June 10, 2009

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Sometimes, people need more than willpower to lose weight. For Terran Leemis, diet, exercise and medication were not enough. "I was a size 24, weighed 241 pounds and was on three different medications for diabetes," she says.

Terran knew her health was at risk. "All of my numbers, on every level, were out of control and I was worried about having a stroke or a heart attack," she says. "One day I was playing with my 2-year-old grandson on the floor and had a hard time getting up. He looked at me struggling and said, ‘Grammie, I can help you.' At that moment, a knife went through my heart. I got up and made the phone call then."

She did a lot of research before making her final decision. "I was looking for a place that offered follow-up services so I didn't end up back where I was," she says. She decided on surgery at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, with Kevin Krause, M.D., director of Bariatric Surgery at Beaumont. She now weighs 129 and wears a size 4.

For any patient considering bariatric surgery, there are many factors to consider:

Am I a candidate?

Bariatric surgery is currently the best treatment for producing lasting weight loss in obese patients for whom non-surgical methods of weight loss have not been effective. Candidates include:

• people with a Body Mass Index greater than 40
• men who are 100 pounds overweight or women who are 80 pounds overweight
• people with a BMI between 35 and 40 who have obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure or heart disease

What are my options?

Beaumont's bariatric surgeons specialize in two minimally invasive techniques for weight-loss surgery:

• Lap-Band® - Surgeons wrap a band around the upper stomach to create an adjustable pouch that fills up with small portions of food.
• Laparoscopic gastric bypass - Formerly called roux-en-Y, surgeons divide the stomach to create a pouch that fills up with small portions of food, and bypass a portion of the intestine to promote additional weight loss.

These minimally invasive techniques are done with a few small incisions, rather than one large opening, resulting in:

• faster recovery and typically only an overnight hospital stay
• less pain

• less scarring

How do I choose a surgeon?

It's important to choose a surgeon and a facility that has a reputation for excellent results. Since starting a bariatric surgery program in 2001, Beaumont doctors have performed bariatric surgery on more than 2,000 patients, classifying the program as a high-volume Center for Bariatric Surgery.

"Our expertise has resulted in mortality rates that are less than half the national standard," says Dr. Krause. "Our excellent quality results are better than the national standards for bariatric surgery, which has helped Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, become a Level 1a Accredited Bariatric Center, the highest recognition given by the American College of Surgeons."

What sets Beaumont's bariatric surgery program apart from others is its focus on patient support before, during and after surgery. Each patient receives a thorough preoperative assessment of his or her medical conditions, fitness level, nutrition habits and psychological status. After surgery, the comprehensive program continues to help patients achieve their weight-loss goals with:

• nutrition and exercise educational programs
• medical follow-up
• psychological counseling
• support groups
• cooking classes

This integrated approach helps patients achieve and maintain permanent weight loss.

"This was the best decision I've ever made," says Terran. "It's not a cure, but it's the first step in getting my health back."