Diets don’t work. You have proven that time and again.

Diets are based on a simple formula – eat less and you lose weight, but when you get off the diet, more often than not, you regain the weight and even more. That is because the body is designed to avoid starvation, and every diet you go on your body believes you are starving.

The laparoscopic adjustable band reverses this trend. It fools a very primitive part of your brain, the hypothalmus, into thinking that you have had more food than you had. So no metabolic slow down, and it allows your storage to be used as fuel (accelerates fat loss but not at the expense of your muscle mass).

The Gridiron Greats organization (www.gridirongreats.org) is dedicated to retired NFL players who are in dire need of medical care or assistance. We became involved with them last year when they had a dinner for their charity in town. We approached and offered our hospital and physicians to assist for these needy players. Today I spent time with Brian DeMarco, a retired NFL player who cannot walk without the assistance of a cane, and cannot play with his children. He has no insurance, serious issues and part of his problem is that he cannot work out. So, among other issues, he is inquiring about a laparoscopic band. He feels his weight loss will take pressure of his spine, his knees, his hips.

We are proud of our association with the Gridiron Greats, and look forward to helping these players.

Besides weight loss surgery, Surgical Specialty Hospital has top spine, orthopedic, and neurosurgeons who are offering their services to these needy players.

I am proud of my association with this hospital. The hospital asked me two years ago if I would consider doing weight loss surgery there. These surgeons had purchased the facility and turned it into the first specialty hospital in the state, and built a state of the art ICU. For the laparoscopic equipment I asked if they would purchase modern high definition monitors, that allow us to see even better than standard monitors — when they asked why, I responded, for patient safety. They didn’t hesitate. It has the most modern equipment in the valley. Now we do almost all of our procedures at this facility. They continue to show their commitment by starting the process to become a Center of Excellence for weight loss surgery. So I purchased one half of a share of the facility, allowing more physician input into this bariatric program. We have invited other weight loss surgeons to the facility, and we are going to become the major weight loss center in Arizona, already doing more bands than any other facility in the state.

Below is the “abstract” of this landmark article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Diabetes is associated with an increased rate of heart disease, stroke, renal failure, amputations, erectile dysfunction, and peripheral vascular disease.

Adjustable Gastric Banding and Conventional Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes

A Randomized Controlled Trial

John B. Dixon, MBBS, PhD; Paul E. O’Brien, MD; Julie Playfair, RN; Leon Chapman, MBBS; Linda M. Schachter, MBBS, PhD; Stewart Skinner, MBBS, PhD; Joseph Proietto, MBBS, PhD; Michael Bailey, PhD, MSc(stats); Margaret Anderson, BHealthMan

JAMA. 2008;299(3):316-323.

ABSTRACT

Context Observational studies suggest that surgically induced loss of weight may be effective therapy for type 2 diabetes.

Objective To determine if surgically induced weight loss results in better glycemic control and less need for diabetes medications than conventional approaches to weight loss and diabetes control.

Design, Setting, and Participants Unblinded randomized controlled trial conducted from December 2002 through December 2006 at the University Obesity Research Center in Australia, with general community recruitment to established treatment programs. Participants were 60 obese patients (BMI >30 and <40) with recently diagnosed (<2 years) type 2 diabetes.

Interventions Conventional diabetes therapy with a focus on weight loss by lifestyle change vs laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding with conventional diabetes care.

Main Outcome Measures Remission of type 2 diabetes (fasting glucose level <126 mg/dL [7.0 mmol/L] and glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c] value <6.2% while taking no glycemic therapy). Secondary measures included weight and components of the metabolic syndrome. Analysis was by intention-to-treat.

Results Of the 60 patients enrolled, 55 (92%) completed the 2-year follow-up. Remission of type 2 diabetes was achieved by 22 (73%) in the surgical group and 4 (13%) in the conventional-therapy group. Relative risk of remission for the surgical group was 5.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-14.0). Surgical and conventional-therapy groups lost a mean (SD) of 20.7% (8.6%) and 1.7% (5.2%) of weight, respectively, at 2 years (P < .001). Remission of type 2 diabetes was related to weight loss (R2 = 0.46, P < .001) and lower baseline HbA1c levels (combined R2 = 0.52, P < .001). There were no serious complications in either group.

Conclusions Participants randomized to surgical therapy were more likely to achieve remission of type 2 diabetes through greater weight loss.

“Sexual dysfunction should be considered one of the numerous potential reversible complications of obesity.” the study concluded.

The study estimated that a morbidly obese male had the same sexual function as someone who was 20 years older. By reduction of weight, this function was able to return in a number of men. The study, published in the Journal of The American College of Surgeons, showed that men who lost 2/3 of their excess weight had a significant improvement in their sexual function.

This is not surprising given the other co-morbidities that are associated with obesity. Excess weight has been linked to diabetes, which is the leading cause of sexual dysfunction in males.

Far better than waiting to develop sexual dysfunction, it is better to prevent it, by considering weight loss surgery before this becomes an issue. Instead of waiting to be 100 pounds overweight, consider the band at 50 pounds overweight, allowing you to lose the 50 pounds, and avoid the pounding your body takes with the excess weight.

Weight loss is the best investment a person can make. It is the only investment that allows you to improve the quality of life as well as the quantity of life.

For an appointment call our office at 602-476-2334.

This allows your body to do what it cannot do now– eating less, so you lose weight – but lose weight without being hungry. The second part is even better — you use your fat stores for fuel.

Ever notice on a diet how you lose weight initially, then the weight loss slows down? No matter how hard you try, after the first few weeks, weight loss becomes less and less. Then, when you go off the “diet” the weight comes back, usually with more weight. That is because your body is holding on to fat – trying to save your life. With the band the opposite occurs, because your brain is fooled, it unlocks the fat stores, making it easy for your body to burn fuel. So instead of feeling tired, lethargic, and hungover — you feel energized, and you continue to lose weight at a steady pace.

The band allows you to do two things: you choose what you eat, and you choose how much you eat. What the band does, and what we help you with, is getting the excess weight off with the use of the band. Imagine – you can eat less, feel just as satisfied – and continue to lose weight to the level you want.