I have published a number of blog notes about bariatric surgery (one example: "Curing" Diabetes with Bariatric Surgery). I have also commented at length in the past about the value of the web for healthcare consumer education, frequently in notes related to Health 2.0 (example: Introduction to Health 2.0). I encountered a web site recently called BariatricEdge that is designed for consumers who are considering bariatric surgery. The sponsor of this site is Ethicon Endo-Surgery. Here is a brief summary about the company taken from the home page of its web site:
Ethicon Endo-Surgery...develops and markets advanced medical devices for minimally invasive and open surgical procedures. The company focuses on procedure-enabling devices for the interventional diagnosis and treatment of conditions in general and bariatric surgery, as well as gastrointestinal health, gynecology and surgical oncology.
I found the BariatricEdge web site to be interesting on a number of different counts. First of all, the home page is captioned Real Patient's Stories and features video testimonials by patients who have undergone bariatric surgery. Needless to say, all of them are enthusiastic about the surgical procedure. The search options on the web site are also interesting. There is an As Told By search field with only two choices, Patients and Professionals, and a Topics search field with 11 choices including Diet, Fear of Surgery, Complications, Moment of Truth, and Paying for Surgery. Along the left-hand margin of the home page are a list of general category that you can click-through, including About Morbid Obesity, Qualifying for Bariatric Surgery, Health Benefits, and Risk of Surgery.
In general, I was impressed by this web site and the quality of the information available on it, considering the fact that the sponsor of the site is most interested in selling endoscopic instruments. One aspect of the web site that interested me was that the search options for the web site were predetermined. I suspect that such a feature would be welcomed by a consumer trying to understand bariatric surgery and unsure about where to start. Obviously, the web site also paints a relatively rosy picture of bariatric surgery. However, the more sophisticated consumer browsing the web can get a more complete picture by merely searching the web for complication + bariatric surgery (example: Bariatric Surgery Risks).
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