• Who should undergo this surgery?

For Indian population it is recommend that the following group of
patients should undergo bariatric surgery –

- Patients with BMI ≥ 37.5

- Patiens with BMI ≥ 32.5 along with any of co-morbidities
(diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing problems due to obesity, cholesterol
problems, joint pains etc.)

- Even patients who are diabetic but not able to control blood
sugar with medicines and have BMI ≥ 27.5 can undergo Metabolic surgery
(Diabetes Surgery) if their tests are favourable.

- Patients must try other weight loss attempts before
undergoing surgery.

- Patients must fully understand the nature of surgery.

       

  • What is BMI?

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a measure of obesity and is
calculated by –

BMI = Weight / (Height)2  

(Weight is in kilograms and height in meters)

    

  • Are these procedures safe?

In an advanced centre with an expert team these procedures are
almost as safe as undergoing a laparoscopic gall bladder removal surgery. Most
of the patients can go home in 2-3 days.

      

  • Is liposuction a choice?

Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery designed to remove a few
kilograms of weight from a part of body and is not meant for general weight
loss. If used solely for purpose of generalizes weight loss, the lost weight
can come back easily. It has no effect on associated problems of obesity
(Diabetes, BP etc.) as no fat is lost from deeper organs inside the abdomen
which is more dangerous fat.

 

  • What are kinds of fat deposits inside my body?

There are two major fat deposits: Visceral and Subcutaneous.

Visceral fat is stored mainly inside the abdomen around and
inside many organs like liver, intestines etc. This far plays major role in
Diabetes as it releases toxins leading to insulin resistance. People with
fatter belly than thighs/hips have more visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is stored just underneath the skin.

       

  • How about other ways of losing weight?

You must try other measures but research has proven that once you
have entered the surgical limit of BMI, the success rate of other ways of
weight loss becomes very feeble. Dieting, exercise etc. mostly fail. Even the
drugs meant for weight loss don’t lead to satisfactory weight loss and have
their own set of side-effects. After stopping any of these modalities of
limited weight loss, weight regain is almost universal.

 

  • What are other beneficial effects of these surgeries in diabetic patients?

Apart from treating diabetes, these surgeries help in decreasing
as well as preventing diabetic complications on kidneys, heart, eyes etc. Blood
sugar levels remain much better controlled and fluctuations in them are much
less after surgery. Patient is also saved from side-effects of insulin and
other drugs for diabetes.

  • What happens to my diet after surgery?

After surgery you usually go home within 2-3 days. You can walk on
the evening of surgery. Clear liquids are started on the evening of surgery and
quantity increased slowly. You go home on a written liquid diet to allow
surgical area to heal fully. We see you after a week in our clinic and increase
your diet. We give puried diet for few days and later you are back to normal
diet 2-4 weeks from surgery). You will have three main meals and two snacks.
Will will like you to have more proteins (Egg white, chicken, pulses, soyabean
etc.) and less of oil / sweets to help you in shedding weight.

 

  • Can I exercise / do heavy work after surgery?

Sure, you will love to do that all the way more after surgery as
you start to shed weight! There will be no restriction on any kind of work
after you have recovered from surgery (about a week).

        

  • How much leave do I need for this procedure?

We usually admit you a day before surgery or on day of surgery and
you can go home in next 2-3 days. We would like you to abstain from heavy work
 for a week. So about 10 days of leave should be enough. But you can
engage in light work immediately after discharge.

        

  • How frequently I need to visit hospital again after surgery?

We would like to see you once after a week from discharge and
thereafter once every 1-3 months to make sure your weight loss progress is as
expected and to guide in that process. NRI patients can contact us by email,
whatsapp or phone call.

      

  • I heard my skin may show wrinkles after weight loss! True?

Fat under the skin dissolves at a faster pace as compared to
shrinkage of skin. Mild wrinkling may appear for some time but later skin also
shrinks and wrinkles go way. In younger and active people who are not
 too obese wrinkling is usually not seen. We
encourage exercises to avoid  / decrease this problem.

   

  • I also heard it may lead to hair fall?

Any kind of weight loss can lead to hair fall and Bariatric
Surgery is no exception. But this is a temporary
phenomenon which reverses as weight starts to
stabilize. Eating balanced diet and vitamin supplements help in this
condition. 

  • Ok, I'm impressed, so what’s next?


Good. It takes lot of courage to take this step. Congrats!

Just
visit a dedicated Bariatric / Metabolic Surgery Centre and start your
evaluation today….


You can watch our following videos for better understanding of the subject......



Dr. Jasmeet Singh Ahluwalia

                        (MS, FNB-MAS, FMBS)

Super-specialist Bariatric & Metabolic Surgeon

MS - Surgery

FNB-MAS = Fellowship of National Board in Minimal Access Surgery
from GEM Hospital, Coimbatore under Dr. C. Palanivelu.

FBMS = International
Fellowship in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

Website: drjasmeetahluwalia.com

Phone - +91-9888958889, +91-8196981385