Dr. Steven Fowler has been doing bariatric or weight loss surgery for over 10 years at Adventist Health Castle in Kailua. He is the leader for bariatric surgery in Hawaii and has done about 2,000 cases to date.
Dr. Steven Fowler and Adventist Health Castle was recently highlighted on Hawaii News Now’s HINow Daily segment, “Who is a Candidate for Bariatric Surgery?”
More
Why is Calcium important after Bariatric Surgery? Your absorption of Calcium is compromised after a Gastric Bypass or Sleeve Gastrectomy There is no exact percentage of how much one’s uptake is compromised, but there are guidelines as to the amount of extra Calcium we should take to maintain adequate stores. This number has increased over the last couple years, with the current consensus recommending 1500 mg of Calcium per day.
MoreNot sure if you guys heard the news last week, but some exciting reports got a lot of attention. Baically, two well designed studies from the US compared individuals with diabetes who had either undergone Gastric Bypass surgery versus the best available medical treatment. Not surprisingly, the surgery group of patients did remarkabley well in acheiving high rates of diabetes remision. We’ve all known how good the Bypass is in having patients get off their diabetic medication, but these studies were a big support in proving to all health care providers the benefits of bariatric surgery. News of the reports were seen on CBS news and also the local paper. It is going to be an exciting time for bariatric surgery, with a greater acceptance of these procedures causing positive metabolic effects like diabetes improvement.
Here are the two articles if interested:
So what is a Hiatal Hernia and why should I care about it?
Hiatal Hernia is a condition where the opening from your chest to your abdominal cavity is abnormally large. The esophagus passes through this opening, or ‘hiatus”, so the most common problem associated with this condition is where part of the stomach gets pushed up into the chest. Hiatal Hernias are often small and asymptomatic. Less than 10% of the population has one, and usually the only thing they notice is acid reflux symptoms. So if you have strong heart burn and have to watch what you eat, there is a possibility that you have this condition.
It is very important for your weight loss surgeon to fix this defect if it is found during the operation. Recent data suggests that an unrepaired Hiatal Hernia during placement of an adjustable Gastric Band is associated with early Band failure… i.e. slippage, pouch dilation, band intollernce, etc. For Bypass and Sleeve patients, the Hiatal Hernia should be fixed to ensure that the gastric pouch size or sleeve creation are the correct size. Repairing a Hiatal Hernia almost always can be done laparoscopically through the same incisions I create, and usually adds just a little extra time to the original procedure.
MoreHair Loss after weight loss surgery can be a big issue for some people. Most of my patients would rather not deal with any hair loss, whatsoever! There is a ton of information available about what is the best thing to do to prevent this, but unfortunately a lot of the literature is poor on scientific facts and liberal on anecdotal marketing! Here’s the facts:
If you want to take something to try and minimize hair loss, be aware that results are not proven with any product out there. We do know that Iron and Zinc and protein stores should be at their normal levels to minimize hair loss. Taking a multivitamin (and iron if you’ve had a Bypass) should be adequate. Biotin has been a popular supplement, but there is no proof of efficacy.
More