Benefits Associated With Bariatric Surgery

Many people who have lived with morbid obesity for years find that the disease has a severe negative impact on their quality of life. For example, you may choose not to participate in certain activities and you may feel that you have limited career choices. In some cases patients have found that morbid obesity is the last acceptable form of discrimination!

What may not be known is that morbid obesity has been found to affect the quality of your health and the length of your life. It has been linked to several serious and life-threatening diseases. These co-morbid conditions include Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, gastro-oesophageal reflux (GORD) and cancer. Most of these conditions may not develop for years; so many people living with morbid obesity may have one or more of these health issues without even realizing it..

Success following gastric banding is measured in terms of:

Weight loss as a percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) e.g. a female who is 120kgs before surgery (whose ideal weight is 60kgs), has 60kgs of excess weight. If she loses 40kgs, then she has lost 66% of her excess weight.
Improvement and restoration of health to individuals suffering from obesity.

Studies have shown that following gastric banding, patients can expect:

An average of 50 – 60% excess weight loss gradually over 2 to 3 years.
Maintaining weight loss over the medium term, but no studies exist that span over 10 years.
Improvement in health, especially in relation to obesity-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, lipid disorders, asthma, sleep apnoea and arthritis.
Mortality risk reduced
Mobility and endurance levels improved
Self esteem and self confidence improved
Significant improvement in quality of life

It is important to realize that these are general expectations based on published studies. No guarantee can be given for any individual patient.

The ultimate goal of weight loss surgery should be an improvement in health achieved by a sustainable weight loss that reduces life-threatening risk factors, and improves the patient’s day to day quality of life.