Bariatric Surgery Clinic Opens at Bellevue Hospital Center
August 19, 2008
Bellevue Hospital Center--NYU Medical Center's affiliated public hospital--now offers Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery for weight loss in morbidly obese patients. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding will be offered to patients with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 40, or greater than 35 if patients have other medical conditions, such as diabetes. Patients must be 18 or older and be free of active substance abuse.
The surgery is covered by Medicaid and managed Medicaid plans. For uninsured patients, financial counselors will help them apply for HHC Options, a program sponsored by the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation, which qualifies patients for government-sponsored insurance or substantially reduces the costs of medical and surgical treatments.
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery is a "restrictive"
operation, meaning that it limits food intake and does not interfere
with the normal digestive process. In this procedure, a silicone band
is wrapped around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small
stomach pouch. The lower, larger part of the stomach sits below the
band. The two parts of the stomach remain connected through a narrowing
created by the band. The band thus restricts the amount of food
consumed at a single meal. Food can still pass from the upper to the
lower stomach regions; however, it moves through the new opening
slowly, so that patients feel full sooner and longer. The procedure is
performed laparoscopically, using five small skin incisions. An
important aspect of the Lap-Band is that it can be easily adjusted,
even after surgery.
Spearheaded by Manish Parikh, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, and
assisted by John Saunders, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, the
program is under the guidance of Drs. Christine Ren, George Fielding,
and Marina Kurian of the highly successful NYU Program for Surgical
Weight Loss.
To make a referral to this clinic, physicians can contact the Bellevue
Hospital Referral Center (212) 562-1011. More information can be
obtained by contacting the department of Surgery at (212) 562-3917.
For more information on the procedure itself, please visit the website of the NYU Program for Surgical Weight Loss: www.nyuweightloss.org.
