July 2010
Former weight loss surgery patients from across the South joined surgeons and staff at Spire Southampton Hospital to help them celebrate the fact that they have just performed their 1000th weight loss surgery procedure.
The total weight lost by the hospital’s patients over the last eight years amounts to 51 tonnes, which is equivalent to 10 elephants or 65 average sized men!
Carol Wight from Hedge End near Southampton was the 1000th patient to have her surgery at the hospital and had a gastric bypass. She says “I feel that having weight-loss surgery has been a real turning point in my life and one of the best decisions I have ever made. I only had the operation a few weeks ago and already people are commenting on how much healthier I look, which is really encouraging. I feel so much better too. Just seven weeks after the surgery I have already lost three and a half stone.”
Bariatric surgeon Michael Van den Bossche says: “When the hospital started performing weight loss surgery in 2002, it was not widely available and we just did a few gastric band procedures. Gradually and organically over the years however, our offering has grown and we now perform around 350 operations per year covering the whole range of bariatric procedures making Spire Southampton Hospital a specialist weight loss surgery centre.”
Spire Southampton Hospital’s Head of Clinical Services Jane Whitney-Smith says: “We are very proud of the weight loss services that are on offer at this hospital. We realise that weight loss surgery is just the first step to our patients losing weight healthily and ensure that they receive the best possible after care service. Our consultant dietitian, Rhoda Sutherland is there to provide our patients with support for as long as they require it, as is our counselling service. The reputation and experience we have means that people travel from across the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands to have their surgery here”.