Title: Informational Meeting
Location: Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Rio Grande Room
Description: Dr. Provost will meet with prospective WLS patients who are considering weight loss surgery
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: 06-14-2012

Stick around afterward for our regular Weight Loss Surgery Support Group meeting, and share with others what you learned!

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Dr. Provost performed four sleeve gastrectomy procedures and one gastric bypass surgery revision to demonstrate the latest techniques in weight loss surgery, including the use of laparoscopic instruments to reduce the risk of complications.

Dr. Provost also spoke to the fact that people from India and Asia are more prone to obesity, because of their eating habits and the high incidence of diabetes. The increasing rate of obesity in India mirrors that of the U.S., with 20 percent of the country’s population being classified as obese between 1998 – 2004. Childhood obesity is also a growing concern, particularly in urban areas, due to a lack of exercise and increased intake of high calorie processed foods. In Delhi, as many as 29 percent of adolescents in public schools are clinically obese.

The Faculty Insights program, started by LivLife Hospitals, trains emerging surgeons in the field of bariatric and laparoscopic surgery. Dr. Nandakishore Dukkipati, a leading bariatric surgeon in India and Managing Director of LivLife Hospitals, is the program’s Chief Mentor and also a former fellow of Dr. Provost. Hyderabad is the fourth largest city in India, with a population of more than 6 million people.

An Executive Council member for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), Dr. Provost is recognized as a pioneer in the field of weight loss surgery and one of the world’s leading experts on bariatric procedures. Today, Dr. Provost practices weight loss surgery in Denton, Texas and continues to teach and speak to bariatric surgeons from all over the world.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Provost to discuss the benefits and risks of weight loss surgery for the treatment of obesity, please call our office at (888) 715-4330. You can also reserve a seat at a free weight loss surgery informational meeting, where Dr. Provost and other staff members will be available to answer any questions you have.

Title: Informational Meeting
Location: Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Rio Grande Room
Description: Dr. Provost will meet with prospective WLS patients who are considering weight loss surgery
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: 05-10-2012

Two new clinical trials have demonstrated that bariatric surgery brings about dramatically greater improvement of blood sugar control in obese diabetics than standard medical intervention. One of the studies was conducted in the United States and the other in Italy and both found that even rigorously supervised regimens of diet, exercise, and medications failed to bring blood sugar under good control after one year. Alternatively, many patients in the trials who received surgery were able to stop taking diabetes medications within weeks of their procedures. The studies’ findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The patients who received surgery had either a biliopancreatic diversion, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy.

In addition to improvements in blood sugar, all of the surgery patients had significantly greater weight loss than those on standard drug treatment. The U.S. study, conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, followed 150 people, with 100 of the patients receiving surgery. Half of the patients had sleeve gastrectomy and the other had gastric bypass; the other 50 patients received intensive monitoring, diet and exercise plan, and medicine. The findings indicated that those in the surgery group reduced their need for medication of all kinds. Specifically, after one year 78 percent of those who had gastric bypass and 51 percent who had sleeve gastrectomy were no longer needing and taking any diabetes medication. The Italian study used a less stringent standard for what they considered diabetes remission, with 75 percent of the patients who received gastric bypass experiencing remission and 95 percent who received a biliopancreatic diversion at two years post-operation.

Provost Bariatrics is experienced in a variety of bariatric procedures, and has seen the improvements in our diabetic patients who undergo surgery, first-hand. The weight loss procedures performed by Dr. Provost are done laparoscopically in most patients, resulting in less post-operative pain and scarring. You can learn more about our program here.

“Keep your dietary guidelines in mind as you order, and you will stay on track,” says Dr. Provost. Here are the top three guidelines to be mindful of when eating out after you are back on solid foods:

Tip #1: Modification is Okay
If you are out with friends or family, you may be embarrassed by asking for modifications to your order. But, asking for steamed vegetables on the side instead of French fries really is not a big deal. In fact, it’s perfectly fine and within reason to ask for certain modifications to your dishes so that you can remain on track with your post-bariatric surgery diet. For example, if the restaurant offers a fried fish entrée, request to have the fish grilled or poached instead. Ask your waiter to serve the condiments, such as salad dressing or mayonnaise, on the side. So many people are trying to eat healthy these days that your requests will hardly seem unusual, and you will be able to adhere to your dietary guidelines.

Tip #2: Watch Your Portion Size
“Fast-food restaurants may brag about their premium salads and apple fries, but for all the healthier items they’ve added to menus, portion bloat is bigger than ever,” noted Dr. Lisa Young, who co-authored a study on this phenomenon with Dr. Marion Nestle of New York University, in an article on MSNBC.com. “Not only are servings getting larger, some top fast-food chains are engaged in a sleight-of-name game — marketing ploys which could confuse customers who think they’re ordering less than they actually are,” said Dr. Young. That means watching your portion size is more important than ever. To stay on track with your new eating habits, order from the “light” section of the menu, or look only at the appetizer section. Another trick is to ask to use a to-go box the moment you place your order with your waiter, and pack up half your meal before you start to dig into your plate. These tips will help keep your portion sizes reasonable.

Tip #3: Watch What You Eat
Ordering whatever you want from the menu can be tempting when you’re out on the town or celebrating a special event, but keep your new restrictions in mind. Don’t order anything that is potentially difficult to swallow—in other words, save the steak and asparagus for dining at home, where you can manage them better. (The last thing you want is to get “locked up” and have to make a mad dash for the restroom.) Avoid doughy foods, such as rolls, pasta, pizza crust, and anything too thick to be comfortably digested. And remember that puddings and other soft desserts cannot be restricted by the Lap-Band, so you should avoid those options to stave off empty calories.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when dining out is to enjoy yourself. Chew slowly, eat mindfully, and use this time to connect with your friends and family. Dining out is a pleasant and entertaining experience, so don’t let your dietary restrictions keep you from having fun. Bariatric surgery will not hold you back from socializing; in fact, your newfound comfort with your body may help you to seek out and re-connect with those you love.

Questions about this article? Call Dallas bariatric surgeon Dr. David Provost at 888.715.4330 to learn more about the benefits of weight loss surgery and help determine which procedure may be right for you.

Title: Informational Meeting
Location: Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Rio Grande Room
Description: Dr. Provost will meet with prospective WLS patients who are considering weight loss surgery
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: 04-12-2012

Initially, the Lap-Band was approved for use in severely obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, or those who had a BMI of at least 35 and one obesity-related medical condition, such as type 2 diabetes. In early 2011, the FDA expanded its approval to include obese patients with a BMI of 30 or higher and at least one obesity-related medical condition. This change has made adjustable gastric banding surgery a viable option for millions of Americans who struggle with excess weight.

How it Works
“The adjustable gastric band can be placed around the stomach laparoscopically, and the procedure is reversible, if necessary,” says Dallas Lap-Band surgeon Dr. David Provost. He adds, “The band is usually left unfilled when it is implanted into the body, but later it can be tightened around the stomach by adding a saline solution, which inflates the balloon that lines the inside of the band.” This is what creates the smaller pouch at the top of the stomach to restrict calorie consumption, Dr. Provost explains.

As with other forms of bariatric surgery, patients will be restricted to a liquid diet for the first few weeks after surgery, and will gradually transition to soft foods and eventually to solid foods. As a patient loses weight, the stomach will become smaller and the band will become looser around the stomach, which will reduce its effectiveness. To promote further weight loss, the surgeon will need to adjust the band a little tighter. This is done by injecting more saline solution through a small port just under the skin on the abdomen, a process known as a “fill.”

What to Expect
A Lap-Band fill is painless and can be done as an in-office procedure in a few minutes. The first fill is generally 6-8 weeks after surgery. Going forward, patients may need to visit their surgeon every six weeks for the first year and every three months during the second year post-surgery.

A fill may not be necessary at every visit, but it is important that the surgeon continually monitor the speed and amount of weight loss to determine whether or not an adjustment is needed. (The band can also be loosened by removing saline to address any negative side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.)

Lap-Band fills are critical to the success of gastric banding surgery, and patients should commit to the follow-up protocol prior to having the Lap-Band procedure. If you have any questions about the adjustable gastric band, including insurance coverage for Lap-Band fills and how to prepare for a Lap-Band fill, please call our office at (888) 715-4330.

Title: Informational Meeting
Location: Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Rio Grande Room
Description: Dr. Provost will meet with prospective WLS patients who are considering weight loss surgery
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: 03-29-2012

Title: Informational Meeting
Location: Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Rio Grande Room
Description: Dr. Provost will meet with prospective WLS patients who are considering weight loss surgery
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: 02-23-2012