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PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. VINCENT MEDICAL CENTER, CLEVELAND PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. VINCENT MEDICAL CENTER, CLEVELAND is much less than the nationa l average. And our success rate, especially because our patients are well prepared for the surgery, is high." Dr. Perse agrees. " O u r p r o g r a m 's l o n g e v i t y, t h e exc el lenc e of ou r produc t a nd ou r participation in nationa l certification were a l l sel l i n g poi nt s . T wo ot her interesting advantages we have are: 1). The bureaucratic ease with which they were able to enter into a nd complete negotiations believed seconda r y to ou r si ze; a nd 2). Our location . Th is institution is the most well positioned hospital in Northeast Ohio — I base this on the confluence of Interstate 77, I-90 and I-71 at our doorstep. Our access via interstates north, south, east and west gave us a significant advantage." THE CASE FOR BARIATRIC SURGERY O b e s i t y i s a s e r i o u s d i s e a s e o f epidem ic pr op or t ion s i n t he U. S . , according to the CDC. Statistics from the 2011–2012 Nationa l Hea lth a nd Nutrition Examination Survey bear this out: More than one-third (78.6 million) of U.S. adults and 17 percent of children ages 6 to 19 a re obese (mea ning they have a body ma ss index [BMI] of 30 or higher). With 40 other disea ses, including hea r t disea se, ca ncer, diabetes a nd obs t r uc t ive s le ep apnea , l i n ked t o o b e s it y, t h e h e a lt h c a r e c o s t s a r e st a g ger i ng — $150 bi l lion per yea r. That's almost 10 percent of the national medica l budget. A nd then there's the cost in lives lost as a result of obesity. " Resea rch studies show there a re 325,000 obesity-related deaths in the U.S. every year," says Dr. Hassan. " We a re accepting that as a rea lity. W hat bothers me is that this is avoidable. We need to change this. We need to bring awareness to people." He points out that for people who are obese, it's genera lly beyond individua l capability to return to a normal weight. Once an individual reaches the stage of severe obesity (formerly ca lled morbid obesity) with a BMI greater tha n 40, conventiona l weight loss methods of diet and exercise don't usually succeed. T h a t 's w h e n b a r i a t r i c s u r g e r y i s considered. It 's a lso a consideration for individuals with a BMI greater than 35 who have a serious co-morbidity. I n a d d i t i o n , p a t i e n t s e l e c t i o n criteria includes: + Age (21–64 years of age) + The number of pounds by which an indiv idua l is over weig ht (at lea st 100 pounds preferably for more than 5 years) + Psychologica l stability + Self-motivation to follow the program + F u l l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e r i s k s , b enef it s , a lt er n at ive s a nd anatomic changes + Acceptable surgica l risk profiles A patient's willingness to be involved in follow-up care is also a consideration — especially at St. Vincent's, where weight Chandra Hassan, MD, (right and inset) is Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery at St. Vincent's. M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C L E V E L A N D /A K R O N / C A N T O N n J A N / F E B 2 016 0 9