Weight Loss Surgery

What is Obesity?

Obesity is an abnormal, unhealthy condition of having excessive body fat or weight than is necessary for a particular height. It is a major cause of death as well as several serious health conditions including chronic heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Complications of Obesity

Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death and impaired quality of life. It is an important underlying cause for a number of serious and chronic disease conditions such as

  • Heart problems
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Cancer

You may also have problems related to

  • Breathing (e.g., sleep apnoea)
  • Joints (e.g., arthritis)
  • Gastrointestinal tract (gallstones)
  • Psychology (e.g., depression)
  • Fertility and pregnancy

Treatment of Obesity

The goal of treating obesity is to facilitate weight loss and help you achieve a healthy weight. Treatment is centred on balancing the intake of energy (in the form of food) and the expenditure of this energy (in the form of activity). Obesity treatment options include lifestyle modifications, weight loss medications and weight loss surgery.

Lifestyle modifications that help to reduce body weight include dietary changes, physical activity, and behavioural changes.

Dietary changes include eating healthy food rich in nutrients while avoiding high-calorie, highly processed junk foods.

Being physically active helps you lose weight and maintain your weight.

Behavioural changes include adopting healthier habits to reduce your eating triggers (such as watching TV, listening to music or chatting with friends while eating), avoiding stress and participating in a weight loss program. Weight-loss medications or appetite suppressant medications may be prescribed when lifestyle modifications do not help promote weight loss. Medication can also be prescribed to manage underlying conditions causing obesity.

Weight Loss Surgery

Weight-loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, is considered only in patients with extreme obesity. Weight loss surgery treats obesity either by limiting the amount of food stored in the stomach, limiting absorption of food, or both. The available surgical options for weight-loss include:

  • Gastric bypass surgery, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, involves creating a small pouch on top your stomach and bypassing the flow of food directly to the small intestine, thereby avoiding absorption from the remaining part of the stomach.
  • Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) or lap band surgery involves separating your stomach into a small upper pouch and a larger lower pouch using an adjustable band. The food intake is restricted or limited by adjusting the band. This procedure is minimally invasive and offers slow and steady weight-loss.
  • Sleeve gastrectomy, also called tube gastrectomy, involves reducing the size of the stomach by stapling or by removing a large part of the stomach to reduce the absorption of food. After this procedure your stomach appears like a tube rather than a pouch.
  • Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) with duodenal switch is a complex surgical procedure which involves removing a large portion of the stomach and bypassing the food flow away from the upper portion of the small intestine. This procedure offers significant weight loss, but can be associated with several complications.