WEIGHT-LOSS - ARE YOU GETTING THE RIGHT ADVICE?

STRUGGLING WITH WEIGHT ISSUES CAN BE HUGELY DIFFICULT FOR MANY PEOPLE TO COPE WITH, AND WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT ADVICE OUT THERE IT CAN BE HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT OPTIONS WILL BEST MEET YOUR NEEDS. THIS IS WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL TO GET THE RIGHT, MEDICALLY SOUND ADVICE THAT FITS YOU AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

There are an enormous number of options being offered to vulnerable people struggling to control their weight. They promise all kinds of quick fixes and fad weight-loss methods, but many are driven by strong marketing campaigns and often they have little to no evidence of good long-term effect.

Specialist weight-loss surgeon, Dr Jason Free works with patients looking to get control of their weight every day. His advice to anyone seeking assistance with weight-loss, is to consult with someone experienced with all methods, and to carefully assess the real long-term benefits, which should be backed by extensive scientific evidence.

Dr Free has dedicated his entire working life to assisting people to lose weight, with various methods, not just surgery. Injectable weight-loss medications have become exponentially popular in recent years, as a result of industry marketing campaigns and celebrity testimonials. There are a multitude of injectable options available worldwide and more are being developed.

“Almost all the patients I see have tried one or another in the past or are currently on one. Many people have some success, however only the minority do well with minimal side effects,” said Dr Free.

Unfortunately, medications are not a long-term solution, as inevitable weight regain occurs on cessation, and long-term use can cause other health problems. There is now a trend of more people moving away from these as the lack of long-term benefits is being realised.

Intragastric balloons are becoming popular, particularly now there is the option for a swallowable balloon which does not require anaesthetic, endoscopy or surgery. Gastric balloons can provide a small amount of weight-loss, however generally only about 10 to 15kg, and are only suited to patients with a BMI of less than 35. There is no evidence demonstrating long-term effects in higher BMI patients unfortunately.

At the Surgery Gold Coast weight-loss clinic, the noninvasive gastric balloon is offered to certain patients, however it must be confirmed as a viable option in order to ensure the best long-term outcomes possible.

Weight-loss surgery still remains the only method of significant long term weight-loss, and there are many different surgical options available to patients.

The sleeve gastrectomy is currently the most commonly performed procedure in Australia, as it is seen as a relatively simple procedure by patients and surgeons, however people must be aware that despite its popularity the sleeve gastrectomy is only suitable for a minority of obese patients. People should not be pressured into such a procedure if not suited to them.

Just because a procedure is relatively straight-forward, doesn’t mean it’s done correctly by someone who isn’t specifically trained in its surgical intricacies. It takes years of experience, thousands of operations, learning from great outcomes and even poor results to develop the best approach to getting the ideal outcome from a surgery.

A common drawback to sleeve gastrectomy is insufficient weight-loss, or late weight regain. An experienced surgeon and support team will consider many factors before recommending a certain procedure, and can identify patients who would not be suitable for sleeve gastrectomy, or who may experience less than ideal results, fairly early on.

Traditionally, as an alternative, many surgeons will suggest a gastric bypass, or one-anastomosis (mini) gastric bypass. Gastric bypass procedures however can be associated with a lot of long-term problematic issues for patients. Problems such as ulcers can occur where the stomach and intestine are joined (this happens in about five percent of patients) leading to pain, bleeding or potentially even perforation. Internal hernias, or obstructions can occur in about four percent of patients over a 20 year period.

The most commonly associated issue is the “dumping syndrome” effect, this causes discomfort after eating, hot flushes and dizziness in many people. Additionally chronic abdominal pain on the left side occurs in about five to ten percent of patients who’ve had a gastric bypass.

The gastric bypass can be reversed, however many of the long-term problems will still remain after reversal. Surgeons who have been practising bariatric (weight-loss) surgery for years will be familiar with these issues, and because of this there has been a move away from the gastric bypass.

The SADI procedure offers greater weight-loss than a sleeve gastrectomy, and avoids the problems associated with gastric bypass. It incorporates sleeve gastrectomy with the additional benefit of bypassing some of the intestine below the stomach. At the Surgery Gold Coast weight-loss clinic, we pioneered the SADI procedure in Australia in 2015, and have several research projects and publications underway demonstrating the superiority of SADI compared to other procedures.

No matter what your weight-loss goals are, it’s important to discuss them in detail with someone experienced in all aspects of weight-loss, and who is able to offer all options and longer term solutions for better health and quality of life.