nce an adult develops obesity, which is a recognised medical condition, it becomes unlikely that they will attain a healthy weight without the help of weight loss surgery. A 10-year UK study showed that for women who have a BMI above 35 (severe obesity), each year only one in 430 would achieve a healthy body weight without surgery. Men fared worse, with each year only one in 701 achieving a healthy weight without surgery. ANNUAL PROBABILITY OF ATTAINING A HEALTHY BMI INITIAL BMI Men Women 30 – 34.9 1 in 210 1 in 124 35.0 – 39.9 1 in 701 1 in 430 40.0 – 44.9 1 in 1290 1 in 677 Clearly, current non-surgical programs are not helping the majority of people with a BMI above 30 to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. There is overwhelming evidence that weight loss surgery is the only effective treatment for people with a BMI above 35 to achieve and maintain substantial weight loss in the long term. With a similar level of safety as having a gallbladder operation, and better safety profile than a joint replacement, people with severe obesity can now lose 50 - 100% of their excess weight within 12 months and keep it off. Duodenal Switch Gastric Bypass Gastric Sleeve Gastric Band Diet & Exercise 0 50 100 PERCENTAGE OF EXCESS WEIGHT Despite the proven safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery, it is not typically a publically funded procedure in Australia. For those who need it most, accessing a high quality bariatric program that includes structured multi-disciplinary support and long term follow up may not be financially feasible, despite being the most effective treatment available. Eliminating this financial barrier allows people who do not have the financial resources to access full service programs to secure effective treatment, achieve their weight loss goals and turn their health around. At the Surgical Weight Loss Centre we have been able to overcome the barrier of cost by developing a more affordable “Streamlined Sleeve” program for patients with private health insurance, equating to roughly the same out of pocket cost as a one-years gym membership or personal training. This program delivers high quality surgical care at a reduced cost by combining online and group multidisciplinary education in conjunction with GP management, with the safety net of our full individualised program, should the need arise. The Streamlined Sleeve program has been designed for selected medically lowrisk people who have a pro-active regular GP and private health insurance, and require a tool to assist them to lose a significant amount of weight to improve their health and well-being. Our aim is to maximise accessibility and minimise the outof pocket expenses without compromising our high standard of care. This subset of people do not require intensive pre-operative assessment and post-operative support to achieve good results from surgery. Over the years, we have developed an understanding of the patients who tend to achieve good long term results with a sleeve gastrectomy without requiring the intensive pre-operative surgical assessment, peri-operative medical management and post-operative allied-health micromanagement provided by our full bariatric program package. In the Streamlined Sleeve program, investigations are adequate and relevant without being excessive and treatments follow accepted and medically safe protocols. Not all patients are suitable for the streamlined program of course, and the priority is selecting the right program for each individual to achieve maximal results. If you want to make this the year you lose weight and keep it off, contact the Surgical Weight Loss Centre on (07) 5556 8888 or email info@surgicalweightlosscentre.com.au TYPICAL WEIGHT LOSS AT 12 MONTHS BY A PERSON WITH A BMI OVER 35 O pindaramagazine.com.au Pindara Magazine 41
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Ten
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