A New Option In Weight Loss Surgery

May 24 - KGO (KGO) -- Obese patients who can't control their weight through diet and exercise often consider weight loss surgery. Now doctors in San Francisco are finding success by changing the way the surgery is done.

In the Drive to Discover a better weight loss surgery, doctors in San Francisco are finding success with staples.

New research out of Duke University finds obese patients and their doctors might want to consider weight loss surgery sooner, rather than as a last option.

Scott Coffelt: "For about the last 20 years I can lose anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds, you know, but there seems to be like a wall."

And it's weight he's gained back, and then some. At 340 pounds, Scott Coffelt and his wife decided to heed the warnings of his family physician.

"He basically just told him, you really have to take a good look at it, because your it's your health, you're going to die and you have maybe about ten years, you know, you'll be on dialysis with diabetes, you might have a leg amputated."

Scott decided to have a vertical gastrectomy, a relatively new stomach reduction procedure that doesn't require rerouting the intestines, as with gastric bypass, and instead of using a band to tie off part of the stomach, surgeons actually remove the majority of it, including the area responsible for hunger pains.

Dr. Gregg Jossart, California Pacific Medical Center: "That part of the stomach has cells in it that produce a hormone called ghrelin, which probably feeds back to the brain and probably stimulates a lot of hunger."

Dr. Gregg Jossart is chief of minimally invasive surgery at California Pacific Medical Center. Scott's operation is done laparoscopically, requiring just small incisions in his abdomen. A scope with a camera gives surgeons a clear view inside.

After the stomach is separated from surrounding tissue, Doctor Jossart uses a small tube to act as the guide for what will become the new stomach, the long, thin pouch formed by that tube is about the diameter of a thumb. It's then stapled around the edges and the rest of the stomach, removed for good.

Dr. Jossart predicts dramatic changes for Scott.

Dr. Gregg Jossart, California Pacific Medical Center: "He's a tall man. He'll probably lose about 70 to 80 pounds in the first 90 days and his diabetes will probably be cured two to three months from now, and his blood pressure should be dramatically improved and that should be cured as well."

Scott is looking forward to the simple pleasures.

Scott Coffelt: "You know, doing things I've been missing out on with my boys, being more active, walking, running, playing, you know just being more healthy."

The surgery is not for everyone. Patients must agree to follow a strict portion-controlled diet, low calorie, high in protein. Exercise is also critical.

Scott says he's ready to make the changes. If all goes well, he's expected to lose 120 pounds over the next six months.

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