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Jeff Fitlow / Rice University
A team of Rice University engineering seniors created a device to lift the weight from the abdomens of obese patients undergoing surgery. The R-Aides device uses suction cups hooked to a vacuum to help patients under light sedation breathe.
At first it sounds like the start of one of those offensive “fat” jokes obese people hate so much: “How fat was he? So fat the surgeons need suction cups to lift his belly.”
But this is no joke. A team of Rice University bioengineering students, responding to an urgent request from heart surgeon Mehdi Razavi, has developed a device that can lift the abdomen of an obese patient undergoing surgery so the patient can breathe.
Razavi, an electrophysiologist who specializes in implanting pacemakers and performs heart catheterizations, often places his patients under “conscious sedation,” a light anesthesia, because if the patient were simply knocked out, with a tube down his or her throat, and a machine doing the breathing, there’d be a greater risk of complications. But during one surgery on an obese man, Razavi realized his patient was snoring and having trouble breathing. The man’s oxygen levels were dropping.
That’s because the man was struggling against his own abdominal fat.
“It’s like putting a suitcase on the belly,” Razavi said. “It presses down and the belly has to go somewhere, so it pushes against the lungs, and if you try to take a deep breath, the lungs cannot expand.” The problem could become so severe, the doctor would have to stop the surgery.
The device the students designed uses suction cups hooked to a horizontal beam hovering above the abdomen. The cups are attached to the skin – there is a slight chance of bruising, student Marisa Prevost said – and a vacuum pump. Activating the device slightly raises the abdomen so the fat is out of the way.
When Razavi first approached the students for help, they were incredulous. “When we first heard about it, we were, like, ‘Huh? What?’” Prevost said. “We thought, that’s kind of weird.”
Now though, they’re intimately aware of how America’s obesity crisis is affecting medical practice in dozens of ways.
As of 2010, more than 35 percent of U.S. adults were obese. By 2030, the U.S. obesity rate is projected to rise to 42 percent. Obesity puts people at much greater risk for all sorts of medical problems, so they wind up in doctors’ offices and in hospitals more often than optimal weight people.
Medicine is struggling to make accommodations. Doctors often check blood pressure using cuffs meant for thighs, Razavi said. Surgical tools have to be enlarged in order to reach through layers of fat. Obese patients require higher doses of radiation during imaging tests like CT scans. “And that means if I’m doing the procedure, I am getting higher doses of radiation, too,” Razavi pointed out.
Some patients won’t fit into MRI scanners. Surgical tables have been redesigned to handle patients weighing up to 450 pounds. Needles for injections have made been longer so they can penetrate fat layers and reach muscles. Even lab tests results have to be interpreted differently.
For surgeries, Razavi said, “the ultimate compromise is that if the patient is really obese, you either do it under general anesthesia, or don’t offer it at all. It’s a judgment call,” he said. “When you tailor therapy to each patient, sometimes the risks outweigh the benefits.”
Brian Alexander is co-author, with Larry Young PhD., of "The Chemistry Between Us: Love Sex and the Science of Attraction," to be published Sept. 13.
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Leave a Comment:
Really? We can't get people back to work or bring gas prices down. But we can waste a ton of time, money, and human resources inventing something to hold your fat out of the way during surgery. Here's an idea: push the plate away!
I wonder how many times a day a doctor rolls their eyes or talks crap about their patients. lol
Blake: All the time.
Every time a patient shows up and wants to argue some new medical "fact" that they find in the supermarket tabloid.
Every time the doctor suggests a valid, routine course of action and the patient refuses because their mother's ex-boyfriend's cousin had a bad reaction to the treatment.
Every time a patient drags their 350lb carcass into the hospital/practice and wants to know why their knees hurt.
Every time a patient says "Yeah, I quit smoking" but they see the patient lighting up in the parking lot.
Every time you have to use the Lard Lifter.
Every damned time.
Of all the things you could bitch about, you just had to go for the one that doesn't hold true for this piece of news. What part of "a group of college students" is not clear to you? No HR or time that could've been spent more wisely was spent on this. If anything, it's good news that scientists are passing these tasks down to college students, who would otherwise be doing a LOT of things not involving bringing people back to work or bringing gas prices down (which they are, I'm afraid to tell you). But don't take it personally: this little rant is not against you. I hate the game, not the player—after all, "being a tireless, whiny cynic" is the name of the game.
And yes, I agree, people should push the plate away. More than that, they should watch their fat/carbohydrate intake AND make sure to burn some goddamn calories every now and then.
I thought I'd seen all the fatty stories that could be told on MSNBC this week, but boy was I wrong! I don't even know what to say about this one. What will this device be named, maybe the "Lard Lifter"?
I love it. Heart surgery because you're fat, but you're so fat you might not make it through surgery.
If only something could be done to avoid this fate!
"Something" could be done! First of all, people could maintain a sensible weight, not eat themselves into an early grave. Secondly, if obese people were made into social pariahs the same way as smokers have been, there would be many less fat people because of the pressures they would feel from people around them.
Why not expand the idea in some medical insurance policies that people with high risks, especially those with 'voluntary' risks such as smoking or obesity pay a higher premium. If ALL obese people were forced to pay higher insurance premiums, that would be an additional pressure to slim down.
DevilDog- you think fat people are somehow magically immune to the negative attitude shown on these Newsvine articles? Have you seen the many thousands of hate-filled posts calling for the killing of obese people? I have seen them, they're everywhere. Do you think that a person that has to pull their fat up to watch their child's orchestra concert (as I witnessed just this week- and I admit at first it shocked and disappointed me) doesn't notice? They live it every day. The only ones who can change it are they who realize this, yes, but it is also really not helping to have them outcast like smokers. It's really not helping smokers to be so outcast either.
I cannot comprehend the idea that somehow we need to "knock out" everything that isn't perfection in our society; we are quickly regulating ourselves (ban this, tax that, don't allow that to happen!!!) into a society based on fear, loathing, and punishment. Did you happen to see "Hunger Games"? Is a society such as that some idealized utopia that self-called "perfect" people imagine??? If so, I think I would rather pass away sooner than later because I want no part of that cruelty!!!
@Miskaffon
I disagree...there is NO EXCUSE for being obese(barring a REAL medical reason).
Bottom line is the only way to be fat is to eat your own self into that situation. Obese people are gross, they consume way more than necessary, they abuse their bodies by being lazy, then they expect to be taken care of when they start having high-blood pressure, heart-attacks, diabetes,.....etc.
They are a HUGE DRAIN (no pun intended) on our medical system, which drags down the quality of care, and ups the prices for those of us who TRY to stay healthy.
No excuses:
Eat because your sad? smoke some pot or something...still better for you than a double quarter pounder from McDonalds. BTW i don't think being fat helps with their sadness very much.
Eat because your addicted? F*ck off, food is not addicting, but apparently being an idiot is.
Part of the problem is how we cater to fat people.......escalators, all you can eat buffets, seatbelt extenders on cars and airplanes, assisted shoppers (scooters for fat people to shop in), even handicap showers have to get used up by fat people, instead of REAL handicap people.
I am sick of hearing obese people making excuses as to why they are so heavy. It is a very simple thing, you do not put more calories into your body than you burn off during the day!!! There are very few people who are obese due to real medical issues (e.g. a thyroid condition), most just do not know how to put down the knife and fork. Do not try and give me excuses for why you are fat while sucking down a liter bottle of soda in a single sitting, try drinking water or unsweetened iced tea. Unlike some other parts of the world, there is no where in the US where people do not have access to healthy eating choices. The problem we have is that people have lost all sense of portion control, and this is particularly true of restaurants. Most restaurants serve portions that are far larger than what would be considered a healthy amount to eat. They feel that they need to offer these huge portions to attract customers. I know that I am guilty when I go out to eat of not wanting to waste food and forcing myself to finish my plate even when I am full. Fortunately, I do not go out to eat all that often. Fast food restaurants are the worst, particularly when it comes to drinks. I can remember when a small soda was only about 8-10 ounces. Today a small soda is more on the order of 20-22 ounces with larges often a liter or more. Soda machines used to dispense soda in 12 ounce cans, now most of them dispense 20 ounce plastic bottles. We have lost all semblance of what constitutes a portion. About the only place you will still find a normal portion amount is on the nutritional labels on products where it gives you the data for an 8 ounce glass, not the 20 ounces actually in the container. Of course nothing says you have to finish the entire bottle of soda in one serving, but most people do.
People need to start paying attention to what they eat, the portion sizes, and their level of activity. Stop making excuses about why you are fat and do something about it. Get up off the couch, shut down the video games, and go outside for a walk. Get some friend together and shoot some hoops, play some tennis, go for a swim, etc.
This isn't real - is it
Argh. I understand that being athlete trim n' svelte is not in most peoples' futures, but can it be that difficult to just not be obese? To just have no more than 20 extra pounds? How much are people eating? This whole obesity epidemic is so outrageous. To be be so obese that you cannot safely have surgery and to have to use blood pressure cuffs meant for legs on your arms??? What are we doing? What if a person simply cut soda and second helpings, snacked on fresh fruit and went for a brisk walk every day - might they not be 450 lbs after a year of that? Wait, someone is going to back lash about how being so big one needs a veterinary scale has nothing to do with the individual's choices or control over their habits and it's someone else's fault (society's) and I'm judging and prejudiced and cruel and all the obese people are only eating 2 lettuce leaves and a 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese every day and are still fat. I say don't design special equipment for massively overweight people. Send them all to the therapist to address their real issues so they can get some meaningful help.
I work with several obese people who consume calories pretty constantly all day long.
They walk in with a sugary coffee drink or soda and start immediately talking about what they're ordering for lunch. Then they dig in to the five pound bag of candy in their desk - or in the case of the "healthy" ones, a sugar laden bowl of flavored oatmeal. After that, they start in about how their diabetes doc is on their case about their glucose numbers. They just don't know why it's always 300+. Then it's time for a trip to the vending machine for another snack and/or soda.
That's just the fewe hours. You can probably guess how the rest of the day goes.
How long before a hospital is sued for not offering to lift a person's fat for them? How long before some obese person dies and the family says "They'd be alive if only our hospital had the Lard Lifter? Mark my words, this is a money maker for families of anyone who dies of obesity related illness that MAY have been helped with risky anesthesia and surgery.
Sad day, indeed.
A lot of it is personal choice, but when you're poor and living in "food deserts" where there are few (if any) good markets to get fresh fruits and veggies, and an overwhelming amount of easy high-calorie options then you can't lay all blame entirely on the individual. When a child is on free/reduced lunch, and all the school offers is high calorie, low nutrition pizza and french fries and tacos (all cheap as well) then you can't blame the child for being obese. If you live in a rural area with no sidewalks and you have to drive everywhere, it is another barrier to exercise.
I'm not saying the government needs to tell us what to eat and when to work out. But clearly where the free market has failed to provide healthy options for people, the government should do what they can to encourage healthy living. Its good policy to promote healthy living. We'll have fewer medical costs, we'll live longer, and we'll work better.
brian, yes, it's personal choice, but as to your rationale: PORTION CONTROL. Yes, you might not be able to afford fresh food, but you don't have to eat a box of mac and cheese in one sitting either.
Rural living might be a barrier to driving, but I'd LOVE to be able to take a walk in a more pastoral setting. (Before you say something, there are a lot of streets with no sidewalks in the suburbs too.)
I agree it is mainly personal choice -- and that means it is your decision what you do to yourself - whether it is what you eat or how much activity you do. It is choosing the food as best you can, esp when it means you may have to work and make a nutritious dish rather than just buy one (also cheaper when you have to make it).
And, personal choice also means doing physical activity to balance/work off those calories - walking, chores, gardening (raking is good), tidying/putting things away (amazing how many steps you end up taking), dancing in the living room, whatever. Park farther away and walk a few extra steps to the store! Take the stairs instead of the elevator to go up 2 floors. There are plenty of ways to sneak in a little bit of activity throughout the day. Plus, you feel better & have a sense of satisfaction of a job/goal done!
As they say, it's the little things(ways) that count. And music is food for the soul.
Brian - I still feel your comment points back in the direction of removing responsibility from the individual. The free market is controlled by the demands of consumers/"the people", and therefore, we are not controlled by it. The free market responds to what its customers buy. It all goes back to if each and everyone of us makes better choices, the market will respond in turn. And I agree with Aeduko - if you're stuck with a box of macaroni to eat, no one is forcing you to eat the whole box. Even if you're not well versed in nutrional knowledge and healthy cooking, it is common knowledge that eating less means weighing less. And I don't think we need yet another government program to tell us how to eat - as I recall, we received very valuable and easily applicable info in health classes in public school......
Unless there is a legit medical issue, there is no reason to be obese. "Food desert"? - fine, don't eat 3 McMuffins for breakfast. Portion control and reasonable choices at McDonalds, paired with some vitamins, can result in decently healthy weight loss. No space to Walk? - Jumping jacks, squats, push ups, sit ups, pull ups, running in place, plyometrics; any these (and many more) are great workouts without requiring space or equipment. Even a homeless person could do them, so unless you’re tied up in a closet, you have no excuse.
In the end, the only person responsible for your health is you. Society has virtually nothing to do with your obesity. You're fat because you choose to be, no matter how much your try to justify your current condition to yourself. And, as a post alluded to above, for those of you who say "I eat lettuce and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese a day and I still can't lose weight" Two things. Either you have a medical condition, or you’re not being truthful.
Excuses, excuses, excuses! The country does NOT have an 'obese' epidemic but an 'excuse' epidemic. NO ONE wants to take responsibility for themselves anymore. Just make an excuse and your forgiven you poor victim. o_0
My entire problem with all of this " fat talk" is the "obese " term is not always correct.
Until I hit my 30s.. I was 6 foot 4 and 180 lbs soaking wet. I looked SICK I was so skinny, and I had my share of joint ( knee, ankle ) issues ..
Im now 36 still 6 foot 4, and sitting at 240-250 ( it goes up and down ) I look health, feel better, yet my Dr says I need to lose weight and get back to 180.. Total bull crap and I told the Dr that point blank.
One size does not fit all, and the BMI scale is total crap.
Jeremy, I am not thrilled at the idea of the constant barrage of articles blasting away at the obese, however, my husband is 6'4 and around 167. He's not skin and bones; he just looks "right" (and thankfully our kids take after him and not me!). Even taking into account for body type I'm not sure I disagree with your doctor on his advice.
I have to agree with you Miskaffon. My husband 6'4 and 180, myself 6'0 and 160 and we both have just a little "extra". That puts me in a size 10 and him in 34/34 jeans.
I don't understand when people talk about there being rural places "where there are no sidewalks" so people "have to drive everywhere." If they can drive to the grocery store or take time out of their day to drive to McDonald's, can't they also drive to a park with a walking path...or a neighborhood with a sidewalk, or strap a bike to the car and drive to a biking path? . ...For that matter, what's wrong with walking on rural roads? I live at the edge of a farming township and often forsake the sidewalk for the country roads. Just remember to walk against traffic! (And yes, I DO understand that in urban food deserts, walking might not be all that safe. I'm specifically baffled by the "can't walk in rural areas" argument.
"The device the students designed uses suction cups hooked to a horizontal beam hovering above the abdomen."
Hovering?
Hovering??
Really??
You guys need to throw the thesaurus away and use the right words instead of the cutesy words.
That is the "UFO" upgrade to the device.
Seems to be the new "skewer of the day" for MSNBC....attack the obese, with at least one if not multiple, articles a day whining about how it's sooo unfair to the thin, costing so much money, blah, blah, blah.
GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!!!! Is this constant barrage helping in any way? Quick two letters for you: NO!
Honestly, why are we performing any surgeries to extend human life? There are 7 billion of us overpopulating the planet, 85%+ are pathetically mediocre and only have survived because of 2 reasons -- there weren't any predators to kill us when we were young and it is illegal for others to kill us now. So why are we extending life?
@Derek
In response to your pathetically mediocre post, you, no doubt, would be first in line to extend your own life. Is this an attempt at being clever and pseudo-intellectual? Go back to your Philosophy 101 class now, the adults are trying to have a discussion.
Are you freakin' kidding me? A fat lifter? Here's an idea. Put their tails on a severe diet and make them lose weight prior to the surgery. I'm sick of everything nowadays being about accommodating obese people. Airplane seats do not need to be larger; needles do not need to be made longer; hospital beds do not need to be made stronger. People need to get smaller!
"At first it sounds like the start of one of those offensive “fat” jokes obese people hate so much:"
You know, as an admittedly obese person (although maybe I don't qualify, because I have a documented metabolic disorder and am not constantly "stuffing my face" as so many commenters delicately suggested), I do, in fact, enjoy fat jokes. What I don't particularly enjoy are the people who stereotype their audience.
Making a statement like the one at the start of this article is very much like saying "At first it sounds like one of those "rape" jokes that feminists hate so much..." (As if non-feminist women like rape?)
The stereotype of a joke isn't what's offensive about the joke: it's the attitude used in delivering it. There's a big difference between telling a bad joke and mocking your audience. The fat-o-matic has the potential to be a joke that might amuse anyone. But you, Mr. Alexander, just spectacularly achieved bigotry.
Hey -- a bunch of COLLEGE SENIORS invented something that HELPS PEOPLE. They aren't a part of Corporate Medicine and they won't make fortunes on this, but people -- and costs -- will be saved due to their efforts.
Why has this upbeat, nice story about some smart and generous people being both smart and generous been turned into an attack on the people their work helps? Sure, lots of people need to lose weight. But being a vicious hater isn't going to change that; it is simply a negative reflection on those doing the hating.
This country has become, yet again, a place of selective tolerance. Sad. Star bellied sneeches and those "without stars upon thars". Dr. Seuss
And to think before this it was just considered "Darwin in Motion" if the guy was to big to breath while being worked on...
OK.... I get the debate going on about obesity... BUT did anyone look at the Fat Lifter????
Those are breast pumps! Too funny!
To all you internet skinnys (most of you don't know what you really look like) I say this. This is America where everything is possible. You think we all don't get ugly after 30? Ask a teen how old is too old? And ALL of you would be in the 'too old' category. We spend more of our lives old and ugly than thin and beautiful so get a grip. If we fat people didn't eat, our only real industry (service) wouldn't hire all you perfect skinny people at the local fast food cause that's all there is.
You think that spreader they us to install device to help people stop peeing themselves isn't ugly? Of which MANY skinny people have to get done. Or those really skinny old people who come in with a prolapsed uterus. Yeah - there vagina fell out. Is that any prettier?
I LOVE being fat. I love how America smells. It smells like food. Lots of variety and cheap. I pay for my insurance and I am getting my money's worth. Fat people don't clog the Emergency rooms it's all those hard working skinny illegals who do. And some of you bring up how well the smoking ads are going. Go to the south and tell me people have stopped smoking. They smoke to stay skinny, idiots.
And let's have a contest, how many skinny molesters? Cruella Daville, skinny and hated? Santa - kids love Santa Fat not skinny and mean. Scrooge skinny old mean man. The good fairies in Cinderella, fat. The evil ones skinny. People hate skinny arrogant people. We are a democracy so us fat people demand change. Make those plane seats bigger, make those surgical tools and skinny people shut up. Love him but Lance Armstrong can't keep a relationship for any length of time cause he won't get off the damn bike. You all know I'm right cause I made you mad.
Nice comments.....think I kinda like this guy! :)
Tony, your attempt to jusify your love of fat is weak. You pay your insurance so you get you moneys worth by being fat and having extra medical dollars charged to your insurance....who do you thing makes up for your premiums? The people who take care of themselves and require little extra care and expenses. I have to pay more for insurance because fat asses like you have no self control and disipline (and for fat suckers)
Great, I am glad you pompous skinny people do something for me. You have been paying for the illegals (and include me cause I pay into the premiums as well) for all these years. You pay more for your insurance cause too many American's won't pay for insurance. Mine is covered. I don't want self control. Want self control go to Russia. Oh right, they're fat too> Ha haa Ha
Those who are obese are costing the rest of us a lot of money. Insurance premiums are higher because it costs more to treat them of more diseases, many because of their weight. The rare medical reason for obesity is over shadowed by the people who are fat because they eat too much. The Biggest Loser is an example of people who eat less and do exercise AND lose weight. Yes, they do it in15 weeks, so those doing it on their own will take longer,
Frankly, I personally get ticked when I am seated on a bus or train and get squished between two obese people. I pay the same price. Maybe making them pay more will mean they have less to spend on the fattening food. Or maybe not.
Paying more for cigarettes haven't worked. Go to the South and see where you can breath fresh air. Your cost is not from fat people. It's a dying older America. People are living longer, fat or skinny. 90 year people are getting pacemakers and surgery that should be for the young. Our increase of disabled children is huge. and they will never be well. ever see the contraptions surgeons make for traffic accidents? Halos for one comes out of a horror movie. So wake up Don't want to share the cost. Eat more. You don't have room on a bus or plane? Healthy athletes don't have the room in those chairs. The industry is squeezing the masses for maximum profit. This argument is bigger that just being fat.
I wondered if anybody happened to know if it is possibly able to accomplish some of these type of procedures surgeries in the "semi-fowler's" position thus perhaps the abdomen would tend to drop somewhat from the force of gravity to mitigate the breathing obstruction at least to some extent?
Would be technically challenging to do so in many surgeries. Each surgery has its own positioning already in place. Wouldn't you want your surgeon to be comfortable performing your surgery so as to have a better outcome? It is difficult to perform surgeries on obese patients, sorry but its true. And yes, you do have to move the fat out of the way, there are a whole host of issues when operating on an obese patient.
Anthony just because you went fat and bald before 30 doesn't mean the rest of us do. Some people actually don't start eating right and taking good care of themselves UNTIL they're almost 30.
Nobody likes a lard@ss. I hate when I see one of you Tubbies riding around in the grocery store skooter that should be being used by the 86 year old cancer survivor. Instead however, is one you fatties rolling around the aisles buying frozen pizzas and snackie bars.
Nobdoy wants to sit next to a fattie on the airplane. How unfair is that? I pay the same price for a seat so your lard can spill over onto my arm? Thanks pal.
Take care of your body. If you want to eat until you explode, don't complain about your knees hurting or expect special treatment.
PS we only like Santa because we bribe him with cookies for presents...
Jeremy, bull crap, huh? You're on your way to type II Diabetes dude.
Well, I read most of your comments. 1st, most of you have no medical background, nor have you taken the time to study the human anatomy. 2nd, skinny people have many of the same issues that obese people do. Diabetes, Blood Pressure, High Cholorestral, Heart Attack, Strokes, etc. As I walk around I watch all kinds of people with trouble walking, kind of makes me wonder if something is not eminating from the ground.
What about the people that have just parts of their body not correctly proportioned.
I am not saying that people are obese because they do not overeat. What I am saying is that there are many reasons for people being overweight. Shutdown the deep fryers, all the grills that use fat based oils for cooking, close the soda factories, eliminate the junk food aisles in the stories, etc. Change eating habits, make organic food more available by reducing the elevated prices, etc.
Raising taxes on cigarettes have not stopped people from smoking so now they are advertising people that have advance stages of cigarette related diseases. Still has not stopped them from smoking. And smoking marijuana only gives a lot of people the munchies, and a false high. Or else they are sticking all kinds of crap into the junk to make the look cool.
Drinking also causes multiple medical issues and has a lot of wasteful calories. Funny how most the the heavy drinkers I see are skinny. Something never looked right to me.
Anyways, for those of you who have never fought the war on weight, you are lucky. Why, check it out. Ever hear about yoyo dieting and up and down weight. Each time you gain weight, on the average, you never lose it all.
So, in closing, get a life, get educated, and stop beating up people because you are ignorant. Stereotyping people, I believe, is a social no no right now. But you never know, the next wave might have hit the beach, and who knows what is right.
Gee, I did not read every comment....but WOW-surprised by all the hateful comments! Sorry that we are not all the svelte young beauties that posted earlier comments. I agree there is a difference between heavy and obese, but really, leave these folks alone, what have they done to you personally?!
I can think of another use for that suction machine!!