UAB will begin performing a gastric banding procedure — an alternative surgery to the popular gastric-bypass surgery.

Posted on November 29, 2004 at 4:50 p.m.

     

WHAT:

 

UAB will begin performing a gastric banding procedure — an alternative surgery to the popular gastric-bypass surgery. Two patients have been scheduled for the Lap-Band System surgery for weight loss. The procedure is reversible, adjustable, and minimally-invasive. The UAB surgeon will be assisted by a Tampa, Florida, doctor who himself underwent this operation a year ago and has lost 120 pounds since then.

     

WHEN:

 

Tuesday, November 30, 2004
(Time TBA)

     

WHERE:

 

Call Media Relations at (205) 934-3884 for particulars.

     

WHO:

 

Ronald H. Clements, M.D., bariatric surgeon
UAB Associate Professor of Surgery

Lee Grossbard, M.D., bariatric surgeon
Tampa, Florida

     

VIDEO:

 

Animation available from UAB Broadcast News, (205) 934-8939.

     

BACKGROUND:

 

The Lap-Band System is available for morbidly obese patients who have repeatedly failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives such as supervised diet, exercise, and behavior-modification programs. Dr. Clements is one of the first surgeons in this area to use it. Unlike the gastric bypass system used previously, Lap-Band does not require cutting or stapling of the stomach or gastrointestinal re-routing to bypass normal digestion.