Episode 93: Bariartric Surgery In Children

Episode 93: Bariartric Surgery In Children

For the past few episodes, we’ve been discussing obesity in children, what causes it, why it is a chronic disease that needs to be treated, the physiological, mental, and emotional implications it brings into the child and family’s life, and the different ways obesity can be managed. On this episode, we’re going to chat with Drs. Jennifer Paisley and Allen Browne about metabolic and bariatric surgery as it pertains to the pediatric population.

Dr. Jennifer Paisley is both certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and is specializing in Obesity at UnityPoint Health in Grinnell, Iowa. She is the current Pediatric Medical Advisor of the Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program. In this role, she works with children and their families on comprehensive obesity treatment, as well as the preparation of pediatric patients for bariatric surgery. She is a current member of the Obesity Medicine Association’s Pediatric Committee, where she helped develop the most recent edition of the pediatric obesity algorithm. Locally, she is an advocate for programs targeting food insecurity and helping teach families about the use of seasonal foods to promote improvements in health. In her free time, she also runs a small hobby farm with her husband and children.

Dr. Allen Browne is a pediatric and adolescent weight management specialist and pediatric surgeon. He has worked in the development of treatment algorithms for pediatric obesity for 12 years as Clinical Director of the New Hope Pediatric and Adolescent Weight Management Program at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Following this, he was the attending physician at the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Browne developed and served as principal investigator of the FDA-IDE-1, to study the adjustable gastric band in adolescents with severe obesity. Dr. Brown is the author and co-author of numerous articles, chapters, and guidelines on the treatment of pediatric obesity. He’s a member of the OMA Pediatric Committee Section on Obesity of the AAP, the Pediatric Committee of the Obesity Society, and the Pediatric Committee of ASMBS. Dr. Browne is certified as a diplomat of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Currently, his focus is advocacy and policy development for improved treatment for children with obesity.

Key Highlights: 

Tune in to my conversation with Dr. Paisley and Dr. Browne and learn:

• When is metabolic surgery considered in children?
• Studies that have been conducted about procedures done in a younger population than 14 years of age
• The preparation that physicians, patients, and parents have to go through before the kid goes into surgery
• External factors that may come into play when considering whether a child qualifies for surgery or not 
• Types of procedures that are approved for pediatric obesity
• Post-surgery care: What needs to change in the diet of the child and the frequency of monitoring 
• How to address the need of a child who has previously gone through bariatric surgery to eat small frequent meals at school 
• Potential side effects of bariatric surgery for children and any long-term detrimental effects it can have on the pediatric population
• The non-weight loss-related positive effects seen in their patients post-surgery or even after coming throught the clinic to receive pediatric weight management care

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