Obesity is an excess of total body fat, which results from caloric intake that exceeds energy usage. A measurement used to assess health risks of obesity is Body Mass Index (BMI).

Click here to find out more about Body Mass Index BMI. A BMI of 30 or above is considered obese and 40 or above, morbidly obese.

Morbid obesity surgery is not cosmetic surgery. All doctors recognise that once a patient’s weight exceeds a certain range they are more likely to suffer from a wide range of illnesses such as diabetes, sleep apnoea, asthma, hypertension, arthritis, varicose veins and skin problems. Their chances of dying at a premature age are also greatly increased. Their employment prospects, mobility and social acceptance also suffer. Depression is much more common in the morbidly obese. The main aim of this surgery is to bring your weight down to a safer range where most of these associated conditions are reduced in severity and many completely reversed. Along the way most people find an improvement in their mobility, body image, self-esteem and enjoyment of life.

At SIOS, we offer the following bariatric surgery procedures:

LAP BAND SURGERY

The band is placed at the upper part of the stomach . It allows people to feel satisfied after eating only a small amount of food. As the size of the inlet to the stomach can be adjusted, food is slowed down on its journey, allowing you to eat small quantities of food over the same time that others will eat a large meal. The band can be adjusted over the months and years by injecting fluid, to keep you losing weight for around one or two years. It also makes it a good option if you’re a woman hoping to have a baby in the future. In Australia, about one in five initial operations for obesity are a lap band.

SLEEVE (TUBE) GASTRECTOMY

Gastric sleeve surgery involves removing the outer part of the stomach, thus significantly reducing the capacity to store food and generate hunger signals. People who undergo this operation lose hunger quickly during a meal and find it hard to overeat. Their stomach is turned into a narrow tube with a volume at least 75 per cent smaller than before. Their maximum meal size is reduced to less than one cup of food, but the restriction in volume of food that can be eaten usually occurs without significant restriction of the types of food that can be eaten. Vomiting is less common than with the band, but reflux is more common. Although the side effects of this gastroplasty are far less than ‘stomach stapling’, the procedure is permanent, so any side effects might also be permanent.

GASTRIC BYPASS

Several forms of this procedure have been performed over the last three decades. It is based on an operation which has been used to treat stomach ulcers and cancers for more than a century, and the name is derived from the name of the French surgeon who first described the use of a small segment of small bowel to divert bile and acid away from the stomach and oesophagus. The current operation involves a restrictive element (considerably reducing the size of part of the stomach) and a hormonal component (early passage of food into the intestine). These two factors give the strongest possible appetite suppression. This makes weight loss relatively straightforward in the great majority of people. This operation has a very good combination of effectiveness (how much weight is lost) and durability (how long weight loss lasts). It avoids some of the dietary limitations of restrictive operations and the nutritional deficiencies of intestinal bypass operations. It accounts for 60 per cent of obesity surgery worldwide.

REVISION SURGERY

Revision surgery treats complications from prior weight loss surgery or weight regain.

If a patient needs revision surgery we can then create a solution that is specific to the particular problem that a patient has. Revision surgery can be planned to:

• Fix a complication with an operation
• Repair or fix an operation that is no longer working
• Change an operation to another procedure (band/sleeve/bypass)

In some circumstances it is preferable to reverse the original operation and decide on further treatments later on.

As the options above are so wide and varied, it is very important to take the time to find the right solution for each person as an individual.