May 6, 2010 – Bariatric surgery presents the most promising solution to the epidemic of obesity, morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes, says Dr.r Nicolas Christou.
Dr. Christou chairs the First Canadian Metabolic Surgery Summit1 which takes place in Montreal on May 6 and 7. He is also Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and Director of Bariatric Surgery at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC).
The success rate for this type of surgery is very high, 80% to 100% of cases, says Dr.r Christou. “Only 3 weeks after the operation, one of my patients saw their blood pressure drop, their blood sugar levels return to normal, their sleep apnea and joint pain disappear. “
Patients struggling with morbid obesity (overweight over 100 lbs) or those with a body mass index (BMI) over 35 should be first on the list, says Nicolas Christou. According to him, such surgery costs the health care system about $ 20,000 per patient. “An expense that is completely absorbed in 4 years,” he says.
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Bariatric surgery includes 2 types of intervention. The first is to reduce the size of the stomach. The second deflects the digestive tract to decrease the time of intestinal absorption. The weight loss associated with these interventions is generally 30% to 50% of the initial weight. |
He deplores the fact that currently, in Canada and Quebec, the waiting lists for this type of intervention are lengthening in favor of other cases deemed more urgent, while the complications related to type 2 diabetes and obesity will cost $ 19.2 billion in 2020, according to figures from the Canadian Diabetes Association2.
The Lachine Hospital, attached to the MUHC, and the Laval Hospital, affiliated to Laval University, are the 2 major centers in Quebec where bariatric surgeries are practiced in particular.
Danny Raymond – HealthPassport.net
1. The First Canadian Summit on Metabolic Surgery comes on the heels of the Diabetes Surgery Summit Consensus Conference, an international meeting where some fifty international delegates met in 2007, in Rome, to develop the most appropriate intervention protocols. safer bariatric surgery and determine a program to develop research.
2. For more information: www.diabetes.ca/pensezy/fait. [Consulté le 5 mai 2010]
