Surgeon performs laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery

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      Bariatric surgeon Dr. Barry Fisher is Nevada's first and only doctor to perform laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery.
      Fisher believes gastric bypass surgery is the only way to provide severely overweight patients with the only chance to lose weight and keep it off for a long period of time.
      The big difference between laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery and open bypass surgery is laparoscopic is less invasive and decreases the chance for post-surgery hernias.
      But Fisher notes that no matter which way the surgery is performed, there are dangers and the procedure isn't recommended for everyone.
      Its effectiveness is 70 to 80 percent, depending on the compliance of the patient after surgery, which makes the patient feel full after consuming a small amount -- about 4 ounces -- of food.
      The operation allows patients to feel full quickly by putting a restriction -- or a small compartment as a receptacle for food -- in the stomach, restricting its ability to empty rapidly.
      Fisher divides the stomach in two pieces, allowing not even a morsel of food to get to 90 percent of the stomach.
      "What happens when we make the small receptacle, the stomach wall stretches like it does after large meal," Fisher said. "We restrict the outflow, as well."
      Additionally, when food reaches the intestine, serotonin hormones are released, making the subject feel good -- and full.
      "Some people eat quickly and don't get full, because they eat too much too soon before they experience release of serotonin," Fisher said. "The reasons people are overweight, cited this week in the Journal of American Medicine, are genetic influences, environmental influences and a plentiful food supply. When the size of a meal was compared to what it was in 1960, it's now almost 40 percent larger."
      While Fisher's patients mostly are women and weigh 300 pounds or more, he cautions that gastric bypass -- open surgery, or the new laparoscopic surgery -- isn't for everyone.
      Those interested can visit Fisher's Web site at www.stomachbypass.com.