Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
For the morbidly obese, surgery may be a better option than traditional weight loss approaches and more such procedures are being done.
While reducing calories from food and taking more exercise should help overweight people to lose some pounds, for those who are morbidly obese, further interventions may be needed. Dr Martin Fried of the Laparoscopic-Obesity Treatment Hospital in Prague, the Czech Republic, says that 30 to 40 per cent of those who are morbidly obese - 100 pounds or 50 kilograms overweight - could benefit from surgery.
Demand for surgery is going up as the number of morbidly obese people increases, and patients become better informed of their options. Around 50,000 operations are being performed each year in Europe now, and even more in the US where the surgery was developed. In Europe the gastric banding technique is more common than the gastric bypass which is often done in the US. In gastric banding, a silicon band is placed over the top of the stomach to reduce its capacity.
The complication rate with gastric banding is five per cent and mortality rate is minimal. The operation is straightforward and takes about an hour. In the first 18 months, the patient should lose around 40 kilograms or 90 pounds. Surgery is successful for 70 to 80 per cent of patients.
Source
European Congress on Obesity 29th May 2004