Only two local institutions currently offer gastric banding, commonly known as LAP-BAND surgery - Camden-Clark Memorial and St. Joseph's hospitals in Parkersburg.
Dr. Adam Kaplan is the LAP-BAND bariatric surgeon at Camden-Clark, while Dr. Isidro Amigo with Mid Ohio Valley LAP-BAND Center performs gastric banding at St. Joseph's.
"To qualify, you have to be at least 18 years old. The band is undergoing approval for adolescents, although I'm not a pediatric surgeon so I don't do that," Kaplan said, noting that younger LAP-BAND candidates are referred to other institutions out of the local area. "Also to qualify as an adult, you have to be 100 pounds overweight, or have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40, or have a BMI greater than 35 with complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea.
"Other qualifications are that you have to have been overweight for more than three years and you have had only short-term success with exercise and diet. If you can lose weight on a diet, you don't need surgery," he said.
In addition, LAP-BAND patients must not have an untreated disease that is causing obesity, like a pituitary tumor that may be removed.
"But most importantly, you have to be dedicated to making substantial changes in your eating habits and lifestyle," Kaplan added. "A band is not the solution; the band is a tool that we teach patients to use in order to lose their weight."
Candidates for LAP-BAND also must not be alcohol or drug addicts.
Amigo has been providing LAP-BAND surgery for two years now, and said he's currently seeing about 20 new patients every month.
"We provide a free seminar each month at St. Joseph's Hospital - the date and time are advertised in local newspapers," he said. "We require all patients to attend to inform them of any risks, potential complications and what to do to prepare for the banding surgery."
Kaplan, who also conducts LAP-BAND seminars, suggested a few things to consider for those patients who may be considering the surgery.
"We expect that anyone qualified to do this surgery can do it properly, but what distinguishes one (banding) program from another is the behavioral side," he said.
"We have a full-time nurse practitioner, a full-time nutritionist, an exercise physiologist. We have psychologists, psychiatrists and a dedicated surgeon," Kaplan said.
There are two different support group meetings every month.
"Our weight loss is slightly better than the national average because we do the non-surgical things very well that keeps the patient involved," Kaplan said.
Insurance companies typically require prospective banding patients to be monitored between six and 13 months prior to the surgery, Kaplan said.
"During that time we're educating and training them, and everyone gets a psych evaluation," he said. "People don't fail the evaluation, but a lot of patients are depressed, and if they're too depressed to go through surgery, I want to get them to a therapist and get them tuned up so they can go through the surgery safely."
Amigo agreed.
"We enroll patients for a six-month weight loss program first," he said. "But it almost never works, and it's a time-delay for the patients. Most surgeons know that within that time people with obesity issues could have a heart attack or develop diabetes."
Kaplan said those who are not covered by insurance and pay for the procedure out of pocket are not bound by insurance rules, and he can have them ready for the surgery within six weeks, instead of having to wait for up to 13 months.
