Obesity is a fast-growing disease in world population including India. Multiple reasons have been linked to increasing incidence of obesity which include lack of exercise and faulty dietary habits. It’s very difficult to lose weight by diet and exercise to those who are overweight and class 1 obese (overweight: BMI =25-30; Obese class 1: BMI=30-35) but still they can get good result if they follow a disciplined life. Those people who are excessively obese i.e. obesity class 2 or more (BMI >35) fail to lose weight in most cases by diet and exercise. These people require Bariatric Surgery which help them achieve normal weight within 1 year of surgery. So, in this article we’ll understand what all we can expect after bariatric surgery as many people who are thinking to undergo this surgery also have several doubts. Hello, I am Dr Ram Raksha Pal Rajput, a Bariatric Surgeon at Gujarat Hospital, Adajan, Surat. So, let’s begin:
1) Weight loss: Bariatric surgery is primarily done for weight loss so obviously you’ll get weight loss. How much weight loss you’ll get again depends on several factors like your weight, BMI, age, physical activity, diet, age and type of procedure. Grossly person loses 60-100 % of extra weight. e.g. if a person is currently weighing 140 Kg and his ideal weight is 80 Kg (BMI 25), then after Bariatric surgery his weight will be 80-104 Kg depending on several factors. It has been seen that if person adheres to healthy life style after surgery they usually achieve 25 BMI (ideal weight) if they have undergone right type of Bariatric procedure.
2) Resolution of co-morbidities: Bariatric surgery not only help people attain normal weight but it also helps in resolution of obesity related diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Sleep Apnoea, knee osteo-arthritis, back pain, fatty liver, GERD, psychological problems, infertility due to obesity etc. Usually there is major relief from most of the co-morbidities soon after Bariatric surgery. Post-surgery life is largely disease free and most of the medications for obesity related diseases are stopped.
3) Healthy active life after Bariatric surgery: As these morbid obese people were suffering for long time, shedding off extra fat from body brings lot of positive changes in body. They perceive health in true sense. Performance at work place, home, socially everywhere improves. Confidence and will power improves as body attain harmony with its organ systems. People are motivated to acquire a healthy life style.
4) Discipline in life: life is more disciplined as people go through the guided path towards a healthy life, motivated to do regular exercise and their understanding of their body improves. They understand that what they have achieved by Bariatric surgery is precious and can’t be lost easily. They even motivate others (similar people) to undergo same treatment.
5) Weight regain: Bariatric surgery doesn’t make a person immune from becoming Obese again. Surgery is not a one-time solution for this chronic disease and these people require lot of education and support after surgery. Weight regain is one of the important concerns which should be discussed before undergoing this treatment. Incidence of weight regain after bariatric surgery may be up to 15-20%. It’s more commonly seen after sleeve gastrectomy than gastric bypass operations. The causes for weight regain are unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, wrong selection of operative procedure, inadequate weight loss/early plateau etc. one has to understand it well as obesity is due to genetic predisposition in most cases and Bariatric surgery provide some support to neutralize the effect of strong obesogenic genes. One should not take advice of one’s Bariatric surgeon and nutritionist.
6) Other side effects: Nutritional deficiencies, loose skin, Hair loss etc. are few other side effects which should be discussed before agreeing to this treatment. Good follow up with your Bariatric surgeon, dietician might help u avoid most of these problems. People are afraid of grave complications like leak and life-threatening thromboembolic events like pulmonary embolism after surgery so let us know about them also. Surgery related risks are minimal but still there but we don’t stop travelling as there is risk of accidents all time. But what we do, we take utmost care to avoid accidents, we select good vehicle, acquire good skills of driving, avoid risky/rash driving etc. and despite everything accidents do happen. Similar is the case with surgery. It’s very very safe but rarely things may go wrong and patients land up in complications.
There are lot more things to discuss which we’ll do when a real patient with severe obesity ll come to us for counselling and surgery. Thank u very much for your patient reading. I’m available at [email protected] and www.suratbariatrics.com or WhatsApp us on 6352276360.
Thank you