Food and herbal nutritional products » Gastrointestinal » Obese teens offered surgery option
Obese teens offered surgery option
View PDF | Print View
by: Guest
Total views: 236 Word Count: 1349
Canadian teens who are severely obese because of medical conditions will be offered weight-loss surgery as part of a new program.
Some children aged 12 to 17 who are obese because of brain tumours or other conditions such as complications from Type 2 diabetes will be offered a minimally invasive type of weight-loss surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Katie Lougheed is seen before her weight-loss surgery and six months after. (Courtesy of Katie Lougheed)
The hospital announced Friday it will be the first centre in Canada to offer the surgical approach to pediatric patients who meet certain criteria for complex severe obesity. It is estimated about three per cent of Canadian children have the condition, which involves having a body mass index or BMI of greater than the 95th percentile for their age and gender.
One patient's cautions
Lauren Marela, 21, of Hamilton, Ont., went to Michigan for gastric bypass surgery when she was 19 and weighed 506 pounds. Doctors didn't know how long she'd live.
Marela's weight went down to 317 pounds last summer. She had no complications from the surgery, but arthritis now limits her movement.
Despite those physical challenges, the former binge eater attends meetings to advocate for herself and for others who are unable to work and are on disability.
She is unable to take anti-inflammatories for the pain because the drugs would burn through the new pouch in her stomach.
She would like to have the procedure reversed and get a duodenal switch, or a partial removal of her stomach, which carries higher risk of complications, including malabsorption of nutrients. She thinks it would help her shed more pounds. Ontario no longer offers the procedure.
"Surgery is no easy way out," Marela said. After the procedures, patients have to be careful about how much fat and sugar they consume, the texture of the food, and how they chew it or else their heart may race and they'll feel sweaty and sick to their stomach.
She advised teens to do their research, combat any eating disorders and seek out support groups.
"The population is becoming obese at an alarming rate," she said, pointing to the increasingly sedentary nature of society, as well as the amount of fat, trans fats and preservatives in food. Marela urged governments to regulate trans fat.
Obesity rates are climbing, with 26 per cent of the Canadian population, including children, classified as overweight or obese
The surgery involves shrinking the stomach to reduce food intake, after people have unsuccessfully tried to lose weight through diet, physical activity and anti-obesity drugs.
The surgery is one part of the program, known as the SickKids Team Obesity Management Program, or STOMP. It involves an intensive behaviour management program to determine if the procedure, laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, is appropriate, alongside diet changes and medication in some cases.
Surgery a tool
The program includes doctors, a nurse practitioner, a dietitian, a psychologist and an exercise therapist who will help patients develop healthy eating habits, create exercise routines and learn new coping techniques. Teens and their parents will have support groups to teach them how to succeed, and researchers will monitor progress.
Sick Kids expects to admit 50 patients this year in the program, and up to 15 of them may undergo the adjustable and reversible surgery, said program director Dr. Jill Hamilton, an endocrinologist and associate scientist at the hospital.
"We're really offering treatment not just about the weight but around the complications, the health consequences and complications related to the overweight," Hamilton said. "It can be life saving."
Katie Lougheed went to Michigan for the surgery when she was 20, which she called the right time of maturity in her case. She wishes she had known about the option as a teenager.
"I decided to get the surgery because when I was only 20 years old and feeling the pain when I walked," Lougheed said. She was suffering tension headaches and didn't want to face worse problems as she aged.
Lougheed and Hamilton call the surgery a tool for becoming healthier.
"The surgery has definitely given me almost a sense of freedom," Lougheed said. "I'm not afraid to go out and go for that hike."
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, welcomed the announcement that Ontario now has such a program. He called it an "absolute necessity" for a small subset of teens whose quality of life would suffer tremendously otherwise.
"The biggest thing for us and for a lot of people who do this work is not necessarily the pounds," said Geoff Ball, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "But it's the reduction of the risks that really have a strong impact on the morbidity and potentially mortality in these boys and girls who can't breathe, can't sleep, they can't move."
The program is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Sick Kids Foundation.
Toronto budget hikes property taxes, fees
Toronto residents will be facing a four per cent property tax increase, along with higher business taxes and user fees if the proposed 2010 operating budget is accepted.
Toronto, province to discuss TTC funding plan
A new agreement to provide more stable provincial funding for the Toronto Transit Commission will be in the works, but both city and provincial politicians say a deal won't be in place until next year at the earliest.
217 possibly exposed to radiation at Ont. plant
Up to 217 workers may have been exposed to nuclear radiation at the Bruce Nuclear Plant near Owen Sound, Ont., says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in a document released Tuesday.
Pickering plant to close within 10 years: OPG
Ontario Power Generation has confirmed it plans to shut down Pickering's nuclear station within a decade, but will spend $300 million to keep it open for another 10 years.
Former chaplain-general faces sex charges
A former top military chaplain is facing sex charges for incidents that allegedly happened in 1972 at CFB Borden in Ontario, military investigators said Tuesday.
Ottawa asks U.S. for assurances on Khadr
Ottawa wants assurances that the United States will not use evidence obtained by Canadian officials in their interviews with accused terrorist Omar Khadr in any future prosecution against him.
Crowd surge injures 19 at Vancouver concert
Nineteen people were injured and nine sent to hospital after a barricade collapsed at an Olympic-related rock concert in Vancouver Tuesday night.
Team Canada routs Norway in Olympic opener
Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley each scored twice and Roberto Luongo made 15 saves as Team Canada trounced Norway 8-0 in its men's hockey opener at the Vancouver Olympics on Tuesday night. Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Rick Nash had the other goals.
Olympic officials try to douse flame flap
Work has begun to try to douse the Olympic flame flap.
Storm dumps snow on Maritimes
Classes are cancelled around Nova Scotia and across P.E.I. as the Maritimes get smacked with another winter reminder.
Headlines
Olympic luger's body arrives in hometown
The body of the Georgian luger killed during a practice run at the Vancouver Olympics was flown Wednesday to his hometown, where his grief-stricken mother threw herself on his coffin and cried: "Why have I survived you?"
Watchdog probes lack of French at Olympics
The office of Canada's watchdog for official languages is investigating several complaints that there wasn't enough French in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Vancouver.
Pakistan confirms arrest of Taliban No. 2
Afghan Taliban No. 2 leader Mullah Baradar has been arrested, the chief spokesman for Pakistan's military has confirmed.
Team Canada routs Norway in Olympic opener
Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley each scored twice and Roberto Luongo made 15 saves as Team Canada trounced Norway 8-0 in its men's hockey opener at the Vancouver Olympics on Tuesday night. Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Rick Nash had the other goals.
Canada's Ricker wins gold in snowboard cross
Maelle Ricker of North Vancouver has won the gold medal in women's snowboard cross at the Vancouver Olympics.
Additional information:
Duodenal Switch Surgery in India at Affordable Cost, Advantage Of
Bariatric Surgery Reduces Obesity
Home
Duodenal Switch Diet Review
Hawaii Duodenal Switch with Vertical Gastrectomy Weight Loss
Article Duodenal Switch Surgery Say no to obesity GoArticles.com
Weight loss surgery abroad, fat reduction treatments, overseas
Turning life around.(Health)(Fear changes to confidence as a girl
Duodenal Switch Provides Superior Weight Loss in the Super-Obese
Duodenal Switch Information
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toron...
Related "Gastroenterology":
- Gastric banding is a costly get-out for the obese
A decade ago the idea of fitting a gastric band ... - TRICARE offers options for beneficiaries struggling with weight
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - TRICARE beneficiaries whose w ... - Attractive cost Laparoscopic gastric bypass Surgery in India: Get it
International patients an affordable Laparoscopic ... - Just Google Body Mass Index and you will find many charts. ...
It was my physician - a.k.a. 'the miracle medica ... - Single-Incision Technique Available for Weight Loss Surgery
Individuals who are considering bariatric surger ...
Rating: Not yet rated (votes: 0)
