Squeezing Obesity

Source: Peoria Journal Star
Story By: Claire Howard
Date: September 17, 2003

Peoria — ''The last bastion of hope" is how Peoria surgeon Thomas Rossi describes LAP-BAND.

"Light at the end of the tunnel," is how his patient Marcia Mertel views the surgery.

For Mertel, LAP-BAND offers hope after decades of dieting and mounting health problems. The Normal woman's knees are so painful she finally sold her Mercury Capri and bought a Pontiac Aztek that is easier to climb in and out of.

"When I quit smoking 10 years ago, I started gaining weight like wildfire," said Mertel, 54, a patient accounts representative for a Bloomington ambulance company.

"I don't know if my insurance company will pay for my LAP-BAND surgery. But I don't want to wait. I can't wait. I feel like a walking time bomb."

Mertel has completed all pre-operative testing and is hoping to schedule surgery at Methodist Medical Center this month. She was set to travel to Chicago in October for gastric bypass surgery when she learned a few weeks ago that LAP-BAND is a less invasive procedure now available in Peoria.

LAP-BAND surgery is an option for obese or dramatically overweight adults who have failed to see results from diet, exercise or medication and who favor something less complicated than gastric bypass.

"Obesity is epidemic in our population," Rossi said. "By the time patients come to me they are completely frustrated and depressed. They have struggled with weight their whole lives. This is something they can rely on to succeed."

Currently, Rossi is the only Peoria surgeon performing LAP-BAND. The new procedure received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2001. It is a simpler, less costly operation than gastric bypass, but it does not replace gastric bypass. Patients who are suffering from serious health problems caused by their obesity may still be advised to undergo gastric bypass because weight loss is more immediate and dramatic.

LAP-BAND is a 1 1/2-hour, laproscopic surgery that involves placement of a restricting band around the stomach. Five small incisions are cut in the abdomen to insert and position the band. The tightness of the band is adjusted based on patient need. It restricts part of the stomach, decreasing a patient's ability to consume large amounts of food.

"Society views obesity as weakness. It isn't. In 80 percent of obese patients, it is inherited," Rossi said.

"Society pushes fast food and eating. That's like putting gasoline on a fire. Like alcoholism, obesity is a disease, and it is treatable. It is controlled, not cured."

Rossi said obesity is second only to smoking in terms of health risk.

LAP-BAND has been performed abroad since 1993. Since gaining FDA approval in June 2001, more American insurance companies are covering the operation.

Gastric bypass surgery costs between $20,000 to $25,000. LAP-BAND costs half of that.

After performing 15 surgeries, Rossi said average weight loss is about 50 pounds in three months. The weight loss is slower than following gastric bypass, which involves rerouting the small intestines and affects the absorption of nutrients.

"For patients with severe insulin diabetes, high blood pressure or breathing problems, the standard stomach stapling may still be recommended," Rossi said.

He expects insurance companies will eventually routinely cover the operation. Excessive weight is implicated in 30 different health problems, he said, ticking off diabetes, hypertension, sleep and breathing problems, joint and bone problems, high cholesterol, depression, hormone and thyroid problems.

Erin Lard, network educator with Peoria Surgical Group Ltd., where Rossi practices, said, "The response has been amazing."

Lard schedules classes for those interested in the surgery. The office has set up an arrangement with a finance company to help structure payments if insurance does not cover the cost. Peoria Surgical Group will help in claiming a tax deduction for patients' costs. Though the procedure is reversible, Lard said it should be considered a life-long decision.

For more information, call 866-THINBODY.

Mertel's surgery is scheduled for the end of this month. In her history of diet and exercise, her weight loss has always leveled off after losing about 35 pounds, no matter how strictly she adhered to her diet.

"In my case, it is hereditary. Both of my parents were obese. I am 6-foot 11/2-inches tall. I would like to weigh 180 pounds. My weight now... it has never been higher. I'm 180 pounds overweight," she said. "I would do this tomorrow if I could. I thank my stars it is available."