Obesity Discussion Forums

[Obesity Discussion]

Laparoscopic Vagotomy Obesity Surgery- New type of Weight Loss Surgery

Good Results For Less Invasive Obesity Surgery In Small Study

An operation once popular for the treatment of ulcers may prove to be an overlooked weight-loss solution for the newly obese. The surgery, which removes part of the vagus nerve in the esophagus, resulted in significant weight loss with few lasting side effects and same-day recovery, according to early data presented recently at a plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) in San Diego. Researchers believe new high-tech versions of the procedure could offer a middle-of-the-road option to millions of obese patients who are not helped by drugs nor ready to undergo major surgery, and for whom the weight loss seen in the study would reduce their immediate risk for obesity-driven heart disease and diabetes.

In the 1980s, an older version of the study procedure, called truncal vagotomy, was found to reduce weight in patients that underwent the procedure to treat their ulcers (the same nerve pathway controls stomach acid). It never took off for weight loss, however, because surgery at the time was used only for the most severe cases, and the open-abdomen version used then was not that much less invasive then more efficacious bariatric surgeries just stepping into the limelight (e.g. gastric bypass). Obesity was not taken as seriously then, and vagotomy was set aside until recent technical innovations, and the fact that 15 million Americans are now morbidly obese, rekindled interest. In addition, surgery for weight loss has become more popular, with 10 times as many procedures performed in 2005 as in 1998.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and at the University of California at San Francisco, together enrolled 30 obese patients for the current study, the first to specifically examine the effectiveness of laparoscopic vagotomy for the treatment of obesity.By the time of the meeting, just 11 patients had completed a six-month post-surgery follow-up period, but early results were strong enough to be included in an ASBS plenary session titled “Emerging Medicine/Research.” The study found that 10 of the 11 patients responded to the procedure and that they lost an average of 18.4 percent (Range 7.0 to 44.1) of their excess body weight. These results are in line with the results of older, ulcer treatment studies, which found about 20 percent excess weight loss.
Current bariatric (weight-reducing) treatments include surgical procedures like “lap-band” and gastric bypass and drugs like sibutramine (Meridia) and orlistat (Xenical). A third, much-touted experimental drug, rimonabant (Acomplia), just failed to receive the recommendation of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel because of reports that it increases suicidal thoughts. Even approved drugs, however, are meant for short-term treatment only and are of limited use to severely obese patients. Current surgical options, while bringing about higher percentage weight loss (30 to 50 percent in first six months), may involve implants that breakdown over time or require a month of painful recovery time.
“More treatment options are clearly needed as this epidemic continues to grow, options that can be mixed and matched for better effect,” said Thad J. Boss, M.D., assistant professor for General Surgery within the Department of Surgery at the Medical Center in Rochester, a surgeon within the Bariatric Surgery Center at Highland Hospital and a principal investigator for the study. “Our study confirms that laparoscopic vagotomy is a very quick, safe and effective treatment for obese patients, especially for those whose weight gain is just getting to the point where it’s driving other diseases.”
Joining Boss as authors from the Medical Center were Thadeus L. Trus, M.D., associate professor of Surgery within the Minimally Invasive Surgery Program, and Jeffrey H. Peters, M.D., Chair of the Department of Surgery. The lead author for the study, also published in the May-June edition of the ASBS journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, was Robert H. Lustig, M.D., professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF. Also leading the study from UCSF was Marco G. Patti, M.D., associate professor of Surgery in Residence. The work is based on an unrestricted grant from EndoVx Inc., a private medical device company developing a system with the goal of making outpatient vagotomy easier on patients.

Laparoscopic Vagotomy Obesity Surgery

[Irving]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Laparoscopic Vagotomy Obesity Surgery- New type of Weight Loss Surgery

Good Results For Less Invasive Obesity Surgery In Small Study

An operation once popular for the treatment of ulcers may prove to be an overlooked weight-loss solution for the newly obese. The surgery, which removes part of the vagus nerve in the esophagus, resulted in significant weight loss with few lasting side effects and same-day recovery, according to early data presented recently at a plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) in San Diego. Researchers believe new high-tech versions of the procedure could offer a middle-of-the-road option to millions of obese patients who are not helped by drugs nor ready to undergo major surgery, and for whom the weight loss seen in the study would reduce their immediate risk for obesity-driven heart disease and diabetes.

In the 1980s, an older version of the study procedure, called truncal vagotomy, was found to reduce weight in patients that underwent the procedure to treat their ulcers (the same nerve pathway controls stomach acid). It never took off for weight loss, however, because surgery at the time was used only for the most severe cases, and the open-abdomen version used then was not that much less invasive then more efficacious bariatric surgeries just stepping into the limelight (e.g. gastric bypass). Obesity was not taken as seriously then, and vagotomy was set aside until recent technical innovations, and the fact that 15 million Americans are now morbidly obese, rekindled interest. In addition, surgery for weight loss has become more popular, with 10 times as many procedures performed in 2005 as in 1998.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and at the University of California at San Francisco, together enrolled 30 obese patients for the current study, the first to specifically examine the effectiveness of laparoscopic vagotomy for the treatment of obesity.By the time of the meeting, just 11 patients had completed a six-month post-surgery follow-up period, but early results were strong enough to be included in an ASBS plenary session titled “Emerging Medicine/Research.” The study found that 10 of the 11 patients responded to the procedure and that they lost an average of 18.4 percent (Range 7.0 to 44.1) of their excess body weight. These results are in line with the results of older, ulcer treatment studies, which found about 20 percent excess weight loss.
Current bariatric (weight-reducing) treatments include surgical procedures like “lap-band” and gastric bypass and drugs like sibutramine (Meridia) and orlistat (Xenical). A third, much-touted experimental drug, rimonabant (Acomplia), just failed to receive the recommendation of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel because of reports that it increases suicidal thoughts. Even approved drugs, however, are meant for short-term treatment only and are of limited use to severely obese patients. Current surgical options, while bringing about higher percentage weight loss (30 to 50 percent in first six months), may involve implants that breakdown over time or require a month of painful recovery time.
“More treatment options are clearly needed as this epidemic continues to grow, options that can be mixed and matched for better effect,” said Thad J. Boss, M.D., assistant professor for General Surgery within the Department of Surgery at the Medical Center in Rochester, a surgeon within the Bariatric Surgery Center at Highland Hospital and a principal investigator for the study. “Our study confirms that laparoscopic vagotomy is a very quick, safe and effective treatment for obese patients, especially for those whose weight gain is just getting to the point where it’s driving other diseases.”
Joining Boss as authors from the Medical Center were Thadeus L. Trus, M.D., associate professor of Surgery within the Minimally Invasive Surgery Program, and Jeffrey H. Peters, M.D., Chair of the Department of Surgery. The lead author for the study, also published in the May-June edition of the ASBS journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, was Robert H. Lustig, M.D., professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF. Also leading the study from UCSF was Marco G. Patti, M.D., associate professor of Surgery in Residence. The work is based on an unrestricted grant from EndoVx Inc., a private medical device company developing a system with the goal of making outpatient vagotomy easier on patients.

Laparoscopic Vagotomy Obesity Surgery

i wonder if this less invasive procedure will mean that it will be cheaper, less recovery time and maybe less requirements and tests to pass before this is approved by the doctor? good weight loss surgery option.

and did you see that part on Acomplia? i wonder why this never made the news that i am aware of?

[William Wallace]

I love how so many medicines and treatments are discovered sort of accidentally or coincidentally, this being no exception. The more options for obesity surgery the better! They really should change the name from Laparoscopic Vagotomy to something else.

[PassTheBypass]

Originally Posted by William Wallace

I love how so many medicines and treatments are discovered sort of accidentally or coincidentally, this being no exception. The more options for obesity surgery the better! They really should change the name from Laparoscopic Vagotomy to something else.

Yep. I thought that this surgery was limited to only one group of obese persons. And then I wondered how a surgery there could help them lose weight.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by PassTheBypass

Yep. I thought that this surgery was limited to only one group of obese persons. And then I wondered how a surgery there could help them lose weight.

I was thinking the same thing too but didn't want to say anything. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this.

[jblack]

Originally Posted by William Wallace

I love how so many medicines and treatments are discovered sort of accidentally or coincidentally, this being no exception. The more options for obesity surgery the better! They really should change the name from Laparoscopic Vagotomy to something else.

Werd. When I read it, I think it is a surgery for women...

[Irving]

you guys are so funny i would have never made such a correlation to a certain woman part

[Wish to be slim]

Any word on the safeness of this procedure? Seems like a very small sampling... and only folow upon 11 folks! Are there other studies of Laparoscopic Vagotomy Obesity Surgery going on?