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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » Second bariatric surgery was key for Crawford County woman – GoErie.com

UPMC Hamot patient lost about 140 pounds after going back for second surgery.

CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS Renee Hanby's gastric-band surgery was a success, at first.

The Cambridge Township woman lost almost 30 pounds in the first three months after bariatric surgery at UPMC Hamot in 2012, but then the weight loss stopped, a common experience for about half of gastric-band surgery patients.

It's an outcome that has led surgeons at Hamot and other hospitals around the country to rethink the types of bariatric surgery they perform.

"I got pregnant twice and had babies just one year and 21 days apart," said Hanby, 31. "By the end of the second pregnancy I weighed 252 pounds, the most I ever weighed. My doctors would tighten the belt but I still couldn't lose any weight."

Bariatric surgeries are done to help people lose large amounts of weight. The surgeries involve reducing the size of the stomach, bypassing part of the small intestine, or both.

Gastric-band surgery has been one of the most popular types of bariatric surgery because it is not as complex as the others and it can be easily reversed. But surgeons have discovered fewer patients, including Hanby, lost significant amounts of weight than patients who undergo other types of bariatric surgery.

A study published inGastroenterology Research and Practice showed that only 49 percent of patients who underwent gastric banding lost "excessive" weight, compared to 65 percent of patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery and 73 percent who underwent biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch the surgery with the highest weight-loss success rate.

"UPMC basically stopped doing gastric-band surgeries over the past three, four years," said Jawaid Kalim, M.D., a Hamot bariatric surgeon. "The studies of long-term success were not favorable, patients weren't losing as much weight, and there is a need for more intense follow-up than for other surgeries."

Kalim and his staff at Hamot worked with Hanby to reduce weight by adjusting her gastric band, but they agreed a second surgery would probably be more effective. In December 2015, she underwent what Kalim called a modified duodenal switch.

Instead of placing a gastric band around the stomach, Kalim removed more than 80 percent of Hanby's stomach and bypassed about half her small intestine. She would lose weight because it would take only a small amount of food to feel full, and her body wouldn't absorb as many nutrients and calories.

It is a more invasive surgery than gastric banding, but it does not require as much follow-up care, Kalim said.Hanby visits Kalim's office every six months now, instead of every two to three months after the gastric-band surgery.

The effect of the second surgery has been dramatic.

"I lost 100 pounds in just the first five months," Hanby said. "I now weigh about 110 pounds and went from a size 22 to a size zero. My cholesterol, which was originally almost 400, is now 140 without any medication and my A1C score (for diabetes) has improved."

In fact, Hanby said she is about 10 to 15 pounds underweight, and is having trouble gaining it back. Since she can only eat a small amount of food less than the size of her clenched fist at one sitting, she has to remember to frequently eat snacks in addition to her regular meals.

But her energy level is much higher than before the surgery. She can run around with her three children and two stepchildren all younger than 12 and still work around 50 hours a week with Youth Advocate Programs in Meadville.

Finding time to sleep is one of Hanby's biggest challenges.

"I try to catch up on my sleep on Saturdays," Hanby said with a smile. "Or when my youngest, Lakelynn, goes down for a nap, I nap, too."

Kalim recommends a second surgery for most gastric-band patients who have trouble losing weight, though he said a follow-up surgery can sometimes be more difficult.

"When patients undergo an initial surgery, their stomach, liver, spleen, everything is usually visible," Kalim said. "When you're doing a second surgery in that area, it's a completely different picture due to scarring."

Besides gaining some weight, Hanby's plan is to get stronger.

"I have lost a lot of muscle,"Hanby said. "I picked up Owen, my 3-year-old, and it's a struggle. But I am so glad I had this (second surgery) done. Otherwise I would be dead at an early age due to heart problems."

David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNbruce.

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Second bariatric surgery was key for Crawford County woman - GoErie.com

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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » Second bariatric surgery was key for Crawford County woman – GoErie.com