Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Ethicon Endo-Surgery) has selected the Bariatric Medical Institute of Texas (BMI of Texas) surgeons, Mickey Seger and Terive Duperier, as one of the five training sites in the US to host a preceptorship for the Ethicon Endo-Surgery REALIZE Adjustable Gastric Band.
The REALIZE Adjustable Gastric Band, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007, is a device that is surgically implanted around the stomach to help people with morbid obesity lose weight and improve or resolve obesity-related health conditions including type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. Dr. Seger and Dr. Duperier were among the first bariatric surgeons in the US to utilize the REALIZE band and Dr. Seger has served as a national proctor in teaching other bariatric surgeons how to use the REALIZE band since 2007.
As a result of their experience with the REALIZE Band, Dr. Seger and Dr. Duperier were selected by Ethicon Endo-Surgery to host a preceptorship where they will teach other bariatric surgeons how to optimally perform REALIZE Band adjustments.
The surgeons plan to host the first REALIZE adjustment preceptorship in September 2009. “We were among the first surgeons in the US to begin using the REALIZE band with our patients and we are very pleased with their weight loss results,” said Dr. Mickey Seger.