Alex Brecher

Our Kindle app has been approved. You can grab it for free here!

I'm excited to announce our new official LapBandTalk Kindle app! This app makes it fun and easy to access the site while you're away from your computer. You can also take pictures with your phone and attach them directly to a thread. The LapBandTalk Android Forum application features include: Full posting abilities Attach photos directly from your Android device Private Messaging (with optional push notifications) Subscribe and track your favorite threads and topics (with optional push notifications) Supports both Landscape and Portrait views The app is free and you can download it directly from your phone. Just open up the Android app store and search for "LapBandTalk" and you'll find the app. Then just click install. Once it's installed, you'll have a new icon on your phone that says LapBandTalk. Click it and you'll be ready to go. Here are some screen shots: Get the app and get ready to take LapBandTalk with you wherever you go.

That's correct! ....and LMAO! I noticed the same when I was marking up the screenshot.

At the bottom of the App you'll see our Navigation bar. Click on "Current" and in the top right hand side of the app you'll see an option to Mark all read. See this quick screenshot I took as an example:

We just got our Kindle App approved. It should be showing up in the Amazon Appstore for Android shortly.

I travel quite a bit and have been through almost every single body scanner on the market. I've never had a problem. You have nothing to worry about and you don't have to say anything to the TSA.

Sure, just click here!

I just sent you a private message with your login info.

Which browser are you using please ? We're hoping to launch a recoded version of our site next week which should address a lot of these issues.

She was a spammer. I pulled out the double barrel and blew her away

Abstract Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive surgical technique that involves resection of a significant portion of the stomach by means of stapling the greater curvature. This procedure is rapidly gaining popularity and acceptance as a primary bariatric procedure with good results on weight loss. The other restrictive bariatric procedure is the adjustable gastric band. As the results on the vertical sleeve gastrectomy and the adjustable gastric band vary, there is still a gap that can be fulfilled by another procedure. The authors present an alternative procedure that is under investigation that can be as restrictive as sleeve gastrectomy with no staple line or prostheses. This procedure is called laparoscopic greater curvature plication, which is similar to vertical gastric banding, but without the need for gastric resection. The stomach is reduced by dissecting the greater omentum and short gastric vessels, as in vertical sleeve gastrectomy, then the greater curvature is invaginated using multiple rows of nonabsorbable suture over bougie to ensure a patent lumen. This article includes the background, method, initial results, and a brief discussion on this new procedure. Introduction Traditionally, the primary mechanisms through which bariatric surgery achieves its outcomes are believed to be the mechanical restriction of food intake, reduction in the absorption of ingested foods, or a combination of both.[1,2] Adjustable gastric banding (AGB) and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) are restrictive approaches commonly used in bariatric practice.[5,6] Although these procedures have proven to be good therapeutic options for some patients, they are not without significant complications, such as erosion or slippage of the gastric band or gastric leaks in VSG.[3,4,7,13,14] Leaks in VSG pose a particularly difficult challenge when they occur near the angle of His, potentially generating severe clinical conditions that require reoperation and may even cause death.[4] Since 2006, the authors have been evaluating the safety and initial results of the laparoscopic greater curvature plication (LGCP™), a restrictive bariatric surgical technique that has the potential to eliminate the complications associated with AGB and VSG by creating restriction without the use of an implant and without gastric resection and staple. Methods Using the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) inclusion criteria for bariatric surgery (patients with a body mass imdex >40kg/m[2] or BMI over 35kg/m[2] with at least one comorbidity), all patients underwent a multidisciplinary evaluation (endocrinologist, cardiologist, psychologist, and nutritionist), blood tests, abdominal ultrasonography, and upper endoscopy to establish baseline. The study design was a prospective, noncomparative case series that received approval from the local ethics committee with patients signing informed consent. From January 2007 to March 2010, 62 patients (44 female) were submitted to LGCP. Mean age was 33.5 years (ranging from 23 to 48 years) and mean BMI was 41kg/m2 (ranging from 35 to 46kg/m[2]). Technique Patients were placed under general anesthesia in supine positions. A Five-trocar port technique, similar to Nissen fundoplication, was used. Trocar placement was one 10mm trocar above and slightly to the right of the umbilicus for the 30-degree laparoscope; one 10mm trocar in the upper right quadrant (URQ); one 5mm trocar also in the URQ below the 10mm trocar at the axilary line; one 5mm trocar below the xiphoid appendices; and one 5mm trocar in the upper left quadrant (ULQ). The procedure began with angle of His dissection and removal of the fat pad, followed by careful dissection of the gastric greater curvature using the Harmonic™ scalpel (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio), opening the greater omentum at the transition between the gastric antrum and gastric body. Once access to the posterior wall was achieved, the greater curvature vessels were dissected distally up to the pylorus and proximally up to the angle of His. Posterior gastric adhesions were also dissected to allow optimal freedom for creating a greater curvature flap. Gastric plication created by imbrication of the greater curvature over a 32-Fr bougie applying a first row of extramucosal interrupted stitches of 2-0 Ethibond™ (Ethicon, Inc. Somerville, New Jersey) sutures. This row guided two subsequent rows created with extramucosal running suture lines of 2-0 Prolene™ (Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, New Jersey). In the final aspect, the stomach was shaped like a sleeve gastrectomy but slightly larger. Leak tests were performed with methylene blue in all cases. No drains were left. Patients were discharged as soon as they accepted a liquid diet without vomiting. They also received a prescription of daily proton-pump inhibitor (PPI; single dose) for 60 days. Ondasentron and hyoscine (anti-spasmodic) were prescribed for seven days. The postoperative diet was a customized liquid diet for two weeks, with progressive return to solid foods in a stepwise fashion. Dietary restrictions were removed after 4 to 6 weeks, depending on patient adherence. Follow-up visits for the assessment of safety and weight loss were scheduled for 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months in the postoperative period. Endoscopic evaluations were scheduled for 1, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Results All procedures were performed laparoscopically without conversions. Mean operative time was 55 minutes (40–110 minutes). Mean hospital stay was 36 hours (24 to 96 hours). On average, patients returned to normal activities seven days (4–13 days) following surgery. Mean percentage of excess weight loss (EWL) was calculated to be 20 percent at one month, 32 percent at three months, 48 percent at six months, 60 percent at 12 months, 62 percent at 18 months, and 61 percent at 24 months. No intraoperative complications were documented. All patients had lost at least 10 percent of total body weight. In the first postoperative week, however, nausea, vomiting, and sialorrhea in occurred in 22, 14, and 33 percent of patients, respectively. In all cases, these symptoms were resolved within two weeks. There has been no record of weight regain in any patient to date. Postoperative upper endoscopy and radiologic evaluation were performed on 12 patients at one and six months and in seven patients at up to 12 months. Qualitatively, the upper endoscopies suggest that the initial greater curvature fold is smaller at six months when compared with the initial fold size at one month, but appears unchanged at 12 months. Mild esophagitis (Grade A of Los Angeles classification) occurred in four patients at one month postoperatively; these patients were symptomatic (nausea, vomiting, and sialorrhea) and were kept on PPI, following the standard protocol. The six-month endoscopic evaluation identified no lesions or symptoms. Lumen size appeared stable (e.g., no dilation) based on upper gastrointestinal (GI) radiologic series performed on these patients at one and six months Discussion Reducing stomach capacity to promote mechanical restriction to food intake is one of the traditionally accepted mechanisms used in bariatric procedures to promote weight loss. There are at least two surgical procedures that appear to rely on this principle in current clinical practice, AGB and VSG. AGB achieves around 50 percent EWL, but unsatisfactory weight loss occurs in more than 20 percent of patients with failure rate requiring surgical revision in up to 25 percent of patients.[7] VSG as a primary bariatric procedure shows medium-term results to be adequate (>60% EWL), with improvements in comorbidities.[4,14] These promising results are associated with some complications, however, such as esophagites, stenosis, fistulas, and gastric leaks near the angle of His. These leaks and fistulas are reported in nearly one percent of cases and can be very difficult to treat.[4,14] LGCP is notably similar to a VSG in that it generates a gastric tube and eliminates the greater curvature, but does so without gastric resection. Initial clinical reports by Talebpour and Amoli[10] and Sales[11] demonstrate satisfactory weight loss up to three years. Brethauer et al12 reported increased weight loss in patients receiving LGCP when compared to plication of the anterior surface. The present series, compared to findings reported in some series involving AGB, has the lowest early complication rates among all bariatric procedures. Even with no major complications to report in the present series, Talebpour and Amoli[10] report one case of a gastric leak associated with a more aggressive version of LGCP, which they attributed to excessive vomiting in the early postoperative period. Adverse events described by patients were minor, lasting up to two weeks. These events may be related to the restriction induced by the invagination of the greater curvature and/or edema caused by venous stasis. Qualitative endoscopic findings suggest that the greater curvature fold gets smaller. This may be related with the resolution of the initial edema, although the radiological findings did not reveal significant dilation of the LGCP at six months. The percent EWL achieved a satisfactory 61 percent at 24 months in eight patients, with all patients achieving at least a 10-percent loss of initial weight. This can be favorably compared with results from VSG. This series is limited by the low number of patients, the simple study design, lack of a control group, the noninclusion of patients with BMI >50kg/m[2], and the incomplete follow-up period. This limits the broader acceptance of these results. These limitations limit the broader acceptance of these results. In order to better study this procedure, an international multicentric trial with centers in the United States, Chez Repuplic, and Brazil was designed (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01077193). LGCP seems to be feasible, safe, and effective in the short term as a promising bariatric procedure on this initial series Acknowledgment Experimental evaluation was provided by Fusco et al8,9 that had published two articles about gastric plication on anterior wall and greater curvature of wistar rats achieving good results in weight loss analogy and significant better results of the greater curvature group. Recent clinical experience with variations of this technique has been described by few surgical groups. The authors’ initial experience was sent to the journal Obesity Surgery and was accepted for publication. More actualized data are described in this present paper. Original source can be fund here.

Over and over, scientific studies consistently tell us that gastric bypass surgery helps reduce diabetes. Most recently, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health found the same thing. Researchers divided patients into different groups. All individuals in the study were obese and had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. One group received no weight loss surgery, another group had roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and the thåird group had sleeve gastrectomy. The study lasted for a year. During this time, all of the study groups had medical counseling and treatment for diabetes. After one year, individuals who had weight loss surgery had better insulin control than the individuals without weight loss surgery. Also, their glycated hemoglobin, or A1c, went way down compared to the A1c of the group without surgery. Only 12 percent of the group without weight loss surgery had A1c of less than 6%, which is a healthy goal. 37% of the roux-en-Y patients achieved A1c of less than 6%, and 42% of the gastric sleeve patients got to their goal A1c numbers! Study Link Bariatric Surgery versus Intensive Medical Therapy in Obese Patients with Diabetes BACKGROUND Observational studies have shown improvement in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after bariatric surgery. METHODS In this randomized, nonblinded, single-center trial, we evaluated the efficacy of intensive medical therapy alone versus medical therapy plus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy in 150 obese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 49±8 years, and 66% were women. The average glycated hemoglobin level was 9.2±1.5%. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with a glycated hemoglobin level of 6.0% or less 12 months after treatment. RESULTS Of the 150 patients, 93% completed 12 months of follow-up. The proportion of patients with the primary end point was 12% (5 of 41 patients) in the medical-therapy group versus 42% (21 of 50 patients) in the gastric-bypass group (P=0.002) and 37% (18 of 49 patients) in the sleeve-gastrectomy group (P=0.008). Glycemic control improved in all three groups, with a mean glycated hemoglobin level of 7.5±1.8% in the medical-therapy group, 6.4±0.9% in the gastric-bypass group (P<0.001), and 6.6±1.0% in the sleeve-gastrectomy group (P=0.003). Weight loss was greater in the gastric-bypass group and sleeve-gastrectomy group (−29.4±9.0 kg and −25.1±8.5 kg, respectively) than in the medical-therapy group (−5.4±8.0 kg) (P<0.001 for both comparisons). The use of drugs to lower glucose, lipid, and blood-pressure levels decreased significantly after both surgical procedures but increased in patients receiving medical therapy only. The index for homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) improved significantly after bariatric surgery. Four patients underwent reoperation. There were no deaths or life-threatening complications. CONCLUSIONS In obese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, 12 months of medical therapy plus bariatric surgery achieved glycemic control in significantly more patients than medical therapy alone. Further study will be necessary to assess the durability of these results.

Over and over, scientific studies consistently tell us that weight loss surgery helps reduce diabetes. Most recently, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health found the same thing. Researchers divided patients into different groups. All individuals in the study were obese and had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. One group received no weight loss surgery, while the other groups had weight loss surgery. The study lasted for a year. During this time, all of the study groups had medical counseling and treatment for diabetes. After one year, individuals who had weight loss surgery had better insulin control than the individuals without weight loss surgery. Also, their glycated hemoglobin, or A1c, went way down compared to the A1c of the group without surgery. Only 12 percent of the group without weight loss surgery had A1c of less than 6%, while about 40% of people with weight loss surgery were below that goal. Study Link Bariatric Surgery versus Intensive Medical Therapy in Obese Patients with Diabetes BACKGROUND Observational studies have shown improvement in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after bariatric surgery. METHODS In this randomized, nonblinded, single-center trial, we evaluated the efficacy of intensive medical therapy alone versus medical therapy plus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy in 150 obese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 49±8 years, and 66% were women. The average glycated hemoglobin level was 9.2±1.5%. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with a glycated hemoglobin level of 6.0% or less 12 months after treatment. RESULTS Of the 150 patients, 93% completed 12 months of follow-up. The proportion of patients with the primary end point was 12% (5 of 41 patients) in the medical-therapy group versus 42% (21 of 50 patients) in the gastric-bypass group (P=0.002) and 37% (18 of 49 patients) in the sleeve-gastrectomy group (P=0.008). Glycemic control improved in all three groups, with a mean glycated hemoglobin level of 7.5±1.8% in the medical-therapy group, 6.4±0.9% in the gastric-bypass group (P<0.001), and 6.6±1.0% in the sleeve-gastrectomy group (P=0.003). Weight loss was greater in the gastric-bypass group and sleeve-gastrectomy group (−29.4±9.0 kg and −25.1±8.5 kg, respectively) than in the medical-therapy group (−5.4±8.0 kg) (P<0.001 for both comparisons). The use of drugs to lower glucose, lipid, and blood-pressure levels decreased significantly after both surgical procedures but increased in patients receiving medical therapy only. The index for homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) improved significantly after bariatric surgery. Four patients underwent reoperation. There were no deaths or life-threatening complications. CONCLUSIONS In obese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, 12 months of medical therapy plus bariatric surgery achieved glycemic control in significantly more patients than medical therapy alone. Further study will be necessary to assess the durability of these results.

Toward the end of each VerticalSleeveTalk.com food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge. Current Challenge: New Recipe! Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look at our recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes by posting a reply to this topic! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

Toward the end of each RNYTalk.com newsletter, we’ll be suggesting a Bypass Challenge for you to try before the next newsletter comes out. It’s a non-competitive challenge, and it’s a chance to do something new and healthy while putting yourself to the test. The Bypass challenge is just what it sounds like. We suggest a challenge for you to do over the next couple of weeks. Pretty much anything is fair play as long as it helps you or someone else get healthier. We may ask you to try a new food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge. Current Challenge: New Recipe! Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look at our Recipe forum or you can search online for recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes by posting a reply to this topic! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

Toward the end of each SleevePlicationTalk.com newsletter, we’ll be suggesting a Sleever Challenge for you to try before the next newsletter comes out. It’s a non-competitive challenge, and it’s a chance to do something new and healthy while putting yourself to the test. The Sleever challenge is just what it sounds like. We suggest a challenge for you to do over the next couple of weeks. Pretty much anything is fair play as long as it helps you or someone else get healthier. We may ask you to try a new food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge. Current Challenge: New Recipe! Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look at our Recipe forum or you can search online for recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes by posting a reply to this topic! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

Toward the end of each LapBandTalk.com newsletter, we’ll be suggesting a Bandster Challenge for you to try before the next food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge. Current Challenge: New Recipe! Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look at our recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes by posting a response to this topic! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

In each edition of BariatricPal News, we’ll have a Member Spotlight feature. We’ll introduce you to a member of BariatricPal. You’ll get to read about our honorees’ weight loss surgery journeys, their personal interests, their struggles and triumphs and their advice for you. Who will be our highlighted members? You, a friend, or someone we choose! If you want to be highlighted, nominate yourself in this forum. Also let us know here if you have a specific member in mind that you would like to nominate for the spotlight. Tell us why you would like to be nominated, or why your nominee deserves the chance to be in the member spotlight. We also welcome your suggestions on general types of people you’d like to see highlighted, such as women, fathers or people from your region. Let us know! Occasionally, we’ll choose a BariatricPal member to be highlighted. This may be someone who’s been especially inspirational to others or who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in being a pillar of support in the forums. We hope that you let us know if you see someone like this who deserves the recognition! You can also use this space to congratulate the members who are highlighted. If you want, ask them questions to follow up on their highlight – after all, this is their chance to share with everyone, and your chance to make a new friend!

Thank you very much for your offer. We can use all the help we can get! A great way to start off assisting, would be by greeting new members and responding to unanswered posts. I'll let you know if and when we start requiring official site moderators.

This isn't a feature that's available from our app as of yet. If you're logged in on our web site, you can click here to visit our referral system. You can use a link to refer people, you can invite members and members can enter your username during signup if they come through our site.

SleevePlicationTalk News This is it! We’re launching our SleevePlicationTalk News, a regular newsletter to keep you up to date on our community. We’ll tell you all about our exciting new features, programs and anything else you need and want to know about SleevePlicationTalk.com. Our goal is to make sure you know everything This is the first edition of SleevePlicationTalk News, and we have a lot to talk about. In this edition, you’ll find information on: The launch of the SleevePlicationTalk apps for Apple and Android devices (and a free iPod contest, of course!) Creating your own SleevePlicationTalk.com patient profile Social and support groups on SleevePlicationTalk.com How to contact a local real-life surgeon on SleevePlicationTalk.com And more! I want to thank each and every one of you for your participation and support, and I encourage your feedback and comments. Together, we’re moving toward a healthier future! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Apps Have Launched! Now take SleevePlicationTalk.com with you wherever you go. The fully functional SleevePlicationTalk Android and SleevePlicationTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod apps are both free. They let you track your favorite threads, post to the forums, private message your buddies and upload photos using your mobile device. Now you never have to feel alone because you can carry the support and information you need. You can access and download them directly to your smartphone, so why wouldn’t you get your app today? We’re Giving Away a New iPod Touch! To Celebrate the release of our Mobile apps, we’re giving away a brand-new iPod Touch. It’s a drawing, but we want to reward our active posters, referrers, bloggers, members with completed profiles and new members. The more you participate in SleevePlicationTalk.com, the better chance you have of winning. Here’s how it works. Eligibility and Chances of Winning Forum members must make at least one post in any forum on SleevePlicationTalk during the contest period of 30 days from your receipt of this newsletter. Members must have a completed patient profile. You can increase your chances of winning by making more forum and blog posts, uploading more photos and referring members. At the end of the contest period, one of the forum administrators will find all of the eligible forum members – remember, you have to make at least one post and have a completed Sleeve Plication profile. We’ll make a big spreadsheet with the Username of each member who is eligible, and assign points based on your activities. The more points you have, the better your chances of getting the iPod! Point Structure 1 point: each forum post and each uploaded photo 2 points: each forum post from our mobile apps and each blog post 5 points: join a group 10 Points: complete My Surgery, My Surgeon or My Sleeve Plication Story; upload before and/or after photos 20 points for each successful forum referral; and 40 points for a fully completed patient profile Get Involved Again If you’re an old-timer who hasn’t been around much, this contest is a great opportunity to bring you back to the boards. You have tons of experience and advice to share with newer sleeve plication patients. If you’ve fallen off the wagon, don’t be shy. It’s never too late to get back on, and we’re here to give you the support and confidence you need for success in your lifestyle goals. Some Reminders and New Features Create or update your own Sleeve Plication Patient profile. Your information encourages other members and helps you connect with members that have your same interests and struggles. It also gets you 40 points for our iPod Touch giveaway. We've recently updated our surgeon database; now, every bariatric surgeon in the world is included. Check it out and find a local surgeon who can help you. You can locate and read reviews on sleeve plication surgeons to help you choose an expert for your care. Our social and support groups are up and running. We know that you all have special interests and identities, and our social and support groups provide more specialized platforms than our general community. Just of the few types of groups we have are Regional groups of people from your city or state. Surgery Buddy groups with people who got the Sleeve Plication at the same time as you. Medical Condition groups with people with a particular condition, such as PCOS Eating Support groups with people who struggle with eating issues, such as emotional eating Check them out and join one or start your own. Be a Good Friend Be sure to mention SleevePlicationTalk.com as a source of support and information for any your friends, family members or associates who are considering sleeve plication surgery or have had it. Also, don’t forget that SleevePlicationTalk.com is a member of the WLSBoards.com network. Recommend our other four communities to anyone you know who needs them, and please stop on by and introduce yourself if you have had a weight loss surgery revision. LapBandTalk.com for LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Band VerticalSleeveTalk.com for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy RNYTalk.com for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass We Need Your Help When you come here, you can depend on support, encouragement, sympathetic ears and expert advice from surgeons. But we need you to let community be able to continue grow stronger! Over the years, I’ve found that many bariatric surgeons and their staff don’t even know we’re here. Help us out by asking your surgeon to hang a couple of fliers in the clinic. They can go the waiting room bulletin board, at the reception desk and in patient consultation rooms. I’ve even gotten the fliers ready for you in color and black-and-white options. Print them out and bring them to your next appointment, or email them to the office. So please, support us and ask your surgeon to post these fliers in their office and hand them out to their patients. It helps you out because our community will benefit from more patients and surgeons with valuable advice. Remind your surgeon and clinic staff that it helps them out because it gives them more exposure to patients. Stay in Touch Feedback forum - we're always open to members ideas and feedback. Please use our feedback forum to let us know how we’re doing and send us your ideas on what you’d like to see at SleevePlicationTalk.com. We always want to know what you’re thinking and how we can improve! We're now on Facebook and on Twitter. Like us and follow us to keep track of what's going on in our communities and show your support! Don’t forget to support and celebrate! Our upcoming surgeries list tells you which members are about to get their bariatric surgery, so stop by and wish them luck! Come by the surgery anniversary list to congratulate members when they hit their annual anniversaries of their surgeries. Your name will be automatically entered onto the right list as soon as you update your patient profile. Coming Soon… We're releasing customizable health trackers and tickers within the next 90 days. We'll include more info in future newsletters, so stay tuned for information on those and the other latest happenings around SleevePlicationTalk.com. Thanks for reading, and talk to you soon! Sincerely, Alex

RNYTalk News This is it! We’re launching our RNYTalk News, a regular newsletter to keep you up to date on our community. We’ll tell you all about our exciting new features, programs and anything else you need and want to know about RNYTalk.com. Our goal is to make sure you know everything This is the first edition of RNYTalk News, and we have a lot to talk about. In this edition, you’ll find information on: The launch of the RNYTalk apps for Apple and Android devices (and a free iPod contest, of course!) Creating your own RNYTalk.com patient profile Social and support groups on RNYTalk.com How to contact a local real-life surgeon on RNYTalk.com And more! I want to thank each and every one of you for your participation and support, and I encourage your feedback and comments. Together, we’re moving toward a healthier future! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com Apps Have Launched! Now take RNYTalk.com with you wherever you go. The fully functional RNYTalk Android and RNYTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod apps are both free. They let you track your favorite threads, post to the forums, private message your buddies and upload photos using your mobile device. Now you never have to feel alone because you can carry the support and information you need. You can access and download them directly to your smartphone, so why wouldn’t you get your app today? We’re Giving Away a New iPod Touch! To Celebrate the release of our Mobile apps, we’re giving away a brand-new iPod Touch. It’s a drawing, but we want to reward our active posters, referrers, bloggers, members with completed profiles and new members. The more you participate in RNYTalk.com, the better chance you have of winning. Here’s how it works. Eligibility and Chances of Winning Forum members must make at least one post in any forum on RNYTalk during the contest period of 30 days from your receipt of this newsletter. Members must have a completed patient profile. You can increase your chances of winning by making more forum and blog posts, uploading more photos and referring members. At the end of the contest period, one of the forum administrators will find all of the eligible forum members – remember, you have to make at least one post and have a completed Roux en-Y profile. We’ll make a big spreadsheet with the Username of each member who is eligible, and assign points based on your activities. The more points you have, the better your chances of getting the iPod! Point Structure 1 point: each forum post and each uploaded photo 2 points: each forum post from our mobile apps and each blog post 5 points: join a group 10 Points: complete My Surgery, My Surgeon or My Roux en-Y Story; upload before and/or after photos 20 points for each successful forum referral; and 40 points for a fully completed patient profile Get Involved Again If you’re an old-timer who hasn’t been around much, this contest is a great opportunity to bring you back to the boards. You have tons of experience and advice to share with newer Roux en-Y patients. If you’ve fallen off the wagon, don’t be shy. It’s never too late to get back on, and we’re here to give you the support and confidence you need for success in your lifestyle goals. Some Reminders and New Features Create or update your own Roux en-Y Patient profile. Your information encourages other members and helps you connect with members that have your same interests and struggles. It also gets you 40 points for our iPod Touch giveaway. We've recently updated our surgeon database; now, every bariatric surgeon in the world is included. Check it out and find a local surgeon who can help you. You can locate and read reviews on Roux en-Y surgeons to help you choose an expert for your care. Our social and support groups are up and running. We know that you all have special interests and identities, and our social and support groups provide more specialized platforms than our general community. Just of the few types of groups we have are Regional groups of people from your city or state. Surgery Buddy groups with people who got the Roux en-Y at the same time as you. Medical Condition groups with people with a particular condition, such as PCOS Eating Support groups with people who struggle with eating issues, such as emotional eating Check them out and join one or start your own. Be a Good Friend Be sure to mention RNYTalk.com as a source of support and information for any your friends, family members or associates who are considering Roux en-Y surgery or have had it. Also, don’t forget that RNYTalk.com is a member of the WLSBoards.com network. Recommend our other three communities to anyone you know who needs them, and please stop on by and introduce yourself if you have had a weight loss surgery revision. LapBandTalk.com for LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Band VerticalSleeveTalk.com for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy SleevePlicationTalk.com for Gastric Sleeve Plication We Need Your Help When you come here, you can depend on support, encouragement, sympathetic ears and expert advice from surgeons. But we need you to let community be able to continue grow stronger! Over the years, I’ve found that many bariatric surgeons and their staff don’t even know we’re here. Help us out by asking your surgeon to hang a couple of fliers in the clinic. They can go the waiting room bulletin board, at the reception desk and in patient consultation rooms. I’ve even gotten the fliers ready for you in color and black-and-white options. Print them out and bring them to your next appointment, or email them to the office. So please, support us and ask your surgeon to post these fliers in their office and hand them out to their patients. It helps you out because our community will benefit from more patients and surgeons with valuable advice. Remind your surgeon and clinic staff that it helps them out because it gives them more exposure to patients. Stay in Touch Feedback forum - we're always open to members ideas and feedback. Please use our feedback forum to let us know how we’re doing and send us your ideas on what you’d like to see at RNYTalk.com. We always want to know what you’re thinking and how we can improve! We're now on Facebook and on Twitter. Like us and follow us to keep track of what's going on in our communities and show your support! Don’t forget to support and celebrate! Our upcoming surgeries list tells you which members are about to get their bariatric surgery, so stop by and wish them luck! Come by the surgery anniversary list to congratulate members when they hit their annual anniversaries of their surgeries. Your name will be automatically entered onto the right list as soon as you update your patient profile. Coming Soon… We're releasing customizable health trackers and tickers within the next 90 days. We'll include more info in future newsletters, so stay tuned for information on those and the other latest happenings around RNYTalk.com. Thanks for reading, and talk to you soon! Sincerely, Alex

Yups!

I just wrote a small article about Band Over Bypass (BOB.) I think it's a great procedure and my feeling is that it's going to start becoming more common practice. Hopefully you'll find enough company on here sooner than later.