Flab to fab

There has been a steady rise in the number of obese people opting for bariatric surgery in the past few years. According to Dr Rajesh Khullar, president of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society of India, around 15,000 bariatric surgeries are conducted in India every year. Yet, a lot of stigma is attached to it because it is perceived to be a cosmetic procedure rather than a lifesaving surgery.

“I have had many high profile patients who prefer to keep the surgery a secret,” says Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, chairman of Minimal Access Surgical Sciences and Research Centre, Saifee Hospital. “Even morbidly obese women who opt for the surgery for a better quality of life have to keep it a secret because people think the procedure affects the patient’s fertility levels.”

In 2011, Union minister Nitin Gadkari underwent a gastric bypass surgery at Saifee Hospital. Gadkari, who has Type 2 diabetes, lost around 40 kg after the surgery. According to experts, bariatric surgery could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in obese patients. In fact, a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal revealed that patients who underwent weight-loss surgery had an 80 per cent reduction in Type 2 diabetes.

“Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic surgery, but is meant to improve a morbidly obese patient’s medical condition,” says Khullar. “Obesity has been linked to diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnoea, and the purpose of weight-loss surgery is to correct that.”

More recently, Daulatram Jogawat, a policeman from Madhya Pradesh who weighed 180kg, underwent a gastric bypass surgery. Jogawat was fat shamed on Twitter by author Shobhaa De, following which his picture went viral. Lakdawala offered to operate on him and Jogawat lost 10kg in a month.

“There has been an increase in the number of obese patients opting for bariatric surgery, but I would not call this a growing trend,” says Dr Ramen Goel, senior bariatric surgeon and director, Centre for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai. “The risk factors we faced two decades ago have reduced drastically and is now on par with a hernia surgery. In fact, the risk factor has come down to 0.5 per cent and patients don’t face any long-term problems. Most studies conducted over a span of 10 to 20 years have proven its efficacy. The only risk is giving anaesthesia to a morbidly obese person. However, in a good centre with proper facilities, rarely does anything go wrong.”