JOIN USA J Hospital and Research Centre, Mangaluru, has conducted a successful obesity surgery (bariatric/metabolic surgery), according to a press release.
The procedure, called a sleeve gastrectomy (reducing the extra size of the stomach to just what is required for the person), was done through the keyhole method by a team of surgical gastroenterologists - Dr Rohan Shetty, Dr Ashwin Alva and Anaesthetist Dr T V Tantry - on a 22-year-old male suffering from obesity with a body mass index of 34 (normal range is 18-25 kg/m2). He had a fatty liver and uncontrolled diabetes, which together constitute what is called as the metabolic syndrome/syndrome X.
The patient had failed to achieve the desired weight loss in spite of a strict dietary and exercise regimen for a period of six months, which is recommended by the guidelines. With further weight gain and worsening fatty liver, he had an increased risk of liver damage in the form of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, leading to cirrhosis.
He underwent an uneventful surgery and was discharged within three days of the surgery and lost about 9-10 kgs within 10 days. He is expected to further lose weight over a period of six months, after which it will stabilize.
Bariatric/metabolic surgery offers an excellent chance of weight loss along with a good control of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, fatty liver, which are part of the metabolic syndrome. Since this surgery brings down the overall body fat and not just abdominal fat, a patient has a better body image and it also leads to an improved overall health, the release added.