Teens opting for weight loss surgery

by Kim Posey

DENVER -- In their fight against obesity, an increasing number of teens are opting to undergo weight loss surgery to aid them in their battle to lose weight.

Megan Green was more than 100 pounds overweight and was already feeling the impacts on her health.  She had struggled with her weight for years.  At 19 years old she was 5'4" and weighed 257 pounds.

“I can’t move.  I can’t do anything.  I don’t feel young.  I feel old,” she said. I just always felt different."

She says she wants to be active, but says it's hard. 

Megan says she has tried diets, and she even had a personal trainer, but none of it has worked.

Megan decided to have bariatric surgery, a decision she knows is serious.  But her family is supportive.

"I just want her to be healthy," said Megan's mother, Debby.  "I'm just hoping this helps her and makes all of her dreams come true."

Her parents believe that Megan is ready, even at her young age.

"I'm just tired of being this way," Megan said.

But some in the fitness world question the decision to undergo weight loss surgery. 

"I would think at that age…that is way too early to go through that," said Martin Lavine.  He says clients at Push Gym lose major weight through diet and exercise.

But Megan's physician, Dr. Michael Snyder, says they are fighting a genetic predisposition.

Dr. Snyder is a physician at the Denver Center for Bariatric Surgery at Rose Medical Center.  He says diet and exercise are not enough for his patients, who are usually more than 100 pounds overweight.

”They are statistically programmed to never lose weight and keep it off, that’s why bariatric surgery was invented,” Dr Snyder said. 

Dr. Snyder has done thousands of surgeries, and he performs the gastric bypass, the gastric sleeve and the gastric band for his patients. 

Megan decided to have Dr. Snyder use a gastric band for her.

FOX31 was there for the day of Megan's surgery.  It was an emotional morning, but Megan was excited.

Dr.  Snyder made a small incision and inserted a video camera, allowing him to watch a monitor while he placed an adjustable band around the upper part of the stomach so that Megan will feel full with less food. 

The whole procedure took about 14 minutes.

Dr. Snyder says along with diet and exercise, the tool can help Megan lose weight, and most importantly improve her health.

After surgery Megan had to follow a strict diet, and exercise regularly.

We checked in with her at the one week mark and she had already lost 15 pounds.  At the six weeks mark, she had lost 21 pounds.

It was at six weeks when Megan got her first “fill,” which is an injection into a port that tightens the band around her stomach. 

With the band in place, meals that size should be enough to keep Megan full for a couple of hours. 

The treatment seems to be working.   At Megan’s four month appointment, she had lost 50 pounds, and went from a size 20 to a size 14. 

Megan says she’s feeling better about her health and her appearance. 

“I don't feel as shy or as scared to go places and do things,” she said.   

Megan recently turned 20, and hopes to lose another 50 pounds before she turns 21.

Some insurance companies offer coverage for the procedure because weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, reflux, high cholesterol, and joint pain.