Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals

Here are cause, type and method of Weight Loss Surgery (Bariatric Surgery)

Hi, I am doctor Aloy Mukherjee. I am a senior consultant in advanced laparoscopic surgical gastroenterology and Pediatrics surgery. I'm associated with Indraprastha Apollo Hospital for the last 15 years as a senior consultant. We at Apollo hospital have a dedicated team of doctors who address our patients. Our team encompasses three consultants, a nutritionist, resident doctors, physicians and medical gastroenterologist. Today I'm going to speak to about weight loss surgery, our Pediatric surgery.

As we know that basically is a common problem which is plagued the world over the last several decades. In India, this is a common problem going to the entry of several food chains from the West, but there by increasing our junk food intake. What is Pediatric surgery? Pediatric surgery aims to tackle the problem of obesity, by medical or surgical means, mostly surgical. There are 3 or 4 different types of procedures which are commonly performed in this. The commonest of which is a Laparoscopic gastric band. The other procedures include a gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy or VSG and sleeve gastrectomy and in many bypass. Who are the candidates would be enrolled into our program? Patients who are obese or morbidly obese, with comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, disc problems, mostly arthritis in the knees, gastro phological reflux, secondary to obesity or any other life style disorders, secondary to obesity are enrolled in our program.

How do we calculate the body mass index? It’s a very simple calculation which is available in the most then all over the internet. It is the weight in the kilogram divided by the height and meters square a BMI of a 25 is considered normal. 25-30 is overweight. 30 to 35 is Class-I obesity or mild obesity. 35-40 is severe obesity and more than 40 is morbid obesity. Our patients are mostly in the category of 32 and above. It is not a cosmetic surgery. There by we are not attempting to make the patients lose weight for cosmetic reasons. They come here to be physically fit and mentally fit. They gain about 8-10 years of life after this surgery, which is a very important parameter. All the ancillary problems, the metabolic problems like diabetes, hypertension, requirement for antihypertensive drugs, requirements for oral hypoglycemic insulins are reversed almost completely after the surgery. Now that’s the significant gain.

Now to talk in detail about three or four forms of surgery. The commonest like I said is a gastric band in which a band is placed on the stomach. It is about very easy, very easy to perform and the filling port is usually done, is usually filled without patient’s department but it does not give us expected weight loss as we would have achieved in the other forms. Thereby it is not performed routinely across the world. The three other main procedures which are performed including, includes the laparoscopic gastric bypass which attains, which helps us attains a significant weight loss. Thereby we make a small out about the size of half a cup in that part of abdomen and bring up in the intestine to join it with this cup. We are bypassing a large segment of the stomach and the smaller. That is what's called a gastric bypass.

The weight loss primary due to a small gastric pouch and secondary to the man's option of this. The third procedure is a vertical sleeve gastrectomy in which the stomach is divided and meet into the 50 ml small pouch the rest of the stomach is taken out of the communicating body. This decreases the hormone ghrelin, which is required for the appetite and also makes it in our pouch. So these two procedures help us to attain significant weight loss. Other procedure is a mini gastric bypass which is also equally effective. How would a patient choose one procedure over the other? The patients talk to us come to us and decides one procedure to other after they have understood the advantages and disadvantages of a particular procedures and talk to a patient. And which is the right center of such a surgery is the right center is the center of excellence whereby which has a dedicated team of surgeons, medical gastroenterologist, physicians, clinical nutritionists and dietitians and a team of doctors and physicians who can actually explain them the procedure.

I would advise that you should meet your local surgeon, local physician for this procedure if you are interested for it. You can contact us at Indraprastha Apollo hospital if you wish to do for your condition of obesity or you can contact us at Lybrate.com in the form of texts, in the form of questions, in the form of telephone queries and we would be happy to address you. Thank you.