New Wall Street Journal article on Lap-Bands

[MamaMichelle]

Found this on a fellow bloggers page!

Wow - what a fantastic article just published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1206929090...ays_us_page_one

Industry Giants Push Obesity Surgery

Medical-device makers, venture capitalists and surgeons are racing to turn a once-controversial weight-loss procedure into the next big thing in elective surgery.

Once dismissed by some surgeons as a gimmick, gastric banding — in which a silicone band is wrapped around the upper stomach to restrict food intake — is now the focus of a fierce competition pitting consumer-products giant Johnson & Johnson against Botox maker Allergan Inc. Venture-capital-backed outpatient centers are popping up to implant the bands. Growing ranks of surgeons are touting the procedure at free public seminars. All see a vast market in a country where diet and exercise programs have failed to slow an obesity epidemic.

Lap-Band v. Gastric Bypass Image

A number of recent studies suggest that gastric banding is safer than gastric bypass, and some data suggest comparable, if slower, weight-loss results. Improvements in surgical techniques and follow-up care have helped gastric banding become the dominant weight-loss operation in Europe and Australia. Credit Suisse analyst Marc Goodman predicts that gastric banding will account for half of all weight-loss surgeries by 2010, up from about 30% today.

GASTRIC BANDWAGON

What’s New: Once dismissed as a gimmick, gastric banding is now seen by some in the medical industry as the next big thing in elective surgery.

The Players: Industry giants Johnson & Johnson and Allergan, as well as venture-capital firms that are backing outpatient centers.

Patient Concerns: The silicone device can shift after surgery, causing it to lose effectiveness. And patients may eventually need another surgery to replace or remove it.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE BY CLICKING THE LINK AT THE TOP OF THIS POST... Enjoy!

[PAMMIE]

RE: To make the band adjustments easier, the company is developing a remote-control system that would allow surgeons to loosen or tighten the devices telemetrically.

WOW!!!

[MamaMichelle]

RE: To make the band adjustments easier, the company is developing a remote-control system that would allow surgeons to loosen or tighten the devices telemetrically.

WOW!!!

I thought that sounded pretty cool also, then I realized that your band would have to have some sort of electrical device implanted in it so it could receive the fill/un-fill radio waves from your fill Dr. And while I know that people are walking around with pacemakers and such implanted and don't have issues for me that's pushing things a little too far to have something electrical inside of me in addition to the band! I would hate to be setting of metal detectors at the airport lol.

[jetdeck]

Wow great article MM! It does seem to be in the news more and more....I smell a business opportunity...

This makes me want to buy a bunch of floro's and build a traveling fill fleet! We all know the fill situation sucks right now...travel back to TJ or find other alternatives. All my other choices don't use floro for fills and what's up with Fill Center USA...I thought this company was built for the exact purpose I described above, but when I call them it is $395 for consult, $165 for fill and if you want floro for an additional $350 you have to get a fill then drive to the hospital for a floro AFTER the fill, defeats the whole purpose.

SJ

[sunnee01]

Thank you for posting this!

My older sister is a physician and dead set against me going to TJ to have this done. This provides the scientific data that backs up my decision to do this.

I will bookmark this and use it later!

Audrey