What is the most effective treatment of obesity? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus statement in 1991 concluded that medical therapy was ineffective for severe clinical obesity and that surgery was indicated for this population of patients.
Have there been any recent prospective randomized medical trials looking at efficacy of lifestyle intervention or pharmacotherapy? Yes. The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial had an intensive lifestyle intervention arm with a significantly higher weight loss than the control group (6% vs. 3.5%). The trial was stopped early because the primary outcome …
How successful is nonsurgical treatment of morbid obesity? Evidence suggests that nonsurgical treatment (diet and behavior modification, exercise programs, and psychological support) for morbid obesity has a more than 90% failure rate. Similarly, pharmacologic therapy for morbid obesity has been hampered by serious side effects and, overall, has met with disappointing results.
Can obesity lead to premature death? Yes. Individuals who have a BMI of more than 30 have a 50% to 100% increased risk of premature death from all causes compared with individuals with a BMI 20 to 25. This increased mortality is directly proportional to increasing BMI. Obesity causes 400,000 preventable deaths in the United …
Are there health implications associated with a BMI of 30 or more? Yes. Obesity is considered a major factor contributing to many health problems, including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, sleep apnea and Pickwickian syndromes, asthma, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy including cardiac failure, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), degenerative joint disease, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver, gout, urinary incontinence, …
Will robotic technology revolutionize the field of surgery as laparoscopic surgery did in the 1990s? Robotic surgery has exponentially expanded over the past decade and is currently being explored in almost every surgical subspecialty. Distinct advantages to robotic surgery are three-dimensional imaging, increased optics, and improved ergonomics for the surgeon. Decreased haptics and increased operative …
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What percentage of patients have free intraabdominal air on upright radiograph 24 hours after laparoscopic procedure? In the nonpostoperative state, the presence of subdiaphragmatic free air on upright chest radiograph is diagnostic of intraabdominal perforation. After an open abdominal or laparoscopic procedure, the significance of free intraabdominal air is less clear. Nonpathologic subdiaphragmatic air may …