JourneyLite Physicians is proud to welcome Dr. David Schumacher to our experienced team of weight loss professionals! Dr. Schumacher is an experienced laparoscopic weight loss surgeon who specializes in gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and revisional surgery. A native of West Milton, Ohio, Dr. Schumacher was medical director of the weight loss surgery program at Kettering Hospital in Dayton, Ohio for nearly 15 years. He is well known in the city of Dayton and throughout the state of Ohio as having changed thousands of lives over the last two decades. Over the span of his entire career, he has completed over 4000 weight loss procedures and was one of the first 100 surgeons in the United States to perform a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. He was also among the first surgeons in the US to perform laparoscopic gastric bypass. Dr. Schumacher’s vast experience and years of the highest quality care will undoubtedly serve our patients well, and we are very excited to have him become part of the JourneyLite family!
Anouncements
Weight loss 1 month after surgery predicts long-term success!
Recently I attended a lecture by Dr. Dana Portenier, a respected bariatric surgeon from Duke University. He spoke about a study published by their practice showing that a patients success after weight loss surgery can be predicted as early as at the 1 month post-op visit.
In the graphs below, you can see that for a patient with a BMI under 50, if they have lost 6% of their excess body weight at the 1 month visit, they will be in the bottom 5th percentile at 36 months. A patient who has lost 26% of excess body weight, on the other hand, will be in the 95th percentile!
Weight Loss At First Post-operative Visit Predicts Long-Term Outcome Of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Using Duke Weight Loss Surgery Chart
Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 8 (2012) 556-550
This is something that I’ve always suspected but have never seen presented in such an elegant fashion. You might ask, what is percent excess body weight loss? In order to know this, you must first know what your excess body weight is. This is simple: your excess body weight is your current weight minus your ideal body weight. You can look up your ideal body weight multiple ways, such as here.
So let’s say you weigh 250 lbs and your ideal body weight is 150 lbs. This makes it easy, as your excess body weight is 100 lbs! If you lose 50 lbs then you have lost half (or 50%) of your excess body weight. Surgeons will often abbreviate as 50% EWL or 50% EBWL.
Here is an excellent article that will help you figure out what your excess body weight loss is, and you can refer to the graph above to see where you fall on the curve.
One of our goals at JourneyLite Physicians is to provide the best outcomes for our patients, and given this data we want patients to adhere to the follow-up schedule of:
- monthly visits for the first year after surgery
- visits every 3 months during the second year
- visits every 6 months starting in the third year and beyond
We feel that more closely-spaced appointments will help patients stay on track better and give them every opportunity to succeed!
Click here to request a follow-up appointment.
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We Take Great Care Of Our Patients-Q4 Patient Satisfaction Surveys
Our patients rate us highly!
Sometimes when you see a bunch of 5 star reviews you think to yourself “are these real or fake?” Chances are, if there are only 5 star reviews and no 1 star reviews they probably are! At JourneyLite, we pride ourselves in our top-notch patient care and regularly receive glowing, old-fashioned hand-written patient satisfaction surveys from our patients. We have de-identified these and posted our Q4 2019 surveys just to show how our patients feel about our experienced and caring team.
Great news from CareSource: coverage for diabetics with BMI 30-35
We received some great news from the Ohio chapter of the American Society of Bariatric Surgery regarding weight loss surgery and CareSource. Up until now, no insurance company has covered bariatric surgery when the patient’s BMI is below 35. Now, however, CareSource has updated its policy to cover gastric sleeve and gastric bypass for patients in the 30-35 zone if they have uncontrolled diabetes. Their definition of “uncontrolled” is a hemoglobin A1C of 8 or greater.
In addition, they have added the following medical conditions as “weight-related medical issues” that can be used to potentially qualify for surgical weight loss:
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Pseudotumor cerebri
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Asthma
- Venous stasis disease
- Severe urinary incontinence
- Debilitating arthritis
This is great news as it will significantly open access to care for many CareSource patients. We can only hope that other carriers will follow suit!
JourneyLite Surgery Center: Now An Optum Center of Excellence!
An Optum Center of Excellence
JourneyLite Surgery Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is proud to be one of the first ambulatory surgery centers in the country to be accepted into United Healthcare’s Optum Bariatric Resource Services Center of Excellence! Data shows that Optum Centers of Excellence (COE) have a 19% lower mortality rate than non-COE providers, a 30% lower hospital re-admission rate, and a 20-30% lower cost than non-COE providers. Since its founding in 2007, JourneyLite has been focused on providing the highest-quality, state-of-the-art care for weight loss patients, including surgical AND non-surgical options. With procedure offerings from the powerful SIPS procedure to the non-surgical gastric balloon, JourneyLite has a weight loss option in Cincinnati to fit your needs. In addition, JourneyLite Physicians offers satellite care in Columbus, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky.
Becoming a Center of Excellence can be a complex process. Usually there is a high volume requirement as it has long been known that centers performing many of a few procedures have lower complication rates than those doing few of many different procedures. Secondly, a multi-disciplinary team must be in place to ensure that all the needs of the patient can be met both before and after surgery. Thirdly, there is a verification process in place where a third party reviews the information, and even sometimes travels to the facility for a site review.
JourneyLite of Cincinnati has achieved many Center of Excellence milestones!
- first outpatient surgery center to be reviewed and accredited as an SRC Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellent in 2010
- first outpatient surgery center to be reviewed and accredited as an MBSAQIP Comprehensive Center in 2016
- One of the first outpatient surgery centers to be reviewed and accredited as an MBSAQIP Outpatient Center in 2017
- One of the first outpatient surgery centers to receive Anthem Blue Distinction Plus certification in 2015
- One of the first outpatient surgery centers to receive UHC Optum Center of Excellence accreditation
Whether its JourneyLite Physicians or JourneyLite Surgery Center, we will never cease our quest for continually improving patient outcomes while providing affordable access to care!
Saxenda: A New Injectable Weight Loss Medication
Saxenda: A New Injectable Weight Loss Drug
Other Weight Loss Medications
Saxenda (generic: liraglutide) is derived from the diabetes medication Victoza. Researchers found that patients who were on Victoza frequently lost a small amount of weight. Eventually, studies were done utilizing Victoza at double the regular dose and its effect on weight loss, and results revealed that patients who were taking Saxenda lost more weight than those on a placebo, and the results were statistically significant. This led to FDA approval of a 3mg dose of Victoza for weight loss, but under the name Saxenda.
Saxenda is injected from a pre-filled pen with a dial to adjust the dosage, similar to many diabetes medications. The dosage is increased gradually over several days until 3mg is reached. Generally the medication is well-tolerated, with the most common side effects being nausea and diarrhea. Patients on Saxenda will be required to have monthly office visits to meet with a medical provider and a registered dietitian.
Saxenda works by interacting with GLP-1 receptors in your body. GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) is an appetite hormone that is naturally produced in humans that helps to regulate hunger. Saxenda works like GLP-1 by regulating your appetite, which leads to decrease calorie consumption and therefore weight loss.
Saxenda, being a new medication, can cost upwards of $1000/month for patients without insurance coverage, so it is important to explore your options. If you are interested in Saxenda please click here to find out about coverage prior to requesting an appointment.
It is always exciting to see new treatment options for weight loss coming to fruition, and JourneyLite Physicians is proud to be on the forefront of fighting the disease of obesity!
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New Dayton Location Coming August 1st 2019!
We are very pleased to announce that construction has started on our Dayton location at 2621 Dryden Road in Morraine, just south of Dayton! Those who have been to our Elizabeth Place location know that it is just a time share, but this will not be the case in the new location. This will be a full-time office for us, staffed with a provider and a registered dietitian 3 days a week. If you are familiar with the Dryden Road exit off of I-75, the northbound exit ramp actually wraps around the building property, which you can easily see from the highway. This will be much more convenient for our patients as the sprawling Elizabeth Place complex requires quite a bit of walking once you park your car.
Stay tuned for more info, but we are targeting an opening date around August 1st!
$1000 off self-pay gastric sleeve!
Save $1000 on self-pay gastric sleeve procedures!
*Limited time offer, price subject to change without notice.
JourneyLite Surgery Center is a leading facility for surgical weight loss in the midwest. Our surgeons have done thousands of gastric sleeve procedures and are proud of our ability to combine excellent care with affordable pricing for self-pay patients. We are happy to announce that, for a limited time, we will be offering $1000 off of our already-low procedure price of $14,900. That’s right, for just $13,900 your surgeon’s fee, anesthesia fee, and facility fee is covered, along with one year of post-op office care. This price can’t be beat and will be for a limited time, so call us now or request a consultation!
New Medtronics Signia Smart Stapler!
Smart Stapling Technology: Start of the Art at JourneyLite!
In order to do most surgical weight loss procedures with a minimally invasive technique know as “laparoscopy,” some high-tech stapling devices must be used. These devices seal off the stomach when divinding it, or can help make new connections between stomach and small intestine.Since one of the risks of bariatric surgery is known as a “staple line leak” it is very important to use the best stapling device possible.
JourneyLite Surgery Center has adopted the new Signia™ Smart Stapling endoscopic stapler. We are the first (and only) center in Southwest Ohio that can offer this technology to our patients!
The world’s first smart stapler, the Signia™ system combines the proven performance of Tri-Staple™ technology with the power of real-time feedback. In addition the high-tech handle also gives our surgeons the precision of fully powered rotation, articulation, and firing with one hand.
The world’s first smart stapler is transforming surgical stapling because the Signia™ stapler:
- Delivers powered articulation, rotation, and firing with one hand
- Delivers consistent staple linesProvides precision and maneuverability with fully powered articulation, rotation, and clamping
- Displays real-time feedback on an easy-to-understand LED screenFrees the surgeon’s other hand to focus on the surgical site
- The Signia™ stapler also utilizes Medtronics advanced Tri-Staple™ technology, which:Generates less stress on tissue
- Allows greater perfusion into the staple lineDelivers outstanding performance in variable tissue
Overall our surgeons feel that this new and improved smart stapling technology will greatly improve outcomes and reduce the incidence of staple line leaks.
Winter Medical Weight Loss Specials
Lose Weight Now And Be Ready For Spring!
Everyone knows it’s easy to put on a few pounds over the winter. Well don’t wait until better weather to reverse the trend, do it now and be ready for Spring! Enroll in one of our supervised medical weight loss programs utilizing prescription appetite suppressants and get the scale moving pronto.
Through March 31st, save $70 on a new medical weight loss evaluation, now only $129 (regularly $199).
For current patients, save $30 on restart medical weight loss evaluations, now only $99 (regularly $129).
And now for the greatest special ever:
We are expanding our hours in Dayton to every Thursday and Friday, and we want to welcome our new team members, including Stefani our front desk coordinater, nurse practitioner Dana, and registered dietitians Jessica and Jennifer.
Through March 31st you can get a FREE new or restart medical weight loss appointment (in Dayton only) with Dana!
Just request an appointment below, or call us at:
Cincinnati: 513-559-1222 option 2
Columbus: 614-526-4463
Dayton: 937-280-LOSE
NKY: 859-331-1035