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UC DAVIS BARIATRIC SURGERY PROGRAM
DESIGNATED AS A BLUE CROSS CENTER OF EXPERTISE
July 27, 2005
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.)
— UC
Davis Medical Center’s bariatric surgery program was
designated this month as a Blue
Cross of California “Center of Expertise.”
The designation is based on an ability to deliver the best combination
of quality results and cost for patients who undergo bariatric
surgery. Bariatric surgery includes a variety of procedures for
treating severe obesity, which can be a chronic condition that
is difficult to treat through diet and exercise alone.
UC Davis Medical Center is the only hospital in the Sacramento
region with the Blue Cross designation and is one of 19 such centers
in California.
“We’re very pleased to be recognized for our bariatric
program,” said Mohamed
Ali, a gastrointestinal surgeon and assistant professor at
UC Davis who has guided the program since 2002. “Our strength
is that we’ve combined a top-flight surgical team with a
complete wellness program, providing patients with everything
they need to achieve a healthy success, both before and long after
the surgery itself.”
In the past three years, Ali has performed nearly 500 gastric
bypass operations, where the size of a patient’s upper stomach
is reduced so that less food can be eaten and absorbed. Gastric
bypass is the most common and successful surgical approach to
severe obesity and is usually reserved for people at least 100
pounds overweight.
The American Society
for Bariatric Surgery reports that weight-reduction surgery
can reduce heart problems and other risk factors associated with
obesity, including high blood pressure, sleep apnea and diabetes.
It estimates that bariatric procedures have increased from about
16,000 in the early 1990s to more than 103,000 in 2003.
To be considered for the Blue Cross designation, UC Davis submitted
data on its bariatric volumes, mortality, readmission and complication
rates, as well as its overall processes for care management. That
information was then compared to the industry norms associated
with higher quality care.
“This is an operation that literally helps give a person
a new lease on life,” said Ali, “and that’s
why so many people need and want it. We’ve created a comprehensive
weight management program that focuses on everything from the
surgery to critical follow-up care in important areas such as
nutrition, diet and exercise.”
For more information about UC Davis Medical Center’s bariatric
surgery program, visit http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/surgery/specialties/bariatric/.
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