Surgery
Losing weight thanks to surgical intervention is a radical last resort.
Dr Juan Klopper is head of acute care and general surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital and is helping Mediclinic Milnerton set up a bariatric unit.
He has the following advice…
Who qualifies for weight loss surgery?
The team at the bariatric unit will assess each patient for surgery on a per case basis, but the greater the need, the more likely you’ll be considered:
- It’s usually men and women between the ages of 17 and 64 who are reasonably healthy in order to withstand this major surgery.
- Although Body Mass Index (BMI) is a poor indicator of obesity, we’ll do the procedure on people with a BMI of 35 and over, especially if they have a large proportion of visceral fat on the belly, thighs and buttocks, as this is more dangerous if left long-term.
- Many patients also have severe metabolic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis, which may actually improve after weight loss.
- The candidate has to be quite sure in their minds that the operation is a last resort and also not universally successful as it’s quite radical.
- They can expect a two-year process, minimum, and surgery is the smallest step in the weight loss process – preparation and recovery is a continued effort for life.
Who doesn’t qualify?
- Anyone younger than 16 and older than 65.
- Pregnant and/or lactating women.
- People with mental instability such as severe depression and other psychological disorders, or those on psychiatric drugs.
- Patients with unrealistic weight-loss targets and those who have will-power/motivation issues aren’t likely to be cleared for surgery.
- Smokers will have to quit as it’s a major driver for post-operative complications like pneumonia and they’ll most likely need to be put on a ventilator.
- Surgery also won’t be performed on people for whom it’s deemed too risky, due to a chronic underlying condition – for example, a patient with coronary artery disease will first have to endure a heart bypass before bariatric surgery is even considered.
If you qualify for bariatric surgery you may want to find out more about what the procedure entails and how it impacts on quality of life. To find out more about bariatric surgery watch the video below which shares a real patient’s story and her experience with bariatric surgery…