Gastric Bands-Potential Health Risks For Teens
July 27th, 2010 - 7:21 pm ICT by Pen Men At WorkJuly 27, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The resident surgeon at the New York University Medical Center started contacting her patient telling them about the high risks involved in a Lap-Band Surgery. This occurred after Dr. Neelu Pal saw numerous patients suffer from complications of the weight loss surgery with one of them eventually succumbing to it.
She was previously known to have voiced her concerns about the inadequate post surgery care given to the patients and also about the incomplete and inaccurate details in the medical forms that the patients need to fill up before surgery.
The authorities reacted by firing her in 2006. Neelu, then filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination and stated that she had been blackballed from her chosen profession. The case remains pending in court. Neelu, who is originally from India came to the United States over ten years ago and started practicing medicine.
The bariatric practice is considered to be one of the most efficient in NYU but Neelu said that it could be really termed as a Lap-Band factory. The objective was to get the maximum number of patients on the operating table, she explained to the Reuters.
She went on add that during her three month stint at the NYU Langone Medical Center where she worked with the Surgical Weight Loss Program department, she has seen the married couple Dr. Christine Ren and Dr. George Fielding place as many as 20 gastric bands into an equal number of patients on a single day.
Ren and Fielding are considered to be pioneers in the field and are also consultants of the Allergan Inc who manufacture Lap-Bands that constitute almost two thirds of the $300-$400 million market.
Pal’s allegations were also corroborated in part by the New York Healthy Department and show the potential health risks involved with such a procedure. The business is expected to boom with the regulators about to grant permission to perform the gastric band surgery on teenagers most of whom are overweight.
Ren and Fielding, in the meantime have refused to be interviewed on this issue. Their decision was conveyed by a spokesperson.
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