12 Dec Metabolic Surgery: Effective treatment for Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes – Dr Amit Garg
In a press conference held at Chandigarh on 12 December 2018, Dr Amit Garg, Bariatric & Metabolic surgeon, Fortis Hospital, Mohali shared his concern about increase cases of morbid obesity in Tri city. He shared that in Chandigarh 2/3rd population is suffering from obesity, out of which 42% are women. According to recent studies, more than 13 type of cancers are caused due to obesity. Obesity has now become a global epidemic. Dr Amit Garg also shared about the causes of obesity. Sedentary life style and bad eating habits are main reasons for increasing cases of obesity in the region. Childhood obesity cases are also on rise. Children are more into mobile phones and laptop games. Outdoor physical activities have reduced to a great extend. Eating junk food is also a major cause of obesity in children.
Dr Amit Garg cautioned that one should not take obesity lightly. Obesity is a complex disease which can affect an individual physically, mentally and financially too. In women, obesity can lead to depression also. Many married obese patient are dealing with relationships issues, leading to their divorce. Other than these issues, obesity is one of the leading cause of Type 2 Diabetes. Physicians treating diabetic patient prescribe medications based only on blood sugar test. Pancreatic function test of patients are never done to check the working of pancreas. There are very few institutes in our country where metabolic surgeries are being performed. At Fortis Hospital, Mohali more than 500 patients have undergone metabolic surgery with good success rate. These patients have not only lost weight but post surgery their blood sugar levels have come to normal without insulin or anti diabetic medicines.
Another concern about obesity and its associated health issues is that people suffering from obesity delay their treatment by 6 to 10 years. This delay many a times give rise to other complications and health issues like fatty liver, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea, diabetes, osteoarthritis, PCOD in women, infertility, depression and many more.
Modern Bariatric Surgery is a boon to people suffering from obesity or its related co morbidities. There are different types of procedures. Procedure is decided depending on patient grade of obesity, age and other medical conditions associated with obesity. All bariatric or metabolic surgeries are done laparoscopically. With no blood loss and short recovery stay, patients can resume work or normal day to day activities within 4 to 5 days of surgery.
