General Surgery North

Congratulations to Dr. Petro Yousef. 2018 PARO Teaching Award

http://www.cbc.ca//gastric-band-surgery-marketplace-1.4479

Another gastric Lap-Band removed.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Have you had your colonoscopy yet?

According to the product’s website, The Lap-Band system has been touted as a solution for effective weight loss. However, in my recent experiences with surgically removing this device, the Lap-Band system is dangerous, fraught with complications and likely does not lead to long-term weight loss. The Lap-Band surgery is an outpatient, minimally-invasive procedure that places a silicon band around the stomach that when inflated acts like a noose to constrict the organ. This ...supposedly reduces the volume that the stomach can accommodate and thus reduces the urge to eat leading to weight loss. The Lap-Band is not covered by OHIP and is expensive. Patients have informed me that it can cost in excess of ten thousand dollars. The post-operative care of the device is shoddy at best. Patients are told to go to the nearest emergency department if there are problems. So far, the complications that I have encountered include chronic pain, band erosion into adjacent organs such as the liver, constriction of the stomach so tightly that there is gastric outlet obstruction and intra-abdominal adhesions causing small bowel obstructions. If you are considering this product for weight loss, be warned that the price you pay may be more than just money.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Have you had your colonoscopy yet?

http://www.thesudburystar.com//sudbury-surgeons-add-tools-

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Pancreatic Cancer Awareness April is cancer awareness month and as a pancreatic surgeon at Health Sciences North, I wanted to share some facts about pancreatic cancer before the month was over. The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that secretes digestive enzymes that breaks down our food. It produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon to maintain glucose levels. It is tucked away deep inside us and we are taught in medical school not to mess with it. ...Continue reading

http://www.cancer.ca/en/ April is Cancer awareness month. Did you know that colon cancer is second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada. It is estimated according to statistics from the Canadian Cancer Society that in 2016, 26 100 people will be diagnosed with the disease. Despite our best efforts, 9 300 people will still die.... Colonoscopy is a very useful test to screen for silent growths called polyps in the colon. Although most of these polyps are benign, some of them may progress and transform into cancer. Removing polyps early may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer. Cancer Care Ontario recommends that people with no symptoms with a family history for colon cancer get a colonoscopy either at age 50 or 10-years earlier than the age that his or her relative was diagnosed. Check with your family doctor to see if you should have a colonoscopy!