Is surgery suitable for anyone with a weight problem?
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of weight and obesity in adults and children. Spire Regency Hospital adheres strictly to these guidelines
NICE recommends that those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or above, may be suitable for weight loss surgery, when all other methods such as diet and exercise have failed to reduce weight.
In addition, for people with a BMI of 35 or more and who have other health-related problems (co-morbidities) that could be improved by losing weight, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, may also be suitable for weight loss surgery.
How do I know which weight loss operation is best for me?
There are several surgical options available and your surgeon will discuss them with you. Depending on your BMI, diet and lifestyle, and whether you have co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, your surgeon will advise which procedure would be most suitable and go through all the risks and benefits with you.
Some weight loss procedures such as the gastric band, reduce the size of the stomach so that only small quantities of food can be eaten at a time. The gastric bypass however, literally “bypasses” part of the small intestine, so that the body's absorption of calories is also reduced.
Whatever happens, the decison as to which procedure you have will be a joint decision between you and your surgeon.
How do I go about arranging a consultation?
You can call our friendly in-house customer care advisors on 01625 505 412 and they will be able to talk to you about our surgeons, the costs and care involved.
If you are ready, they can either make an appointment for you to see your chosen surgeon or if you feel you are not quite at the stage to see a surgeon they can arrange for you to come in and meet with one of the bariatric team for a free mini-consultation.
What will happen at my consultation?
Before your surgeon discusses the various surgical options available, he will need to assess you both physically and psychologically. He will want to make sure you are fit enough for surgery and that you will also be able to cope with a completely new way of eating and changes in your lifestyle.
Your surgeon will be totally honest with you and explain all the risks and benefits of weight loss surgery. He will tell you about the preparations you need to make before surgery and about your follow-up care after surgery.
You will also meet with a member of the bariatric team while you are here and they will assess your BMI and go through the various surgical options and statistics and explain about the pre-op and post-op diets.
You can ask the bariatric nurse, dietician or your surgeon any questions you have about your surgery or aftercare.
What questions should I ask the surgeon when I have my first consultation?
Anything you like but you may want to consider asking the following questions:
- How quickly will I lose weight?
- How much weight am I likely to lose?
- Will I put weight back on in the future?
- What sort of food will I be able to eat?
- What support will there be after my surgery?
- What are the risks of this type of surgery?
- How many procedures has the surgeon carried out before?