Press releases

Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: Sept. 6, 2006
Media contact: Mark D’Antonio, (203) 688-2493

Yale-New Haven Hospital’s bariatric surgery program named Center of Excellence

NEW HAVEN — Yale-New Haven Hospital’s bariatric surgery program has been designated by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery as a Center of Excellence (ASBS). This designation recognizes the safety, efficiency and overall positive results of the bariatric surgical team at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH).

To earn a Center of Excellence designation, YNHH underwent a series of site inspections during which the ASBS examined all aspects of the program’s surgical processes and collected data on health outcomes.

“We are pleased to have been recognized for our contributions to this field and for providing the highest standard in patient care,” said Robert L. Bell, M.D., director of the bariatric surgery program at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH). “It speaks well to what we have accomplished and to our continued efforts to improving the quality of life for obese patients.”

Dr. Bell also serves as director of the minimally invasive and bariatric surgery fellowship training program at the Yale University School of Medicine, where he is an assistant professor of surgery. Each surgeon of the Yale-New Haven Hospital bariatric surgical team is fellowship trained in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery.

“This high level of specialized bariatric surgery training, unmatched in the state of Connecticut, demonstrates our commitment to provide the very best care to our patients,” said Dr. Bell.

Obesity has become a significant national health issue, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that 64 percent of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Morbid obesity is closely correlated with a number of serious conditions that severely undermine the health of overweight patients, including heart disease, degenerative joint disease, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The YNHH bariatric surgery program offers the most advanced bariatric surgery procedures, including laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass, the Lap-Band®, and the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy - a new procedure for weight loss that is particularly suited to those patients at highest risk for surgery, either because of their medical history or their weight.

This procedure is usually offered as a first-stage, lower-risk surgical alternative that serves as a bridge to other bariatric operations. It involves removing 80 percent of the stomach, leaving behind only a tube or a ‘sleeve’ of stomach. This portion of stomach restricts the amount of food that a patient can eat and leads to significant weight loss.

Yale-New Haven Hospital is the first and currently the only hospital in Connecticut that offers these three surgical options for the treatment of severe obesity using minimally invasive techniques: Roux-en Y gastric bypass; adjustable gastric banding (Lap-Band); and the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

“This combined approach has tremendously decreased the risk of weight loss surgery for specific groups of patients, even when the risk of the two surgeries is added,” said Dr. Bell, who initiated the YNHH bariatric surgery program in 2002. Since that time he has performed over 400 laparoscopic bariatric procedures.

For more information on the bariatric surgery program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, click here.

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Last revised: Oct. 3, 2006 (dh)

Home page URL: http://www.ynhh.org

All information is intended for your general knowledge and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting a new fitness regimen.