vervetomove
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"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 168
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Post by vervetomove on Apr 18, 2012 8:41:43 GMT -5
Many medical implants never tested for safety, Consumer Reports saysWednesday, April 18, 2012 A new investigation by Consumer Reports revealed that while tens of millions of American consumers live with medical devices implanted in their bodies, many of these implants have never been tested for safety. Manufacturers are often required to do nothing more than file paperwork and pay a user fee before bringing products to market. In fact, because of our broken regulatory system, in such cases the only safety “testing” that occurs is in the bodies of unsuspecting patients. In 2011, a panel from the prestigious Institute of Medicine said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should overhaul its device regulatory system because it fails to ensure patient safety before and after products go on the market. Instead, Congress is now debating legislation that would keep the present system virtually intact and ratify an agreement between the FDA and the industry to get devices on the market even faster. The CR investigation detailed the risks associated with four common devices: *Surgical mesh: No testing. Tens of thousands of women have been implanted with transvaginal mesh for prolapse repair and bladder support. Despite thousands of reports of problems, repeated alarms by women’s-health and consumer-health advocates, and multiple lawsuits, these products are still being sold and are still classified as “moderate risk” devices. Manufacturers got their products into the marketplace by taking advantage of a loophole in the law that allowed them to grandfather their products onto the market without any advance safety testing. *Lap-Band: Minimal testing. More than 650,000 have been sold worldwide, according to the 2010 annual report from its manufacturer, Allergan. Approval for Lap-Band was based on a lone study of 299 people. Of those participants, 51 percent reported nausea, vomiting or both, and 25 percent had their bands removed before the end of the three-year study because of complications or failure to lose enough weight.*Metal hips: Missed alarms. The artificial hip was introduced in 2005 by DePuy, Johnson and Johnson’s orthopedic division, and it was cleared by the FDA without clinical testing. Instead, it went to market based on “substantial equivalence” to earlier devices, though metal-on-metal hips like this one had long been on the agency’s high-priority list for requiring advance clinical trials. DePuy recalled all 93,000 of these hips worldwide in 2010. Evidence suggests that metal-on-metal hips fail far more often than average and can cause metal poisoning and tissue destruction, leading to a litany of medical problems. *Cardiac devices: Significant problems. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are just one of three types of cardiac devices described in the CR investigation that have had significant problems. Since 2009, the FDA has received reports of close to 29,000 deaths or injuries from these devices, by far the most for any device type, according to CR’s analysis of a federal database. The most troublesome aspect of the device is the lead wires that connect it to the heart. CR recommends that consumers research devices by using the FDA’s website, www.FDA.gov, which contains a wealth of information about warnings, complaints and recalls. Consumers can also search the Internet for patient forums. Consumers Union, CR’s advocacy arm, agrees with the Institute of Medicine that the current system of medical device regulation doesn’t protect patients from harm. CU recommends that Congress strengthen the medical device law so that the FDA must take the following steps: *Require that implants and other “life-sustaining” devices be tested at least as rigorously as drugs. *End the practice of “grandfathering” high-risk new implants and life-sustaining devices. *Create a “unique identifier system” for implants, so patients can be notified quickly about recalls and safety problems. *Create national registries so problems can be spotted quickly and patients notified. *Increase user fees paid by manufacturers for regulatory review so the FDA has enough money to do its job. www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120418/BUSINESS/120419639/1054/LIVING
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Post by pumpkin on Apr 18, 2012 15:09:15 GMT -5
What will it take to get the word out on a much broader scale ?
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Post by pumpkin on Apr 18, 2012 15:12:44 GMT -5
President of 1-800-GET-THIN marketing firm resignsMarch 2, 2012 The president of the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company, which has blanketed Southern California freeways and television and radio stations with ads for Lap-Band weight-loss surgery, said he has resigned "to pursue other career opportunities." In a news release Thursday, Robert Silverman said that his resignation was effective Tuesday. He had served as the firm's president since February 2010, the release said. "I believed in the mission and I believe that I was assisting individuals [to] overcome their battle with obesity, which has reached world-wide epidemic status," Silverman said in the release. The 1-800-GET-THIN campaign had come under increasing scrutiny after the deaths of five Lap-Band patients since 2009. In December, the Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to the marketing company and its affiliated surgery centers, saying the ads for Lap-Band weight-loss surgery were misleading because they did not adequately display warnings about risks of the surgery. The California Department of Insurance also has confirmed it is investigating the surgery centers affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN for possible insurance fraud. In February, Lap-Band manufacturerAllergan Inc.said it had halted sales of the weight-loss device to all firms affiliated with the marketing company. In addition to his role as president of 1-800-GET-THIN, Silverman, a lawyer, had represented the firm and its affiliated surgery centers in several lawsuits. He said in an email to The Times that he no longer represents them. www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-get-thin-20120302,0,266516.story I wonder if the fat fuck had a lap band himself....doesn't look like it.
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Post by pumpkin on Apr 18, 2012 15:42:32 GMT -5
50,000 in how many years ?
Per his website: To date Dr Stephen Wilkinson has carried out over 2,600 gastric banding operations.
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vervetomove
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"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 168
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Post by vervetomove on Apr 19, 2012 6:55:23 GMT -5
What will it take to get the word out on a much broader scale ? .......not sure, but I EXALT you for tryin'
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Post by pumpkin on Apr 19, 2012 14:35:12 GMT -5
What will it take to get the word out on a much broader scale ? .......not sure, but I EXALT you for tryin' back at you ;D
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vervetomove
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"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 168
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Post by vervetomove on Apr 19, 2012 19:21:13 GMT -5
Increasingly popular Lap Band surgeries dangerous with surgery center oversightsApril 19, 2012 A growing number of severely overweight people are choosing weight loss surgery to battle obesity. But after several patients have died, some SoCal facilities that perform a procedure involving the Lap Band device have come under scrutiny. Those deaths were followed by a half dozen lawsuits filed against the surgery centers, an insurance fraud investigation into their operations and a federal reprimand. Their continued operation has prompted some, like Betty Brown of Torrance, to question the manner in which California regulates doctor-owned surgery centers. Brown was 17 when her sister Tami Walter was born. Their age difference made them more like mother and daughter than two sisters. "I was home when she was born," Brown said. "She was very fun-loving, happy, always smiling. If you see any pictures, she always had a smile on her face." About ten years ago, Tami began having trouble shedding weight from her 5-foot-one-inch frame. At the age of 52, she weighed 225 pounds. "The last couple of years she was unhappy because of her size," Brown recalled. " She used to say she wanted to see her feet again." Brown said her sister signed up for Lap Band surgery after learning about it through 1-800-GET THIN – the popular marketing campaign that, until recently, promoted the procedure all over Southern California with billboards, radio and TV ads, and on the Internet. In Lap band surgery, a doctor places a silicone ring around part of the stomach, which restricts how much one can eat. Two days before Christmas of 2010, Tami went in for the surgery at a clinic in Beverly Hills. "She was quite excited. Quite excited," said Brown. "She felt this was going to be a new beginning for her." But Tami never made it home. Instead, she was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died three days later. She’s now one of at least five patients who died after receiving a Lap Band at a SoCal surgery center associated with the 1-800-GET THIN campaign. "These outpatient facilities aren’t strictly regulated, though people believe they are," said Beverly Hills Attorney Kathryn Trepinski, who represents Brown in a wrongful death lawsuit. "They think there is adequate oversight and enforcement so that patients are protected. But that's really not the case." Trepinski said in California, outpatient surgery centers that are owned by doctors, such as the Lap Band clinics, operate in a regulatory limbo. She and others point to a 2007 appellate court ruling that essentially exempted doctor-owned clinics from licensing by the state health department and put oversight in the hands of the Medical Board of California, which licenses doctors. "We look at the actual physicians or surgeons and their licensing skill and abilities," said Dan Wood, spokesman for Medical Board. "When a death occurs we’ll look at that, and if there is an immediate need, suspend the physician license right away." The surgery centers do need accreditation every three years. But those inspections are by appointment. The Medical Board conducts no surprise inspections in between certifications – making it easy, critics say, for sub-standard clinics to operate. "In California, if you own a private surgical center and you’re a licensed doctor, you can do basically whatever you want behind closed doors," said Alex Robertson, a Westlake Village attorney who has filed a number of lawsuits against the centers associated with the 1-800-GET THIN campaign. One of Robertson's lawsuits is a whistleblower complaint by former workers who claim the centers routinely violate health and safety laws. A spokesman for the centers dismisses those claims as false accusations by vengeful ex-employees. But Robertson said the claims are similar to a string of violations uncovered by state health inspectors at the group’s Beverly Hills clinic in 2009 that are memorialized in a 22-page report. Inspectors from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services were reexamining the surgery center to determine whether it was suitable to continue to accepting Medicare patients. Among the violations health inspectors found: expired medications; failure to ensure sanitary conditions; failure to ensure nurses were trained in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and failure to properly monitor patients for anesthesia risks. Medicare pulled its certification of the center, but no one shut down the clinic. And Brown said it was not long after that her sister Tami went there for Lap Band surgery. The Los Angeles County Cororner's autopsy report said Tami died of post-operative respiratory failure associated with her anesthesia care. "There is a mention that the anesthesiologist abandoned her and left her with a nurse when she was critically ill," Brown said. " And she gasped. She struggled to breathe. And she suffocated." Robertson’s whistleblower lawsuit tells similar stories, including the case of Paula Rojeski, who had Lap Band surgery at the group’s West Hills clinic. The lawsuit said alarms sounded as Rojeski’s anesthesia flowed onto the floor, yet no one took action. "Because the equipment at the West Hills facility malfunctioned so frequently, it’s a common occurrence they say for these alarms to go off and everyone just ignores them," Robertson said. Nevertheless, the West Hills facility, and seven other centers in the group, remain accredited and open for business. Critics say that, at the very least, underscores the need for surprise inspections of doctor-owned facilities between certifications. "It's the kind of safeguard the public would want to have," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Health Department. "It would make clear to everybody that they've really paid attention to patient safety issues, which are really critical." But for now, the eight Lap Band clinics, along with all other doctor-owned surgery centers in California continue to operate, under an oversight system many consider to be less than ideal. www.scpr.org/programs/madeleine-brand/2012/04/19/26091/increasingly-popular-lap-band-surgeries-dangerous-
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on Apr 23, 2012 9:05:10 GMT -5
Hospitals criticized for allowing McDonald's operationsFri, 04/20/2012 - 2:15pm A Corpus Christi, Texas,. hospital says it has no plans to evict a McDonald's restaurant, despite a national campaign by a health advocacy group to keep Big Macs from being sold on hospital premises. Driscoll Children's Hospital said in a prepared statement that it has a contract with McDonald's and business ethics require it remain true to the terms of the contract. The hospital would not disclose the terms. Driscoll operates an adolescent weight management program where nutritionists, physical therapists, psychologists and endocrinologists help patients with weight loss and healthy eating. The program also offers bariatric surgery as a weight-reduction option. The hospital in 2009 became the first children's hospital in Texas to perform bariatric lap band surgery.The advocacy group, Corporate Accountability International, sent a letter to 22 hospitals recently, including Driscoll, urging them to end their contracts with McDonald's in an effort to foster a healthier environment and curb the childhood obesity epidemic. "In your role as a local health leader, you have allowed McDonald's -- a corporation that has disregarded public health in the name of profits -- to operate within an environment devoted to helping our children get well," the letter stated. McDonald's said in a prepared statement that it is proud of its menu and its steps to offer more choices. "McDonald's promotes the idea that it's not about where you eat; rather, it's about what and how much a person chooses to consume during every eating occasion," the company said. But the advocacy group, which is leading a larger campaign against the restaurant's marketing to children, arguedsthat hospitals with McDonald's send mixed messages to patients by giving the perception that the food is healthy. There are 14,000 McDonald's nationwide, including 26 in hospitals. "Kids are being treated for diet-related conditions like diabetes and on another floor, there's the world's most recognized junk food brand on the planet," said Sriram Madhusoodanan, national campaign organizer at Corporate Accountability International. Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas decided not to renew its contract with the fast food chain in December 2009, hospital spokeswoman Candace White said. It was replaced with a UFood Grill, which advertises healthy comfort food such as veggie burgers and steamed broccoli. www.standard.net/stories/2012/04/20/hospitals-criticized-allowing-mcdonalds-operations
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 1, 2012 8:48:18 GMT -5
I think the "smack treatment" is probably even a better recommendation than to place lap bands in 10-17 year olds Chinese obesity an issue too. Changchun, northeast China. The hospital has 120 patients who receive a range of traditional smack treatments as well as gym sessions to help them lose weight. Dr. Liu encourages parents to consider bariatric surgery for the extreme cases.EPA/SHERWINDiabetic teens have more trouble managing disease, Bariatric surgeon's adviceApr 30, 2012, 13:17 GMT Consumer Health News Diabetic teens have more trouble managing disease, Bariatric surgeon's advice By April MacIntyre Apr 30, 2012, 13:17 GMT Tweet ? Chinese obesity an issue too. Changchun, northeast China. The hospital has 120 patients who receive a range of traditional smack treatments as well as gym sessions to help them lose weight. Dr. Liu encourages parents to consider bariatric surgery for the extreme cases.EPA/SHERWIN Chinese obesity an issue too. Changchun, northeast China. The hospital has 120 patients who receive a range of traditional smack treatments as well as gym sessions to help them lose weight. Dr. Liu encourages parents to consider bariatric surgery for the extreme cases.EPA/SHERWIN The New England Journal of Medicine revealed the news of a disturbing trend with American teens. i The obesity epidemic sees more heavy and diseased teens with Type 2 diabetes, and half of the NEJM study subjects were not able to control their blood sugar. More than ever, fat teens who develop diabetes are destined for a shortened life span and chronic health issues that have never been seen in the numbers doctors are now witnessing, and that has alarmed noted bariatric surgeon and frequent Monsters and Critics contributor Dr. Carson D. Liu, MD, FACS, FASMBS. "If you have Type-2 diabetes as a young adult, or even pre-teens, you'll have a very tough time controlling it during your life," says Dr. Liu. The NEJM study released Sunday tested several ways to manage blood sugar in teens newly diagnosed with diabetes and found that nearly half of the teens failed to control their blood sugar within a few years and that 1 in 5 suffered serious complications. "Prevention is key, and parents must help their kids get well, or risk having a generation face a shorter life expectancy than their parents and grandparents," says Dr. Liu. "Diet and exercise work, and elimination of all sugars and processed foods is essential to shock their systems back to health and wellness." The coming HBO series "Weight of the nation" reveals graphically that a third of American children and teens are overweight or obese. They are at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The coming HBO series "Weight of the nation" reveals graphically that a third of American children and teens are overweight or obese. They are at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. "Doctors rarely saw children with Type 2 diabetes," says Dr. Liu. "But now it's frighteningly common." "More drastic measures including reversible surgeries for weight loss needs to be considered for adolescents 10-17 years old," says Dr. Liu. "The Lap Band, I + Band, or the NO Band are good options to consider for the worst cases. The longer blood sugar goes unchecked, the greater the risk of vision loss, nerve damage, kidney failure, limb amputation, even heart attacks and strokes. The bottom line for parents and teens is that if you develop diabetes this young, you'll have a very tough time controlling it." "I encourage families who are concerned about their teens to contact me directly for options and counseling for an exit strategy to manage their health," says Dr. Liu. The results were published online Sunday by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a pediatric meeting in Boston. The National Institutes of Health funded the study and drug companies donated the medications. www.monstersandcritics.com/lifestyle/consumerhealth/news/article_1697417.php/Diabetic-teens-have-more-trouble-managing-disease-Bariatric-surgeon-s-advice
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 5, 2012 20:41:35 GMT -5
Rob Ryan happy with weight lossUpdated: May 4, 2012, 6:57 PM ET IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is still a big man, but he's shrinking. Ryan said Friday afternoon he's lost 35 pounds as a result of a lap-band procedure performed this spring. "So, that's a good thing," Ryan said. "It's only been a couple months so [the doctor] is real happy with me. Hell, I'll keep working." Losing weight seems to be going around with the Cowboys coaches this spring because running backs coach Skip Peete has shed a few pounds. When told Peete has lost more weight than him, Ryan joked, "He had further to go than I did." Rex Ryan, Rob's twin brother, also underwent a lap-band procedure in March 2010. Rex Ryan, the coach for the New York Jets, said he did it to help him fight against obesity. Rob Ryan said he did it for similar reasons. "Well, breathing at night," Rob Ryan said. "My wife was telling me we're looking for the long haul here. "So, I did it for health, not for beauty. I did get a sweet cut, though. I am trying to look like a Cowboy." espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/7891421/dallas-cowboys-rob-ryan-loses-35-pounds-lap-band
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vervetomove
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"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
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Post by vervetomove on May 5, 2012 20:52:34 GMT -5
......not new News but bears repeating...oh and by-the-way does his shirt read what I think it says? WTFInside GET-THINThe obesity empire built by Julian and Michael Omidi comes under scrutiny by authorities after five deaths following Lap-Band surgery May 6, 2012 It's a Friday afternoon and the movie "Moneyball" is playing in a medical clinic waiting room at 9001 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. No one is there to watch it, just rows of vacant chairs. Perhaps it's just an off day, but on two other recent visits, no more than a handful of people could be found in the waiting room. It was a much different scene two years ago, when a visitor to the Beverly Hills clinic found the waiting room packed, every seat filled and patients spilling out into an overflow area. Most were after one thing: Lap-Band weight-loss surgery advertised in the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing campaign that blanketed Southern California freeway billboards and broadcast airwaves. Today, that campaign is nearly dead — most of the billboards have been removed, the catchy jingles lifted from local radio and TV broadcasts. In December, the Food and Drug Administration warned the clinic and several affiliates that their 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign was misleading because it did not include adequate warnings about the risks of the surgery. Two months later, Lap-Band makerAllergan Inc. said it would no longer sell the device to any of the clinics tied to 1-800-GET-THIN. Last month, The Times reported that the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide unit was investigating the September death of patient Paula Rojeski, 55, of Orange County. She was one of five patients to die following Lap-Band procedures at clinics affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records. Other patients who died after surgeries, according to those same sources, were Willie Brooks, 35; Ana Renteria, 33; Laura Faitro, 50; and Tamara Walter, 52. Lawsuits have alleged that the Lap-Band clinics are owned by brothers Michael and Julian Omidi, Iranian immigrants whose fast-lane lifestyles were chronicled on theE! Entertainmentreality show "Dr. 90210" in 2004 and 2005. Both men have repeatedly declined interview requests from The Times. "They clearly have had the bright light of government scrutiny on them and that has slowed their business," said Alexander Robertson, a Westlake Village attorney who has filed several lawsuits against the Omidis on behalf of dead patients' relatives, patients and former workers. For a time, business was very good, former employees said in interviews and sworn testimony. In 2010, Julian Omidi said the clinics associated with the ad campaign — listed at 13 on the company's website — were bringing in $21 million a month, Dr. Ihman Shamaan, who performed Lap-Band surgeries at the clinics, testified at a deposition. The clinics offered a surgical solution to people suffering from chronic obesity: the implantation of a silicone ring — Allergan's patented Lap-Band — around the stomach to discourage overeating. Allergan said the surgery typically costs $12,000 to $20,000, although lawsuits have alleged that some clients of the 1-800-GET-THIN clinics were charged more than $100,000. Julian Omidi came up with the idea for the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising, according to Dr. H. Joseph Naim, who said he was the first surgeon to perform Lap-Band surgeries at the clinics. Naim said he was riding as a passenger in Julian Omidi's car on the 5 Freeway in 2008 when Omidi told him he had just purchased the rights for the toll-free number 1-800-GET-THIN. "Julian is smart, a marketing genius," Naim said. "He said he paid $50,000 for the number. But he had a vision he could make 1,000 times that. He did gamble and it paid off." The Omidis used aggressive advertising to grow their business, and lawsuits to threaten anyone they perceived as a threat to it, said Robertson, the attorney who has sued them several times. The brothers — Julian is 43, Michael, 41 — and their affiliated companies have filed four lawsuits against The Times and its journalists, claiming the news organization's articles and columns about patient deaths unfairly damaged their reputation and infringed their trademark. Each suit was dismissed, and the Omidis and their companies were ordered to pay the newspaper's legal costs. They've also sued anonymous commenters who posted remarks on The Times' website, seeking damages from people with such names as "RUJoking," "RamonaInCorona," and "OCChick." The Times has been fighting efforts by the Omidis' companies to learn the identities of the anonymous commenters. Although the brothers have declined interviews, some of their story can be pieced together from public records and interviews with people who knew them. They were born in Iran and moved to the United States as children, Julian Omidi said in a court filing. The family eventually settled in Irvine. www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-omidi-brothers-20120506,0,5461344.story
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 8, 2012 7:48:07 GMT -5
Allergan Gets Subpoena From Government Over Lap-Band System May 7, 2012, 5:55 p.m. ET NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Allergan Inc. (AGN) received a subpoena this month from the Department of Health and Human Services requesting documents related to the company's Lap-Band System for obesity, according to a filing. Lap-Band is approved to help obese patients lose weight. It is inserted surgically through a small incision and placed at the top of the stomach. The inflatable band can be tightened or loosened to reduce or enlarge stomach capacity. An Allergan spokeswoman declined to comment further. Earlier this month, Allergan said its first-quarter earnings rose 45% on double-digit sales growth in its specialty-pharmaceuticals business. But sales in Allergan's obesity intervention category slipped 15.5% as high unemployment, lofty co-payments and rigid requirements from insurers pressured sales. Last December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned nine groups, mostly surgical centers in California, that if they continue misleading advertising for Lap-Band, they could face monetary penalties and have inventory seized. The FDA made no allegations against Allergan at the time. Allergan shares were up fractionally to $93.79 in after-hours trading Monday. The stock is up nearly 7% so far this year. online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120507-716013.html
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 8, 2012 8:04:18 GMT -5
A not-so-flattering portrait of the two guys behind 1-800-GET-THINMay 7, 2012 8:30 AM Brothers Michael and Julian Omidi are a couple of sweetie pies. The Medical Board of California stripped Julian Omidi of his license, accusing him of not stating that he had been expelled from UC Irvine. The medical board placed Michael Omidi on three years' probation for performing surgeries on three patients at an unaccredited surgical facility - and for allowing a nurse - instead of a trained specialist - to administer anesthesia to a liposuction patient. But that's all nickel-and-dime stuff compared with the investigations and lawsuits connected with their weight loss surgery business, which had been heavily promoted through those 1-800-GET-THIN commercials. Five people have died after having Lap-Band procedures at clinics affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, the LAT reports, citing lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records. The Omidis have filed four lawsuits against The Times and its journalists - all of them dismissed. Now, LAT reporter Stuart Pfeifer has a really good piece on the two brothers and their background. They were born in Iran and moved to the United States as children, Julian Omidi said in a court filing. The family eventually settled in Irvine. Julian Omidi graduated from University High School and enrolled at UC Irvine in 1986. He was a hardworking student, arriving on campus early in the morning, staying late and making few friends, according to court records. He was expelled in 1990 after the university accused him of participating in the theft of exams from a campus office, the court records show. He pleaded guilty to criminal burglary charges, which were dismissed after he completed probation and community service. Julian Omidi would later sue The Times, claiming it was inaccurate to report that he pleaded guilty because the charges were eventually dismissed. The lawsuit was dismissed. [CUT] After medical school, the brothers returned to Southern California. Julian Omidi worked as a dermatologist, his younger brother as a plastic surgeon. They were shown on the E! reality show "Dr. 90210" consulting with patients, offering them younger-looking skin, larger breasts, fuller lips and streamlined stomachs. "We're going to make you look a little bit like Angelina Jolie," Julian told one woman. "If you do a lot of these treatments when you're young, you'll never really get old." After work, they were shown dating young, attractive women, salsa dancing and hosting extravagant dinner parties. "I think we have a very exciting life, much more exciting than I think most people," Julian said in one of the episodes. [CUT] [Dr. Ihman Shamaan, who performed Lap-Band surgeries at the clinics], testified that Michael Omidi put making money ahead of patient care. "His god is money," Shamaan said in the deposition for a wrongful-death lawsuit involving one of the patient deaths. "If the patient brings in money, he will give him service. His prerogative is not patient care, not patient safety, just 'Can he pay?'" www.laobserved.com/biz/2012/05/a_not-so-flattering.php
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 9, 2012 23:12:00 GMT -5
Lap Band surgery center owners accused of identity theft and false medical billing scheme Several doctors who once worked at the weight loss surgery centers affiliated with the 1-800-GET THIN campaign have filed a lawsuit today against the owners of the clinics, alleging that these doctors’ identities were stolen as part of an extensive false medical-billing scheme. The lawsuit, filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses the brothers who own the surgery centers – Michael and Julian Omidi, their attorneys and several other defendants – of stealing the identities of four Los Angeles County doctors who worked for them - Steve Mandel, MD; Joel Popson, MD; Randy Taylor, MD and Arman Karapetyan, MD. The lawsuit claims that defendants used a portion of doctors’ names and medical identification numbers to create dummy corporations that engaged in fraudulent medical billing. Their allegations mirror a claim filed in February on behalf of Marina del Rey anesthesiologist, Martin E. Flynn, as part of a larger whistle blower complaint against the surgery centers. "The doctors were unsuspecting of this until some of them started receiving 1099s in the mail from insurance companies for tax reporting purposes saying last year we paid you hundreds of thousands of dollars and the doctors said, that wasn’t me. I didn’t get the money," says Alex Robertson, the Westlake Village attorney who is representing the doctor plaintiffs in this case and Flynn through the whistle blower case. "So that launched the investigation and we obtained records from the Secretary of State's office, the (California) Medical Board and other agencies to uncover this scheme." Chris Wahl, a spokesman for the surgery centers told KPCC that the Omidis haven’t yet had an opportunity to review the complaint, but called the allegations “patently false." "We have documentation to prove this point," says Wahl. "And the important point to recognize is the surgery centers over the last several years have helped thousands of satisfied patients live happy and more active lifestyles." Robertson, who has also filed two wrongful death actions and a whistleblower case against the Omidis’ surgery centers, claims the brothers paid their doctors about $200 per hour and then used the dummy corporations to bill insurance companies far more for the procedures. The suit alleges the Omidis created as many as 50 fake corporations with the Secretary of State’s office in one day last May—all with the same business address in Aliso Viejo. "So we’re talking literally tens of thousands of checks that would come in every month and they would be made payable to 50-plus dummy corporate names then they would be picked up and deposited into an account that was controlled by the Omidis," Robertson says. Robertson claims that, beyond the alleged theft of the doctors’ names and medical licensing information, the scheme violates several California Business and Professions Codes; California Corporations Codes, and, very likely, California and federal tax laws. The surgery centers have also faced legal action stemming from the death of five patients who underwent the lap band weight loss procedures. www.scpr.org/news/2012/05/09/32360/lap-band-surgery-center-owners-accused-identity-th/
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vervetomove
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Post by vervetomove on May 15, 2012 9:35:11 GMT -5
Weight loss surgery allows woman to fulfill her dream of being a momPublished May 13, 2012 Jassira Espaillat-Batista had always wanted to be a mother. But at 340 pounds, she was unable to ovulate, so having children didn’t seem to be an option for her. “[My husband and] I had tried and it just didn’t happen,” Jassira said. “My OBGYN told me if I wanted to do that I would need to lose weight or use fertility treatments.” So in an attempt to take control of her weight issues, Jassira sought out medical options that would help her drop the pounds. Without knowing much about the procedure, Jassira decided to get a gastric band – more commonly known as a lap band – to help control her food intake.
But the surgery that was meant to make her life easier turned it into a nightmare instead.
“It was the most miserable year and a half of my life,” Jassira said. “I was constantly vomiting. Everyone expected me to drop weight like crazy, but I didn’t lose any weight and became extremely depressed.”
And to add to her misery, Jassira found no help in her doctors. When she explained to them that she had trouble swallowing her own saliva, they would tell her that she was not doing the right things, even though she was following the vitamin and diet regimen as closely as possible.
“The quality of life was so miserable,” Jassira said. “It got to the point where I was looking for a surgery that would just take it out.”That’s when a friend referred Jassira to Dr. Mitchell Roslin, the chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She sent him an e-mail describing her pain, and he immediately called her to set up an appointment for the next day. Roslin explained to Jassira that the lap band’s failure wasn’t her fault – it just wasn’t the right surgery for her. “What I tell people about a band is that it’s a diet with a seatbelt,” Roslin said of the silicon device – which acts as diet suppressor meant to help limit a person’s food intake. “If that’s enough to change your eating habits, that’s fine. But it doesn’t have the same diet suppression as other surgeries do. Bands have gone down a significant percentage. They’re easier things to sell and harder to live with.” After understanding why the band had failed her, Jassira decided to go another route with Roslin. He removed her band and performed a duodenal switch – a gastrectomy procedure the involves removing over 80 percent of a person’s stomach. “In it, we’re preserving a tube of the stomach – similar to a sleeve,” Roslin said. “Below the stomach is the pylorus, which in Latin means the ‘gate keeper.’” The pylorus is the part of the stomach that connects to the small intestines. “We preserved the gate keeper, and did a bypass beneath it. We calibrated the bypass to be 3 meters. We find that’s enough to limit bowel movements to one or two a day, which is much better for treating diabetes.” The results for Jassira were pretty immediate. Within the first six months, she dropped 80 pounds. But then something changed her weight loss experience altogether. “Then all of a sudden, at 6 months post-op, ‘Oops I’m pregnant!’” Jassira said. “Every doctor told me I was going to have children. I had all kinds of issues, and we never even had a scare. It was like the miracle baby for me.” Throughout the course of her pregnancy, Jassira continued to lose weight – even though she couldn’t exactly tell. “I lost about 70 pounds during those nine months,” Jassira said. “But I really didn’t notice the weight loss because I had a big growing belly. Then when I gave birth, I came out of the hospital, and I was 40 pounds lighter. Within 3 weeks, I went from being pregnant to being a size 4. That’s when it hit me, over a year later, just how much weight I had lost.” “Probably the reason that people like Jassira are infertile is because they have insulin resistance, which gives them ovarian or polycystic ovarian syndrome,” Roslin said. “Also, abnormal levels of the female hormone are found in fat. When we changed her absorption and normalized her female hormonal levels, she started ovulating shortly after surgery.” Just over 200 pounds later, Jassira is maintaining a weight of 140 to 150 pounds, and she couldn’t be happier. She gave birth to her second child in September, and is looking forward to celebrating her first mother’s day with him - something she would never have been able to experience had she not had the surgery. “Even if I had children at that weight, I would never be able to do the things I do with them now,” Jassira said. “I can play with them and go in the background and run around. I used to get exhausted just from sitting down.” “My life isn’t perfect by any means, but I’m very happy now.” Read more: www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/11/weight-loss-surgery-allows-woman-to-fulfill-her-dream-being-mom/#ixzz1uwtuiFeu
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vervetomove
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"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 168
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Post by vervetomove on May 15, 2012 16:02:35 GMT -5
MediaTakeOut: Rick Ross Secretly had Lap Band Surgery to Lose Weight!May 11, 2012 03:25 PM EDT MediaTakeOut.com claims rapper Rick Ross has secretly undergone a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery a.k.a. lap band surgery in order to lose weight. Most think this kind of surgery is the easy way out when it comes to weight loss. However, if you have the money to do it then why not? God didn't create surgeons for them not to be utilized. According to MTO, Ross underwent the procedure last fall and has already lost 20 pounds! You know some people have to exercise like hell while watching everything they eat to get such results! It seems money brings weight loss and envy! MediaTakeOut.com also states Rick Ross' lap band surgery is restricting his food intake but that he is also working out and has a new diet. With any luck, Ross will have the body he's always wanted. More importantly, fans are hoping he'll be able to maintain that body. celebs.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981325947
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vervetomove
Full Member
"True friends stab you in the front." Oscar Wilde
Posts: 168
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Post by vervetomove on Jun 12, 2012 10:02:17 GMT -5
Lawsuit accuses weight-loss surgery center of unsafe care June 8, 2012 SAN DIEGO — Two former employees of a San Diego medical center where weight-loss surgeries and other procedures are performed are suing the clinic — and the once-prolific 1-800-GET-THIN marketing campaign — for allegedly putting patients at risk. Jessica Meyle, a dietitian, and Amy Demonbreun, a surgical technologist, said in their lawsuit that a number of factors exposed patients at San Diego Ambulatory Surgery Center to unsafe care, including the use of medical instruments that were improperly sterilized and a business model that required quotas for patient referrals. According to documents filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the women complained to their employers, but no action was taken. An attorney for the surgery center on Midway Drive said Friday that his client denies all of the accusations contained in the lawsuit. He called the plaintiffs’ contentions about unsterilized instruments “a total fabrication.” The women claim in the document that they believe some patients who underwent procedures in San Diego on Dec. 30 and at the Beverly Hills Surgery Center on Jan. 3 could have been exposed to hepatitis C, an infectious disease transmitted through blood-to-blood contact, because of unsterilized instruments. They are unaware of any effort by their former employer, or other defendants named in the suit, to contact those patients. Both women resigned from their jobs earlier this year. “They quit because they were being ordered to do things that were not legal,” said Alex Robertson, a Los Angeles lawyer who represents the two San Diego women. Robertson has filed other lawsuits against 1-800-GET-THIN, which marketed Lap-Band weight-loss surgeries to the public by advertising in newspapers and on billboards, television, radio and other forms of media. This latest suit says the ads were created by or on behalf of brothers Julian and Michael Omidi of Beverly Hills to refer patients to one of more than a dozen surgery centers the brothers own in Southern California. The brothers — who were featured on the reality show “Dr. 90210” — are also named as defendants. Julian Omidi’s medical license was revoked in 2009 by the California medical board, and Michael Omidi completed a three-year stint on probation ordered by the board. The Los Angeles Times has reported on the cases of five patients who died since 2009 after they underwent Lap-Band surgeries at clinics affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN in Beverly Hills and West Hills. The Lap-Band, made by Allergan Inc., is a silicone ring that is placed around the stomach to restrict food intake. Konrad Trope, the attorney for the San Diego Ambulatory Surgery Center, said the brothers “have nothing to do” with the clinic. He also noted that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit resigned from their jobs voluntarily. Trope said Meyle sent an email on Jan. 5 in which she acknowledged that the instruments were properly sterilized. He said although there is risk in every surgery, the Lap-Band procedure has a high success rate and is safe. www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jun/08/lawsuit-alleges-unsafe-care-at-weight-loss/
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formerlyfluffy
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Join me on my journey to become.........Formerly Fluffy!
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Post by formerlyfluffy on Jun 23, 2012 0:08:02 GMT -5
It is sad to think that of all the patients that were subjected to unsafe conditions there! :-(
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Post by anniemck13 on Jun 23, 2012 17:07:22 GMT -5
They need to take it off the market and be done with it, too many have had too many issues. Time will not make it better.
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formerlyfluffy
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Join me on my journey to become.........Formerly Fluffy!
Posts: 183
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Post by formerlyfluffy on Jun 26, 2012 5:24:22 GMT -5
They need to take it off the market and be done with it, too many have had too many issues. Time will not make it better. Agreed!!!
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