| Help For The Obese: Bariatric Partners Lands $12M In New Financing For Weight Loss Surgical Centers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bariatric Partners, one of two Charlotte-based startups focused on surgery as a means of helping obese people lose weight, has closed on $12 million in new venture capital. The "B" round comes just over a year after Bariatric Partners launched in September of 2005 with $12.55 million financing. Bariatric is derived from the Greek words for "weight" and "treatment." Bariatric surgery involves sealing off most of the stomach to reduce the amount a food can eat or rearrange the small intestine to reduce the amount of calories a body can absorb. Bariatric Partners utilizes laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, or LAGB, surgery. A surgeon inserts an adjustable silicone band that is subsequently adjusted over time. This technique does not divide any portion of the stomach or intestine.
More political games with our health care
HB 849 is a bill that would require health insurance companies to pay for bariatric surgery for type II diabetics. I put this bill in at the request of doctors at the Portsmouth Hospital. There are different procedures, but bariatric surgery is basically stomach reduction. The bill, after being amended and undergoing about six subcommittee meetings, was carefully crafted to meet the needs of type II diabetics who cannot lose excess weight by traditional methods of dieting and exercise and need this type of surgery to stop the downward spiral of failing health. The testimony on this bill was absolutely compelling that in about 80 percent of those who met the criteria to be operated on, the surgery "cured" type II diabetes, high blood pressure, reduces heart attacks and a number of other expensive health care issues.
Access For Poor, Underinsured Patients To Weight Loss Surgeries Limited By Government Restrictions
Thresholds limiting bariatric surgeries to high-volume centers disproportionately restrict access for poor and underinsured patients, populations which are among the most in need of them, an analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.
Government-imposed restrictions currently mandate a 125-case annual threshold for facilities permitted to perform bariatric surgeries under Medicare and Medicaid because some studies have identified better outcomes for centers performing large volumes of bariatric surgeries. But most bariatric surgeries for the poor -- about 60 percent -- are performed in low-volume centers.
"Restricting surgeries to high-volume centers has the effect of limiting bariatric surgery as an option for many poor and underinsured who rely on Medicare and Medicaid," said Dr.
Bariatric surgery becoming popular weight-loss option
For obese patients looking to take off excess weight when diet and exercise aren't doing the trick, bariatric surgery is becoming a popular option. The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery estimates 205,000 people with morbid obesity in the U.S. had bariatric surgery in 2007 - about 1 percent of the clinically eligible population. Locally, Baptist Hospital's Metabolic Surgery Center sees an average of 60 cases per month (68 in August) and has about 800 patients being worked up for surgery, says Cylinda Phillips, the center's director. Phillips says the center has three options for patients, who must have a body mass index of 40 or more to qualify, unless they have a serious co-morbidity. .
ORLive Presents: Minimally Invasive Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass -- the Gold Standard of Weight-Loss Surgery
Weight-loss surgery is the first surgery PinnacleHealth is scheduled to host on the Internet over the next year. On Wednesday, November 7 at 6 pm, Luciano DiMarco, DO, FACOS, medical director of bariatric surgery at PinnacleHealth, will perform the gold standard of weight-loss surgery, Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, at the PinnacleHealth Community Campus, on www.OR-Live.com. Since 1998, Luciano DiMarco, DO, FACOS, and his partners, Doctors Scot A. Currie and Matthew Davidson, have performed this surgery laparoscopically, reducing chance of infection, shortening hospital stay and improving recovery time. .
Sansui Software Pvt. Ltd.
New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) The Supreme Court today directed the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to verify the claim of controversial RJD MP Pappu Yadav that he was suffering from "morbid obesity" which required medical treatment abroad.
A Bench of Justices S B Sinha and H S Bedi asked Prof M C Mishra, a senior doctor of the institute, to submit a report on the claim within two week so as to enable it pass appropriate orders on the MP's petition.
Counsel Rakesh Kumar Singh appearing for Yadav pleaded that the MP be granted permission to travel abroad for undergoing the surgery as the ailment was threatening his life.
He claimed that Yadav's condition can be improved only after he undergoes a "Bariatric surgery." The Court had on November 12 sought response from the CBI within two days on Yadav's plea seeking permission to undergo a surgery for his morbid obesity at a private hospital here.
Obesity surgeon drops operation ban appeal
A Gold Coast obesity doctor has withdrawn his appeal against restrictions preventing him from performing a type of obesity surgery. Earlier this week, the Queensland Medical Board banned Dr Russell Broadbent from performing bariatric surgery, which reduces a person's ability to eat food in volume and absorb the food they have eaten. The move came amid concerns that some patients had died and others were left severely incapacitated after the surgery. A medical board spokesman says they are investigating Dr Broadbent's conduct. Tags: health, doctors-and-medical-professionals, australia, southport-4215 .
|
