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CNN Saturday Morning News

Children Turning to Weight Loss Surgery

Aired November 09, 2002 - 09:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: We know that some obese adults have been turning to weight loss surgery when diet and exercise fail to achieve the desired results.
COSTELLO: Well, now, even some overweight children are turning to surgeons in their effort to fight obesity. But is it a good idea?

CNN health correspondent Kat Carney is here with more.

This is just amazing to me.

KAT CARNEY, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: It is, it really is.

COSTELLO: So kids are really getting their stomachs stapled.

CARNEY: That's right. And, you know, the first bariatric or weight loss surgery took place almost 40 years ago for the treatment of obesity in adults. And back then, the operation was called an intestinal bypass. And while patients lost a lot of weight, the procedure sometimes resulted in many unpredictable side effects, like malnutrition and sometimes death.

Now, since that time, newer methods have taken center stage thanks to advances in medicine, as well as a number of celebrity weight loss surgeries, like Al Roker from the "Today" show and Wilson from "Hart" (ph) and, of course, Carney Wilson, whose procedure was broadcast on the Internet back in 1999.

But Al, Ann, and Carney are all adults, fully grown, fully developed. According to recent reports, more and more adolescents are taking the drastic step of weight loss surgery, but not all physicians are comfortable with the idea of kids as young as 15 undergoing such a serious elective procedure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT KUSHNER, NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Well, our criteria really has not been determined. In general, we consider a child or an adolescent obese if they are at the 95th percentile for the population. The problem with that is, as our population is getting heavier and heavier, that 95th percentile's also getting heavier and heavier. So it's a moving target.

So for a child, it's hard to tell. I think we have to look at the overall maturity, the health complications of the child, what they have done before, and so forth. But we're probably still talking a range 70, 100 pounds or so overweight. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: That was Dr. Robert Kushner from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, who has overseen hundreds of bariatric patients. I spoke with him at length this past week, and he also said that when it comes to teens and weight loss surgery, there are no long-term studies. So we just don't know how the known risks of this type of procedure will affect a growing youngster. So it just -- it really is uncharted territory

SAN MIGUEL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COSTELLO: And there's so many questions associated with it.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes. And before we get into those, but tell us a little bit about exactly what are we talking about with gastric surgery? What is done to the stomach and the body during the surgery?

CARNEY: Well, there are several types of surgery. These days, you're really only going to hear about two. You're going to hear about the the lap band procedure, which is relatively new. And what happens in lap band, they -- the surgeon goes in laparoscopically and adds a collar to the top of the stomach.

And it's, you know, a little anatomy 101, you've got the esophagus going down to the stomach, going down to the small intestine. And what this band does is, it kind of squeezes the top of your stomach. Imagine an hourglass, which allows a few of the sands -- a few of the grains of sands to trickle through. That's what happens with your stomach. The food trickles through at a smaller rate, so you get fuller a lot quicker.

Now, the gold standard in gastric surgery is the gastric bypass. And I've got a little demo here. Imagine this football. This is the size of the normal stomach. What happens with gastric -- I know, it's a bit huge.

COSTELLO: I just can't believe it's that big.

SAN MIGUEL: We're still trying to get our, get our minds around that particular concept.

CARNEY: I know, when the doctor told me this, I was, like, A regular football? Yes, regular football. And what the surgeon does, they go in and they surgically create a small pouch at the top of your stomach. So your stomach goes from being this size to this size.

SAN MIGUEL: Oh, you're kidding.

COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), wow.

CARNEY: The size of an egg. So you can imagine you're eating much less food because you're becoming fuller a lot quicker.

SAN MIGUEL: And you're getting all the nutrients you need, even adults need, even with the stomach (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? CARNEY: Well, you won't get all the nutrients. Again, think of the anatomy. You've got the esophagus going to the stomach, the stomach then goes to the small intestine. With gastric bypass, now the top of the stomach is then connected to the second portion of the small intestine. And that first portion is where you absorb a lot of your nutrients.

So patients that undergo gastric bypass have to take lifelong supplements...

SAN MIGUEL: Oh, OK.

CARNEY: ... they have to take calcium supplement. And when you're talking about kids, a lot of -- their bones aren't fully developed. So what really happens with kids is, you've got a compliance issue. If the children and the family don't understand that this is now a lifetime commitment to taking the supplements and following the eating regimen, it's really a recipe for failure.

COSTELLO: I have just one final question. How young are we talking about?

CARNEY: You're seeing some surgeries in kids as young as 15 or 17. You're seeing a lot of surgeons are saying, No, we're going to wait. And a lot of people say, Well, why don't you just, you know, put the kids in a diet and exercise regimen? But what happens is, there's a subset of kids for whom diet and exercise do not reduce the health risks associated with obesity. So this should really be seen as a last resort procedure.

Kids that you're seeing cardiovascular problems, diabetes, sleep apnea, absolute last resort.

SAN MIGUEL: Where it's really impacting their health.

CARNEY: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

SAN MIGUEL: They don't know about the tradeoffs that go on with that.

COSTELLO: I just can't believe your stomach's as big as a football. No wonder we have problems.

SAN MIGUEL: Kat Carney, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

CARNEY: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 9, 2002 - 09:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: We know that some obese adults have been turning to weight loss surgery when diet and exercise fail to achieve the desired results.
COSTELLO: Well, now, even some overweight children are turning to surgeons in their effort to fight obesity. But is it a good idea?

CNN health correspondent Kat Carney is here with more.

This is just amazing to me.

KAT CARNEY, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: It is, it really is.

COSTELLO: So kids are really getting their stomachs stapled.

CARNEY: That's right. And, you know, the first bariatric or weight loss surgery took place almost 40 years ago for the treatment of obesity in adults. And back then, the operation was called an intestinal bypass. And while patients lost a lot of weight, the procedure sometimes resulted in many unpredictable side effects, like malnutrition and sometimes death.

Now, since that time, newer methods have taken center stage thanks to advances in medicine, as well as a number of celebrity weight loss surgeries, like Al Roker from the "Today" show and Wilson from "Hart" (ph) and, of course, Carney Wilson, whose procedure was broadcast on the Internet back in 1999.

But Al, Ann, and Carney are all adults, fully grown, fully developed. According to recent reports, more and more adolescents are taking the drastic step of weight loss surgery, but not all physicians are comfortable with the idea of kids as young as 15 undergoing such a serious elective procedure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT KUSHNER, NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Well, our criteria really has not been determined. In general, we consider a child or an adolescent obese if they are at the 95th percentile for the population. The problem with that is, as our population is getting heavier and heavier, that 95th percentile's also getting heavier and heavier. So it's a moving target.

So for a child, it's hard to tell. I think we have to look at the overall maturity, the health complications of the child, what they have done before, and so forth. But we're probably still talking a range 70, 100 pounds or so overweight. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: That was Dr. Robert Kushner from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, who has overseen hundreds of bariatric patients. I spoke with him at length this past week, and he also said that when it comes to teens and weight loss surgery, there are no long-term studies. So we just don't know how the known risks of this type of procedure will affect a growing youngster. So it just -- it really is uncharted territory

SAN MIGUEL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COSTELLO: And there's so many questions associated with it.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes. And before we get into those, but tell us a little bit about exactly what are we talking about with gastric surgery? What is done to the stomach and the body during the surgery?

CARNEY: Well, there are several types of surgery. These days, you're really only going to hear about two. You're going to hear about the the lap band procedure, which is relatively new. And what happens in lap band, they -- the surgeon goes in laparoscopically and adds a collar to the top of the stomach.

And it's, you know, a little anatomy 101, you've got the esophagus going down to the stomach, going down to the small intestine. And what this band does is, it kind of squeezes the top of your stomach. Imagine an hourglass, which allows a few of the sands -- a few of the grains of sands to trickle through. That's what happens with your stomach. The food trickles through at a smaller rate, so you get fuller a lot quicker.

Now, the gold standard in gastric surgery is the gastric bypass. And I've got a little demo here. Imagine this football. This is the size of the normal stomach. What happens with gastric -- I know, it's a bit huge.

COSTELLO: I just can't believe it's that big.

SAN MIGUEL: We're still trying to get our, get our minds around that particular concept.

CARNEY: I know, when the doctor told me this, I was, like, A regular football? Yes, regular football. And what the surgeon does, they go in and they surgically create a small pouch at the top of your stomach. So your stomach goes from being this size to this size.

SAN MIGUEL: Oh, you're kidding.

COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), wow.

CARNEY: The size of an egg. So you can imagine you're eating much less food because you're becoming fuller a lot quicker.

SAN MIGUEL: And you're getting all the nutrients you need, even adults need, even with the stomach (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? CARNEY: Well, you won't get all the nutrients. Again, think of the anatomy. You've got the esophagus going to the stomach, the stomach then goes to the small intestine. With gastric bypass, now the top of the stomach is then connected to the second portion of the small intestine. And that first portion is where you absorb a lot of your nutrients.

So patients that undergo gastric bypass have to take lifelong supplements...

SAN MIGUEL: Oh, OK.

CARNEY: ... they have to take calcium supplement. And when you're talking about kids, a lot of -- their bones aren't fully developed. So what really happens with kids is, you've got a compliance issue. If the children and the family don't understand that this is now a lifetime commitment to taking the supplements and following the eating regimen, it's really a recipe for failure.

COSTELLO: I have just one final question. How young are we talking about?

CARNEY: You're seeing some surgeries in kids as young as 15 or 17. You're seeing a lot of surgeons are saying, No, we're going to wait. And a lot of people say, Well, why don't you just, you know, put the kids in a diet and exercise regimen? But what happens is, there's a subset of kids for whom diet and exercise do not reduce the health risks associated with obesity. So this should really be seen as a last resort procedure.

Kids that you're seeing cardiovascular problems, diabetes, sleep apnea, absolute last resort.

SAN MIGUEL: Where it's really impacting their health.

CARNEY: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

SAN MIGUEL: They don't know about the tradeoffs that go on with that.

COSTELLO: I just can't believe your stomach's as big as a football. No wonder we have problems.

SAN MIGUEL: Kat Carney, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

CARNEY: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com