Johnson & Johnson - Index

Johnson & Johnson - report - Index

In high school, CJ Triplett, 41,
of Ripon, Calif., was known as
the “fat girl” with the “pretty
face and good personality.”
She says her weight kept her
from fully enjoying life. At her
eighth grade graduation,
she was self-conscious at 180 pounds.
At 27, she nearly starved herself to reach
220 pounds to fit into her wedding dress.
And after becoming the mother of twin boys, she was too heavy
to keep up at the playground. “I was on the sidelines watching
my husband playing monster with our twin sons—I wasn’t
part of what was going on in my
10
O U R C A R I N G T R A N S F O R M S :
The Lighter Side of Life
family,” says CJ, recalling her life
before gastric bypass surgery.
A NEW BIRTHDAY CJ’s weight
wasn’t her only motivation.
“My mother was always dealing
with health issues—high blood
pressure, diabetes,” she explains.
“When I visited her in the
hospital after her fourth angioplasty,
I couldn’t imagine my
children seeing me that way.”
CJ started researching
gastric bypass surgery in 1996,
going back and forth with her insurance company before she
was granted coverage for the procedure. In January 2003, at
36 years old and 280 pounds, she underwent the surgery, a
procedure that alters the digestive system by creating a smaller
digestive pouch. She calls it her birthday, because it’s the day
she took control of morbid obesity. (Morbid obesity is typically
defined as a body mass index of 40 or higher, or 35 or higher
with other health issues.)
Today CJ weighs a much healthier 175 pounds and enjoys
“We’re committed to
providing bariatric solutions that
can help people worldwide
realize their health goals and live
longer, healthier lives.
With the right treatment, people
with obesity can lose weight and
participate more fully in life.”
life to the fullest. She eats right, has a varied workout, plays
golf and keeps up with her teenage sons. For a time she even
coached them in football, something she never dreamed she’d
be able to do. She also realized a longtime dream.
“After losing weight, I became a real estate agent,” says
CJ, now a top seller in California. “It’s something I wanted to
do since I was a little girl. What held me back was the image
I had of what a real estate agent looked like. I realized that
I always had the ability but not the confidence to do what I’m
doing.” Now, five years after the surgery, she says that this has
been the biggest change in her life.
PIONEERING SOLUTIONS Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a global
leader in minimally invasive and traditional surgical devices,
has pioneered devices that enable minimally invasive gastric
bypass surgery, the procedure that CJ had. The company’s
ECHELON ™ ENDOPATH ® Endoscopic Staplers, ENDOPATH ®
XCEL ™ Trocars and HARMONIC ® energy devices are used by
surgeons every day to perform
these life-extending procedures.
The company recently
expanded its portfolio of obesity
surgical options for physicians
and patients. In September
2007, the company received U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
approval to market the REALIZE ™
Adjustable Gastric Band, a
surgical implant for weight
reduction and improvement of
obesity-related health conditions
for morbidly obese patients.
A surgeon wraps the
REALIZE ™ Band around the stomach, creating a small upper
stomach with a narrow opening to the lower stomach. After the
procedure, the upper stomach can hold only about four ounces
of food. This limits the amount that can be taken in, makes the
person feel full faster and longer, and slows digestion. Outside
the U.S., the REALIZE ™ Band is marketed under the name
Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB). Commercially
available since 1996, SAGB has helped more than 100,000
patients worldwide to manage their weight.
J O H N S O N & J O H N S O N 2 0 0 7 A N N U A L R E P O R T