WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY AT NIX MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE

San Antonio, TX, 10/16/08 – A new study published in The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) shows that bariatric surgery pays for itself in 2 to 4 years.
In a first-of-its-kind study, Pierre-Yves Crémieux, Ph. D., an economist and managing principal of the Analysis Group, Inc., showed that downstream savings associated with
bariatric surgery offset the initial cost of $17,000 to $26,000 in about 25 months. Bariatric surgery, the only proven method of achieving long-term weight control for the morbidly
obese, significantly reduces medical costs for its recipients by reducing the patients’ obesity related illnesses like diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension, chronic joint and
back pain, sleep apnea and problem wounds resulting from diabetes.
“Treating morbid obesity with bariatric surgery makes clinical sense and now it makes economic sense, even accounting for potential complications from surgery,’’ said co-author
Henry Buchwald, a professor of surgery at the University of Minnesota.
There are several different procedures that are effective in weight loss including gastric bypass, “stomach stapling,” and gastric banding. The surgeons at the NIX Weight Loss
Surgery Center focus on bariatric surgery in Texas using the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System. The LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System is an
FDA-approved procedure that is adjustable, reversible and typically performed laparoscopically. Laparoscopic surgery results in less post-op pain and a shorter recovery time.
The LAP-BAND System procedure is considered the least traumatic of all weight loss surgeries because it involves no cutting or stapling of the stomach or re-routing of the
intestines.
The study compared health related expenses of more than 3000 morbidly obese (BMI <40) were tracked for 6 months prior to surgery and up to 5 years after surgery to the
expenses of a control group, which did not undergo gastric bypass surgery, using a privately insured administrative claims database containing medical and drug claims from 1999
through 2005. “The most cost-effective treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery. If you do that, within two to four years, you will get your money back,” said the study’s lead
author, Pierre-Yves Crémieux, “we have identified the break-even point for insurers,” he added.
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has recognized the Nix Weight Loss Surgery Center in San Antonio Texas as a Center of Excellence. Dr. J. Keith Wright
co-medical director of the NIX Weight Loss Surgery Center, states, “the reduction in co-morbid conditions and prescription medications is amazing in our successful surgical
weight loss patients. Not only do they feel better about themselves, they simply feel better.” Not only is there a health benefit, but also a proven economic benefit.
The NIX Weight Loss Surgery Center features the LAP-BAND® Adjustable Gastric Banding System weight loss surgery procedure. It is generally considered the safest surgical
weight loss procedure. Dr. J. Keith Wright and Dr. Gerardo Cárcamo, co-medical directors of the NIX Weight Loss Surgery Center are some of the most experienced Lap-Band®
surgeons in the US, having performed over 1200 procedures with minimal complications.
For more information contact:
NIX Weight Loss Surgery Center.
414 Navarro, Suite 800
San Antonio, Texas 78205
Call: 1.877.468.1262 or 210-579-3315
*Dr. J. Keith Wright and Dr. Gerardo Cárcamo Are independent practitioners on the active medical staff of the NIX Health Care System.
Pierre-Yves Crémieux, PhD; Henry Buchwald, MD,et. al. A Study on the Economic Impact of Bariatric Surgery. (Am J Manag Care. 2008;14(9):589-596)