A severely obese Dallas woman in her 20’s was one of the first patients to undergo an innovative weight-loss procedure that could soon become the “gold standard” of bariatric surgery.
“Jane,” who prefers to remain anonymous, was roughly 100 pounds overweight prior to the procedure. She decided to pursue laparoscopic surgery, but wanted to avoid the scarring and other discomfort associated with the traditional approach.
She met with Todd McCarty, MD, FACS, a nationally recognized pioneer of laparoscopic bariatric surgery, who told her about a novel “scar free” approach that utilizes the natural openings to the abdominal cavity instead of direct incisions through the abdominal wall. The “natural orifice” procedure involves accessing the stomach through the back of the vaginal wall, thereby reducing the need for abdominal incisions.
McCarty, who practices at the Lakewood Weight Loss & Wellness Clinic near White Rock Lake in Dallas, successfully performed the first natural orifice bariatric surgery on Jane on November 17. The surgery took roughly two hours to perform and the patient returned home the following day.
“This technique has been used successfully for pelvic operations such as appendectomies and colon resections with excellent results, so it seems only natural to extend this benefit to the bariatric population,” Dr. McCarty explained.
Benefits of this novel approach include dramatically reduced patient discomfort and recovery time, less time spent in the hospital, fewer risks of complications and the minimization of external scars. Bariatric surgery also helps prevent the inevitable medical diseases that accompany obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, joint problems and cancer.
“For too long, bariatric surgery has been entrenched in older techniques that place more emphasis on volume and profit than progress in patient comfort and care,” said Dr. McCarty. “If we don’t have to make five or six incisions in our patients to perform a safe and successful surgery, we owe it to them not to.”
Dr. McCarty was among the first to perform many advanced laparoscopic operations, including surgery of the stomach and esophagus, spleen, liver and bile ducts, and adrenal glands, as well as weight-loss surgery procedures. He has been a leader in teaching bariatric surgery on both the local and national levels, and has served as a faculty member for the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Dr. McCarty’s second natural orifice procedure has been scheduled for December 12, 2011.
Visit his office online at www.lakewoodweightloss.com or call Toll Free at (855) 727-5555 for more information.
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