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Second-Time Weight Loss Surgery
Week of February 11 - The number of Americans getting surgery in the hopes of solving their weight problems is up nine-times what it was just ten years ago. But experts say that’s in part due to those patients who are now wanting second procedures. Dr. David Winter explains in tonight’s HealthSource report.
DR. WINTER
Vandi Thrall is working to lose the weight she gained after weight loss surgery.
VANDI THRALL
Second-Time Weight Loss Surgery Patient
“I lost about 20 pounds pretty much off the bat… and quickly returned to my old ways.”
DR. WINTER
She ended up putting those 20 pounds back on-- plus another 40.
DR. NICK NICHOLSON
Weight Loss Surgery Program Medical Director
Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano
“The problem becomes that any weight loss surgery requires some maintenance…both from the physician and from the patient and at any given point if either one of those two parties drops the ball, we start seeing some weight regain.”
DR. WINTER
Dr. Nicholson says he’s seeing one to two patients a week like Vandi who’ve had a weight loss surgery… and now want another…
DR. NICK NICHOLSON
“They are not a magic bullet. We tell people daily that weight loss surgery is a tool and you’re going to get out of it what you put into it.”
DR. WINTER
Vandi got the lap band procedure the first time around…
VANDI THRALL
“As a food addict I was able to consume lots of ice cream and lots of high-calorie foods.”
DR. WINTER
Now she’s preparing to undergo gastric bypass-- which she hopes will better restrict what she’s able to eat.
VANDI THRALL
“I came back in because I knew my life was unmanageable and I knew that I could weigh 500 pounds if I didn’t change something.”
DR. WINTER
Experts say the need for a diet and exercise program after weight loss surgery is becoming more and more apparent. It’s why weight loss surgery programs like the one at Baylor actually now strongly recommend that any patient who undergoes a procedure—start a lifestyle-change program with a trainer immediately after their surgery.
ANCHOR TAG
So what typically are these second surgeries? Do they work?
DR. WINTER
For those patients who originally had lap band procedures—like Vandi—they can undergo a second lap band to create more restriction… or they undergo a gastric bypass. If the patient underwent gastric bypass originally—they can undergo another gastric bypass or they can try the lap band procedure.