Please note, The Schmidt Firm, LLP is no longer accepting Lap Band claims. If you feel that you may have a potential case, we urge you to locate another law firm adequately suited to handle your claim.

December 20, 2011 — Despite recent warnings from the FDA, business is booming in San Diego for surgeons performing bariatric weight-loss surgeries, including Lap-Band, Gastric Bands, and gastric bypass surgeries. Scripps Mercy Hospital in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego will be the busiest hospital in the state for bariatric surgeries in 2010 and 2011. Next year, doctors expect to perform 7,000 weight-loss surgeries

 

The number of bariatric surgeries performed in Southern California has increased six-fold in the last five years.

Bariatric services include gastric bypass surgery, Lap-Band or Gastric Band surgery, and “stomach stapling” procedures. All of these procedures help a person lose weight by decreasing the size of the stomach.

The FDA has recently issued warning letters to eight bariatric surgical centers and the marketing firm responsible for Lap-Band and 1-800-GET-THIN ads, because the ads are misleading and minimize risk information. Federal law mandates that any advertisement for a medical device also inform people of the risks. If you live in Southern California, you have probably seen the advertisements plastered on the back of buses, on benches, in newspapers, on billboards, and on the internet. The ads feature bold slogans like “Let your new life begin,” but the risk information is either nonexistent or so small it is unreadable.

The risks of bariatric surgery are actually very serious, and potentially life-threatening.

The findings of a recent study titled Trends in Bariatric Surgeries in California Hospitals 2005-2009 had the following results:

• 13% of weight-loss surgery patients had some kind of complication following surgery
• 6.5% of patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after surgery
• 1.5 per 1,000 patients died within 30 days of surgery

About one out of four Southern Californian adults are obese. Debilitating and life-threatening complications include type-2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, joint problems, asthma, and sleep apnea.

Though many people lose weight after bariatric surgery, the surgery comes with serious complications, and not everyone loses weight. After surgery, the person must make permanent changes to their diet and lifestyle. Long-term follow-up care often involves more surgeries. Obese people are more likely to suffer complications during surgery.

Most of the increase is for Kaiser Permanente clients. The relationship between Kaiser Permanente and the increase in bariatric surgeries in Southern California is unclear — whether patients who are obese are choosing Kaiser Permanente for their weight-loss services, or whether Kaiser Permanente is referring more people for bariatric surgeries. It is clear that most of people being referred for weight-loss surgery are being referred by Kaiser Permanente, which is sending patients from as far away as Orange County and Los Angeles to Scripps Mercy in San Diego for the surgeries. Nearly 85% of the bariatric surgeries performed at Scripps Mercy were for Kaiser patients. Four of seven hospitals doing more than 500 bariatric surgeries were either Kaiser hospitals or had contracts with Kaiser. Scripps Mercy has a contract with Kaiser to perform all bariatric surgeries. Doctors from clinics with contracts with Kaiser also travel around the state, holding clinics and informational meetings for people who are interested in weight-loss surgery. California Law requires all health insurers to cover medically necessary weight-loss surgery.

 

What are the most popular types of weight-loss surgeries?

• Lap-Band and Gastric Band: A surgeon places a silicone ring around the upper part of the stomach, creating a pouch that limits the amount of food a person can eat. The ring is attached to a tube, which sits just under the patient’s skin. A doctor can inject fluid through the tube into the ring, making it tighter or looser.
• Gastric Bypass Surgery: This surgery decreases the amount of food a person can eat in one sitting by cutting across the top of the stomach, making a pouch about the size of a walnut, and connecting it to the lower intestine. This procedure is not reversible.
• Vertical sleeve gastrectomy: Also known as “stomach stapling,” this is where the stomach volume is reduced by stapling it and dividing it vertically, removing 85% of the volume. This procedure is not reversible.

How do I contact a Lap-Band Lawyer for a Lap-Band Lawsuit?

The Schmidt Firm, LLP is currently accepting Lap-Band induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been hurt after weight-loss surgery, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Lap-Band Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.

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• Former Workers File 1-800-GET-THIN Lawsuit
• 1-800-GET-THIN, Gastric Band, and Lap-Band Safety Warning
• Lap Band Malpractice Lawsuit & Lawyer
• Lap Band Complications