Bariatric Surgery Opens the Door to a Healthier Life: Say Patients

Manipal Hospital Miller's Road, one of India's best multispecialty hospitals, organized a support group meeting exclusively on Bariatric Surgery

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Obesity is a common issue in today's society, raising the risk of many life-threatening health issues, including heart, kidney, and liver disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer. Genetic, physiological, environmental, dietary, physical activity and lifestyle factors may cause obesity. Bariatric surgery is a procedure to help people lose weight by making changes to their digestive system and is suggested for patients with severe obesity, BMI (body mass index) scores of over 35, and have seen no success with diet and exercise.

Manipal Hospital Miller's Road, one of India's best multispecialty hospitals, organized a support group meeting exclusively on Bariatric Surgery, otherwise called, Weight Loss Surgery on Saturday, 17^th of September. Dr. Moinoddin G, Consultant - Bariatric and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery, Manipal Hospital Miller's Road graced the event with his opinions on surgical weight loss procedures and their benefits. Around 40 patients attended the meeting; most of them had undergone surgery successfully while some are planning to do it under him. The event started with a discussion of Bariatric Diet Guidelines as part of the recovery process after which the doctor attended to all the health-related queries that patients had. Explaining his view on the weight loss journey, Dr. Moinoddin G says, "Surgery is a very small part of the whole program which would account for only 40%. The remaining 70% consists of the support received from family/friends (40%) and one's own willpower (30%). Together, it makes the results optimum."

Most patients who attended the event had gone through various weight loss diet plans and exercise sessions before choosing to opt for the surgery. Although some had seen success to only regain weight shortly after. Surgery seemed the most efficient option to help them get rid of excessive weight. There is a need for a diet plan that should be followed right after the surgery as directed by a dietician or by the doctor because slow, gradual and steady weight loss happens in the first 3 months post-surgery. While interacting with the patients, the doctor mentions,"There were many high-risk cases where patients had lung issues and asthma, but we took the risk every time because we knew, without the surgery, these patients would end up in bed or even die. We are happy that we could give these patients another chance to live a longer life by reducing the risk of other illnesses they had."

It has been noticed that PCOS/PCOD and Hypothyroid were present in most women. After the surgery, their doses for hypothyroid have been greatly reduced and PCOS is reversed. A 23 years old lady named Anaya (name changed), a Bangalore resident had undergone surgery in 2020 after trying everything (diets and supplements) she could to reduce her weight. She also suffered from PCOD and was looking for ways to reduce weight so that she could conceive. It is advised to plan for conception after a year or two from the surgery. But in Anam's case, she conceived just after six months of surgery. Anam says, "I was 132kg when I came to Dr. Moinoddin, he assured me that weight loss is very much possible through the surgery and post-operative diet plan and that I could conceive naturally. I followed the diet suggested by the doctor and was able to reduce nearly 40kg within six months. Now I weigh 80kg and gave birth to a healthy baby. I am grateful to the doctor and my family for being so supportive all the while."

In another case, Mr. Khazi (name changed) from Bellary who underwent Bariatric surgery 3 years ago has come forward to share his story. He weighed 158kg at the time of surgery and was able to lose as high as 78kg over the years. Khazi now weighs 80kg and leads a completely healthy life. While mentioning what had contributed to his excellent results, he says, "I followed a strict protein diet followed by a vitamin-rich food plan suggested by Dr. Moinoddin and continued regular exercise. I wholeheartedly thank doctorsahab and the team for changing my life and giving me reasons to enjoy my life in my best shape."

Many of the patients also mentioned suffering from inferior complexity and depression due to heavy weight but as they lost significant weight post-surgery, they gained confidence and felt better about their bodies.

For more information, visit: https://www.manipalhospitals.com/millersroad/

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