Dr. Harris is a Board Certified Surgeon with special training in Cosmetic Corrective Surgery with special emphasis on Post-Bariatric weight loss surgery.

Dr. Harris performs the following procedures:

Face and Neck rejuvenation

• Face and neck lifting
• Smart lipo laser assisted liposculpture of the chin and neck
• Blepharoplasty (eyelid correction)
• Injectable dermal fillers
• Fat transfer
• Botox injection

Body Contouring

• Smart lipo laser assisted liposculpting of the abdomen, thighs and arms and back
• Lipo-abdominoplasty (Tummy tuck with liposuction)
• Arm lifting (brachioplasty)
• Thigh lifting
• Buttock enhancement through fat transfer

Breast enhancement and rejuvenation

• Breast augmentation
• Breast lifting (mastopexy)
• Breast reduction
• Fat transfers to the breast

Puget Sound Surgical Center is pleased to announce its new office located in the Barkley Village in Bellingham Washington. This is an ideal location to provide care for patients, including: easy access, ample FREE parking, retail/dining spaces and professional services.

Conveniently located off Sunset Dr., Puget Sound Surgical Center is the premier surgical weight loss provider in the Bellingham area. Call today at (800) 419-5750 to schedule your One-On-One consultation.

Puget Sound Surgical Center – Bellingham clinic
2930 Newmarket St., Ste 115
Bellingham, WA 98226

According to a new report from “Trust for American’s Health,” found that there was not a single state that could report a decrease in it’s obesity rate. Overall the obesity rates of sixteen states have increased over the past year. This phenomena is disturbing considering the mass media bombardment of the dangers of obesity and obesity related diseases. The conclusion is “America is getting Fatter.”

According to the director of Trust for America said, “Obesity is one of the most challenging health crisis this country has ever faced. Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate higher than fifteen percent.” Southern states have the highest rates of obesity as high as 34 percent of the population.

With the rise of obesity rates also increases type two diabetes and hypertension case as well. This data was accumulated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, most people have been found to under report their actual weight so the real statistics for obesity are likely to be higher than the actual data shows.

To learn more about obesity rates in America, view this video from ABC.com.

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As a joke or not, those people who are looking to save money on their gastric bypass surgery or gastric sleeve should probably look to a reputable surgeon who specializes in weight loss surgery procedures.

Learn more about, the Do-It-Yourself Gastric Bypass Kit on Amazon.com from the following video from ABC news.

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Many teens are suffering health complications as a result of morbid obesity where weight loss surgery can help them lose this additional weight. According to some experts, weight loss surgery for teens in the US will continue to rise. Some success stories of poster children may make bariatric surgery look easy, however, for a teen the expectation that they will instantly lose all their excessive weight is unrealistic. It requires a change of lifestyle and something that is not easily done.

It is important for people, and teens in particular, that bariatric surgery poses some serious risks. Surgery usually requires some initial weight loss and then a very strict dietary change in their lifestyle, including supplements and exercise. If someone is not fully committed to the regimen as well as their family, weight loss results can erode quickly or fail to happen altogether.

Most experts agree that Bariatric surgery is not an option for those who are moderately overweight. For teens, physicians typically follow the same guidelines as they do for adults. The potential bariatric patient should have a body mass index or BMI of at least 40 or more, and they suffer serious health problems as a result of their obesity like diabetes.

According to some publish reports, obese children have the arteries of 45 year olds, which indicates the amount of clogging that has occurred due to their condition.

The screening process for teen weight loss surgery usually takes about two to three months in order for the patient and family to really know what they are getting themselves into and to help them prepare for their surgery and post surgical follow up care.

The bariatric process requires a complete team of experts in their fields to treat the bariatric patient, including:

• Pediatricans
• Psychologist
• Exercise Physiologist
• Dieticians
• Social Workers
• Bariatric Surgeon

The recovery after weight loss surgery is no easy process either. Many patients are required use a liquid diet for many many weeks and then have solid food gradually introduced back into their routine. Retraining your body what to eat is a key thing and not one that can be done easily overnight.

Many follow up visits are required post-operatively with the surgeon and support team within the first 12 months in order to get the maximum results from the procedure.

Even with all these required changes and risks, the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Want a bigger paycheck? Your weight may affect this, especially for women. A recent study has detailed that the more a woman weighs, the less she makes. A woman who weighs 25 lbs over the average female weight makes $16,000 less a year. However, the opposite is true for men. Men who typically are 25 lbs over the average male weight earns on average $8,000 more a year than a slender man. Slender men however, make almost $9,000 less a year than the average male co-worker. Slender men have stereotype traits of being sneaky, afraid, nervous, sad and weak.

This is an interesting phenomena that requires further study. However, life longevity and quality of life were not included in this study.

Learn more in this news report from CNN.

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A new study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, considered whether taking daily medications or undergoing a surgical operation to treat GERD, or acid reflux disease, offered any variable differences. The findings showed that both treatments appear to control the worst systematic symptoms of this disease.

A sample body of more than 500 people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), were treated with a controlled drug Nexium and given the opportunity to continue using that medication or try a minimally invasive surgery that corrects this condition using the EsophyX procedure.

The study showed that after five years, 92% of the patients in the medicated group and 85% in the surgical group indicated not having any more GERD symptoms, or mild symptoms that they could very easily live with their condition.

Both these types of treatments also showed to be relatively safe, with very low chances of other health concerns.

According to one of the researchers, Jean-Paul Galmiche, MD, professor of gastroenterology at Nantes University in France, states,

“We have shown that the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux has dramatically improved during the last decade, both surgical and medical treatment.”

Earlier studies have shown lower success rates for either a surgical correction surgery or heartburn medications.

Most experts are cautious however. This study does not apply to everyone with gastroesophageal reflux disease and the specific conditions could be very difficult to find treatments for.

This study may offer some assurance about choosing one treatment over the other.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2011

Redwood City, CA – EndoGastric Solutions (EGS), the leader in the emerging field of Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS), today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a key patent covering its Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) procedure and EsophyX® device for reconstruction of the gastroesophageal junction.

Patent No. 7,942,887, entitled “Transoral Endoscopic Gastroesophageal Flap Valve Restoration Device, Assembly, System and Method,” issued on May 17, 2011. This patent is a continuation of Patent No. 6,790,214 that issued on September 14, 2004. The latest patent expands upon methods of reconstructing the gastroesophageal junction which broadly cover the EsophyX device.

“We are extremely pleased that the USPTO has issued this significant patent covering our TIF procedure,” said Richard M. Romley, Senior Vice President of Research and Development. “We believe that the issuance of this patent further strengthens our position as a leader in Natural Orifice Surgery by granting additional coverage for reconstructing the gastroesophageal junction using our core EsophyX and SerosaFuse technologies.”

The EsophyX device is used to recreate the intersection between the stomach and the esophageal tract to reconstruct the gastroesophageal geometry for patients suffering from GERD. The EsophyX device has a tissue retractor which displaces a portion of the fundus into a tissue mold. The mold is then closed to approximate the two tissue layers. The tissue layers are then fastened together, thereby recreating the intersection between the stomach and the esophageal tract. The EsophyX device also includes an invaginator which uses suction to grasp the esophageal tract. The invaginator may be used to grasp the distal esophagus to treat a hiatal hernia or may be used to stabilize the esophageal tract when manipulating the fundus.

TIF is a surgical procedure performed through the mouth for the treatment of GERD using EndoGastric Solutions’ EsophyX device. Transoral fundoplication fills the treatment gap that exists between pharmaceutical therapy and more invasive surgical fundoplications, addressing a population estimated at over 14 million. To date, clinical results have been approaching those achieved by more invasive surgical techniques.
About EndoGastric Solutions, Inc.

EndoGastric Solutions, Inc. is a pioneer in Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS) for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other GI disorders. More than 6,000 procedures have been performed using the company’s technologies worldwide since 2007.

For more information about EndoGastric Solutions and its products, EsophyX® and StomaphyX®, please visit http://www.endogastricsolutions.com

Obesity is a more complex condition than most people realize and not always a situation of eating too much. The reasons why people gain excess weight can very greatly and one drug isn’t likely to provide a solution to all the different factors. Unfortunately, the human brain has a tendency to want to force us to eat beyond our needs as a safety process for famine – this doesn’t mesh well with the modern day diet which consists of readily high-calorie foods.

According to Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, chairperson of the medical research at Broookhaven National Laboratory, “We might not have any magic bullet. We might have to us a bomb to treat obesity. You have to be very comprehensive.”

Many researchers are not optimistic on the development of a safe and reliable weight loss drug. With the possibility that this type of drug will do only those good things that you want it to and not have any negative side-effects is absolutely zero.

Most weight loss drugs were developed either to speed up the bodies metabolism or prevent a body from absorbing fats. Unfortunately, this usually cause side-effects like strokes, heart-attacks and other cardiovascular problems. Fat-blocking absorbing drugs caused very unpleasant side effects like diarrhea and anal dripping.

A recent petition put out by the Public Citizen Health Research Group has asked the FDA to ban the only current approved weight loss drug Orlistat. This group claims that Orlistat caused serious side effects like kidney failure and liver problems.

There have been many weight loss drugs that have failed over the years, including:

• Meridia caused heart attacks and strokes
• Fen-phen caused heart valve problems
• Rimonabant caused suicidal thoughts
• Ephedra caused heart attacks and strokes

According to the FDA, they rejected three proposed weight loss drugs, Qnexa, Contrave and Lorcaserin over safety issues ranging once again from heart problems to psychiatric issues.

The question is then, why can’t an effective weight-loss drug be made without all the harmful side effects?

The solution is far more complex than that with weight gain attributed to biological, social, emotional, environmental and psychological conditions that cannot be easily fit into a single drug solution.

Our brains are constantly working against our own free will sometimes, constantly urging us that we need to feel good. Unfortunately, eating makes us feel good. This works to our disadvantage especially when were are attempting to lose weight.

Recently, a large scale study has been concluded in the United Kingdom which has reported their findings that people who underwent weight-loss surgery see a huge reduction in type 2 diabetes and other weight related health problems.

According to the National Bariatric Surgery Registry, type 2 diabetes fell by more than 50 percent on average with patients that lost almost 60 percent of the additional weight approximately a year after having surgery. This study was conducted with 1,421 patients.

The study summarized that weight loss surgery is a real bargain compared to the medical costs of treating obesity related health issues, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Most bariatric surgeons, included in the study, have argued that these procedures should be made more available from medical insurances. “Limiting treatment to only a small fraction of those who could benefit from weight-loss surgery will put an unsustainable burden on the health care system.”

Most bariatric surgeons agree that diet and exercise should be attempted first before weight loss surgery is conducted. Prevention is better than a cure.