Soon!
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 October issue of Bariatric Times. This month we bring you more exciting features with a special focus on surgery for the crowd attending the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in Chicago, Illinois.
In “The History of Bariatric Surgery,” edited by Drs. George Blackburn and Daniel Jones, Dr. Paul O’Brien discusses the evolution and literature, including current data, on adjustable gastric banding. It is my personal opinion that despite the decrease in the number of implants, gastric banding will remain a valid treatment modality for individuals with obesity.
We resume our column “Surgical Pearls:Techniques in Bariatric Surgery” to bring you a special installment on the intragastric balloon procedure, highlighting two products that just received United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in August 2015. Dr. Natan Zundel, President of The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), presents the technical pearls on placement and removal of these balloons.
In “Emerging Technologies,” Dr. Sagar Mehta reviews the indications and weight loss outcomes of vBloc® neurometabolic therapy, delivered by the Maestro® Rechargeable System (Enteromedics, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota), which received FDA approval in January 2015. I look forward to seeing this new exciting technology evolve and find a place among other treatments for obesity.
I had the pleasure of attending the IFSO World Congress in Vienna, Austria, in August. Take a look at some pictures from the meeting on the following page. While there, I had the opportunity to listen to multiple presentations and sessions on the single anastomosis gastric bypass (SAGB) or omega loop gastric bypass. The safety and efficacy outcomes presented in large series of single institution appear to be excellent. The incidence of bile reflux gastritis and gastric cancer seem to be negligible in mid-term studies. Still, despite this positive evidence, I do not feel it is enough for us to embrace this procedure as a standard. I look forward to revisiting this topic and having a closer look at this operation in the United States when we begin conducting prospective randomized trials.
I’d like to thank those who have answered our call for submissions, especially case reports. This month, we present a case report by Bhandarwar et al. It is a unqiue case where the authors performed the previously mentioned SAGB on a patient in whom they discovered had midgut malrotation. They referred to this discovery as an “intraoperative surprise” because previous diagnostic tests did not detect it. Their case illustrates to bariatric surgeons the importance of awareness and preparedness in handling similar cases. If you have an interesting case to share, I encourage you to send it to Angela Saba ([email protected]) for publication consideration.
As you make your plans for Obesity Week 2015, November 2–6, 2015, in Los Angeles, California, please make sure you mark your calendars and join us for the ASMBS Foundation LEAD Awards luncheon, Tuesday November 3, 2015, 12:00pm to 1:30pm (LA Convention Center, Room Petree C). Award recipients have been announced and are as follows: 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. Please join me in Los Angeles to congratulate our dear colleagues.
In closing, I would like to announce that I will be taking a hiatus from writing my monthly editorial message in Bariatric Times after the November 2015 issue. As Incoming President of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), I decided to excuse myself from writing for the duration of my 12-month term. I will continue my role as Clinical Editor of Bariatric Times and resume writing once my ASMBS presidency term is completed in November 2016. I have invited past ASMBS presidents to write guest editorials during the year. I am sure you will enjoy hearing from all of them.
Sincerely,
Raul J. Rosenthal, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Click HERE for Photos from IFSO 2015.
Category: Editorial Message, Past Articles
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