Mike Sciacca Kevin Wyart can’t wait to...

Mike Sciacca

Kevin Wyart can’t wait to go on the ski trip he has planned with

his son for January, now that he’ll be hitting the slopes 75 pounds

lighter than he’s been in 10 years.

The 42-year-old Lake Forest resident said that at 269 pounds, he

couldn’t do many activities he once enjoyed, including skiing.

But the mortgage and real estate company owner says he got a new

lease on life last April when he had advanced bariatric surgery using

the new weight loss device called the Lap-Band.

The surgical procedure was performed by Dr. Brian Quebbemann, the

medical director for The Nutrition, Exercise and Weight Loss Program

at Huntington Beach Hospital.

Wyart said that his weight had led to health problems such as Type

2 diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

The Lap-Band is a minimally invasive, adjustable gastric band,

surgically placed around the stomach to limit its capacity and

produce an early feeling of fullness.

The band can be adjusted without further surgery, to increase or

decrease the restriction of food intake.

It was approved in 2001 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

after extensive use in Europe and Australia.

Wyart said he has dropped 75 pounds since the surgery.

“I’ve been doing things that I haven’t done in such a long time,”

he said. “It really is a life-changing experience for me.”

Quebbemann is one of a few dozen surgeons in the country who had

been involved in clinical trails for the Lap-Band system.

He’s one of a few surgeons in Southern California -- and the only

surgeon in Orange County -- trained in the placement and use of this

new technology.

“We are the main center in Orange County for this type of

surgery,” said Quebbemann, who has been with the hospital since last

March. “It certainly is a procedure that is pertinent to a lot of

people today.”

The surgery, Quebbemann said, is designed for persons who are 100

pounds or more overweight, or those 75 pounds overweight whose

obesity has contributed to serious medical conditions.

Patients, he said, have been as young as 14 and as old as 73, with

women outnumbering men by a 3-1 ratio in surgeries performed.

Quebbemann said he has done more than 200 of these surgeries since

the spring of 2001.

People from all walks of life have had the surgery, and he has

seen several celebrity clients, he said.

He performed the Lap-Band procedure on Ann Wilson of the rock

group Heart in January. Wilson reportedly lost 50 pounds in the first

five months after the surgery, he said.

“We are pleased that we have helped so many people and we will

continue to help other patients who want to improve their health and

quality of life with the use of this exciting technology,” he said.

“People who have tried dieting for years and years and years, but who

can’t keep the weight off, are seeking a way to keep it off.”

Quebbemann also performs other weight loss procedures, such as the

gastric bypass. But minimally invasive surgery, such as the Lap-Band

procedure, has the advantage of “avoiding any cutting or stapling of

the intestines or stomach,” he said.

Recovery time for surgery, on average, is 24 hours or less, he

said.

“We guide our patients on which of these surgeries, gastric bypass

or the Lap-Band, will be best for them,” he said.

The program at Huntington Beach Hospital offers seriously

overweight patients a comprehensive program that not only includes

the latest in minimally invasive obesity surgery, but patient

education and support, as well.

“The media always focuses on the surgery itself, but I always say

there’s more to it than just that, and one important aspect is

behavior modification,” he said. “That’s where Dr. David Engstrom

comes in.”

Engstrom, a clinical health psychologist, is the program’s clinic

director. He offers patients support through an educational and

management program.

“The program is two-fold,” he said. “First, we do psychological

screening on patients prior to surgery. That allows us to analyze

what clinical or behavioral issues may arise with a patient following

surgery.

“This is a big, life-changing event, and we want to guide them

along the way,” he said.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.