Surgical Approach to Adolescent Obesity

    October 2004 in “ Adolescent Medicine Clinics ”
    Thomas H. Inge, Meg H. Zeller, Victor F. Garcia, Stephen R. Daniels
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    TLDR Bariatric surgery may help severely obese teenagers but has risks and requires careful patient selection and long-term care.
    The document from 2004 examines the role of bariatric surgery in treating adolescent obesity, a condition that had seen a significant increase in prevalence in the United States. It notes that nearly 16% of adolescents were obese, with some regions experiencing rates as high as 39%. The paper suggests that bariatric surgery, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and adjustable gastric banding, may be more effective than behavioral treatments for this age group, potentially leading to the improvement or resolution of obesity-related comorbidities. However, it also outlines the risks and complications associated with the surgery, including nutritional deficiencies and the need for lifelong follow-up and supplementation. The document stresses the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, careful patient selection, and the need for more clinical trials to establish the long-term safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in adolescents. It also mentions that hair loss (telogen effluvium) has been reported in up to one-third of patients post-surgery, which may be related to nutritional issues. The authors call for the development of specialized adolescent bariatric surgery programs and recommend conservative indications for surgery until further research is available.
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      in Research  692 upvotes 3 months ago
      Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.

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