New Surgical Hope for Obese Teens

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, January 26, 2007; 12:00 AM

By Lucy Williams, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- From social teasing to health complications, obese adolescents have a tough road ahead. But recent research reveals stomach-banding surgery could offer new hope for teens who have exhausted other weight loss options.

"It would open a tremendous number of doors for the morbidly obese adolescent who can't lose weight via any other diet or exercise program," study author Evan Nadler, M.D., director of pediatric minimally invasive surgery at New York University School of Medicine in New York, told Ivanhoe. "We never advocate surgery as the first step, but unfortunately there are lots of children who just can't lose weight no matter what they do."

Childhood obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States. More than 25 percent of American high school students are overweight or at-risk of being overweight. Diet and exercise can help some teens keep their weight in check, but most overweight adolescents become obese adults.

Gastric bypass surgery is the only FDA-approved surgical weight loss option for individuals younger than 18. Unfortunately, the procedure carries a mortality rate of at least 1 percent -- even in the hands of experienced surgeons.

Dr. Nadler said laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, or lap banding, could be a safer, longer-lasting weight loss treatment for teens. The gastric band, or lap band, is an inflatable silicon ring fitted around the upper portion of the stomach, creating a smaller stomach. By making patients feel full sooner, it helps patients limit their food intake. A doctor can make the band tighter or looser at the patient's request.

In a recent study, researchers followed 53 morbidly obese adolescents ages 13 to 17 who underwent lap band surgery. The average weight loss for each patient was about 50 percent of excess weight at 12 and 18 months following surgery. This figure is comparable to weight loss following gastric bypass surgery.

Individuals are considered morbidly obese when their body mass index is 40 or higher.