Consumer Health News

Bariatric surgeon praises FDA ruling against Get-Thin Lap band ads

By April MacIntyre Dec 14, 2011, 5:54 GMT

Obese patients benefit greatly from proper Bariatric surgery EPA/SHERWIN

In a bold stroke, the Food and Drug Administration took action against a marketing company and eight surgery centers in Southern California over their billboards and other deceptive advertisements selling weight-loss surgery and the real risks from the procedure.

The agency's letters ask the surgery centers and the marketing firm 1-800-GET-THIN to pull the allegedly misleading advertising.

In a letter to 1-800-GET-THIN, the agency cites a billboard whose copy reads:

    "LOSE WEIGHT WITH THE LAP-BAND! SAFE 1 HOUR, FDA APPROVED; 1-800-GET-THIN; 1-800-953-5000; PPO INSURANCE; FREE INSURANCE VERIFICATION"

The ads don't tell prospective patients enough about risks and other important factors, such as the age range and body mass index required to qualify for the Lap-Band, according to the FDA.

Dr. Carson Liu, M.D., a leading Bariatric surgeon in Los Angeles who has been interviewed by Monsters and Critics in the past regarding this subject, has praised the announcement earlier today by the FDA that warned 1-800-GET-THIN centers of deceptive advertising.

The FDA announcement is on the heels of the deaths of five patients who had Lap Band procedures at clinics affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN campaign in Southern California over the past two years, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and interviews conducted by the Los Angeles Times.

"These are five deaths that should have never happened," said Dr. Liu, who prior to opening his own private practice, headed the bariatric department at UCLA Medical School.

Since 1998, he has performed more 3,700 bariatric surgeries, including the Lap Band, and is authorized by the Lap Band's manufacturer, Allergan, to teach other surgeons on Lap Band surgical procedures.

In its news release, the FDA warned that the 1-800-GET-THIN organization's billboards and advertising inserts "to promote the Lap-Band procedure fail to provide required risk information, including warnings, precautions" and possible side effects.

"It's the Wild Wild West out there when it comes to bariatric surgery," said Dr. Liu. "My only regret with today's FDA announcement is why it took two years to issue the warning."

Liu says patients of his who have gone to the 1-800- GET-THIN clinics describe harrowing experiences that led them to believe that the clinics are actually scamming the insurance companies.

One woman used up all her insurance on unnecessary tests and procedures. Others reported that the clinics falsify the patients' height and weight to get insurance approval, perform unnecessary tests and even require patients to undergo unnecessary surgery prior to the Lap-Band procedure. One man said he was told he had to have his normal gallbladder removed prior to the Lap-Band procedure. Women were told they need to have their normal uterus removed prior to surgery.

"This type of behavior on behalf of medical professionals is outrageous and inexcusable. Ultimately, however, patients must empower themselves and realize that a Lap Band procedure is surgery with all the risk and consequences associated with any surgery," said Dr. Liu.

Dr. Liu advises that patients considering Lap Band surgery to look for a center that is officially recognized as a Surgical Review Corp Center of Excellence run through the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.