Dubai, 02 June 2004.Most of us have heard of diet regimens and weight loss pills as means of weight control but for people who have severe obesity these methods are usually inadequate to help them achieve their ideal weight.
Obesity is a problem which affects 30 to 40 per cent of the UAE population. According to recent media reports, obesity has spiralled into a worldwide epidemic affecting 250 million adults, while overweight adolescents are on course to fuel an even bigger global health problem.
Obesity is defined as being 100 lbs. (45.5kg) or 100% above ideal body weight, or a Body Mass Index (BMI) of above 40. BMI is calculated by using a mathematical formula that takes into account both a person's height and weight. BMI equals a person's weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. (BMI=kg/m2).
�The causes of obesity are not completely understood but what is known is that non-surgical methods of weight loss for the severely obese are not effective in the long term� said Dr Eric Teh, General & Upper GI Surgeon / Renal Transplant Surgeon, Raffles Hospital, Singapore. �Data from the 1992 National Institutes of Health Conference showed that nearly all non-surgical weight loss candidates regained their lost weight within five years�
Dr Teh was among a delegation of distinguished medical specialists and healthcare representatives from SingaporeMedicine who were in the region recently to present a series of medical updates based on the Singapore experience to the local community in the UAE and Bahrain. He conducted presentations on the latest methods for Surgery in the Management of Morbid Obesity addressing the medical community.
�A number of weight loss operations have been devised over the last 40 years and surgical techniques have evolved during this time� commented Teh �All operations are based on 2 principle ways to induce weight loss; firstly by decreasing the capacity of the stomach or secondly by bypassing the proximal part of the small intestine to decrease absorption of nutrients.
�The two most common operations recognized by most surgeons today include the vertical banded gastroplasty and the Roux-en-y gastric bypass. However both these operations are complex, not easily reversible, alter the normal anatomy of the stomach and intestine and require making cuts in the stomach or staples being placed in the stomach.�
The latest technique is the LapBand and this uses a laparoscopic method to place a band around the stomach to create a small stomach. The advantages are that it is less invasive, requires shorter hospital stay, less pain and discomfort after operation, respect the normal functional and anatomical integrity of the stomach, it can be individualized to the patients need and it is easily reversible.
In summary, laparoscopic surgical treatment for morbid obesity is a novel and an exciting new approach to the surgical management of morbid obesity especially with the introduction of the LapBand. The LapBand is minimally invasive and has the advantages of a shorter hospital stay, faster recovery and less pain for patients.