Going to weight loss surgery is not a simple decision; Behind this step, there must be a multidisciplinary team to guide the patient. At the Metropolitan Hospital, the processes comply with international scientific standards and there is a Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Unit.

Healthy nutritional habits and a balanced lifestyle that includes physical exercise is the tandem that continues to be the answer to the very common question: how do I lose weight?

There it is, the vast majority of times, the formula to avoid being overweight, associated diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure and obesity, a state in which the patient's health becomes complicated and in which surgery should be considered. bariatric.

The first warning sign is being overweight, says Glenda Herrera, a surgeon at the Metropolitan Hospital, specialized in laparoscopic, bariatric and robotic surgery. The main indicator to determine if the person has reached this condition is the body mass index; It is calculated by dividing the weight in kilos by the height in meters squared.

When the indicator exceeds 25 and advances to 29.9, “we are already talking about overweight and from 30 onwards, the patient is obese.” According to Herrera, the first alert should give way to a series of actions to avoid surgery: change the way you eat, incorporate physical activity as a habit, seek support from professionals in nutrition and psychology, the latter being key to managing adverse factors. such as low self-esteem, depression or anxiety.

“It is time to guide the patient to prevent them from progressing to obesity; Management is always multidisciplinary to achieve the success of a non-surgical treatment,” says the surgeon.

This card is played as the first option even when the person is already in grade one obesity -the body mass index goes from 30 to 34.9-, but has not developed diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, fatty liver , high cholesterol, bone and joint pain, easy fatigue, gastric reflux, certain types of cancer, even infertility problems in women. If in six months the patient has not reversed his situation, it is time to go for bariatric surgery.

Among the range of techniques, Herrera points out, is the gastric balloon, preferably placed through an endoscopy, it can remain in the body from six months to a year; It is used in patients with initial overweight and obesity and is, therefore, a temporary tool. And several types of surgical interventions, the most performed worldwide are restrictive surgeries, such as the gastric sleeve, which reduces the size of the stomach by 80%; and mixed surgeries, which combine restriction, by reducing the size of the stomach with the limitation of absorption by reducing the passage of food through the intestines, such as gastric bypass.

The result, states the bariatric surgeon, “depends on the appropriate selection of the patient, through a multidisciplinary preoperative assessment – including psychological –, that he receives the appropriate pre- and post-operative support and that he follows the scheme or style of treatment. later life.”

Bariatric surgery is a great help to lose weight, says Glenda Herrera. A gastric sleeve and a gastric bypass allow a significant percentage loss of excess weight that lasts over the years, improving the diseases that accompany obesity, even curing some of them and thus increasing the expectancy of up to 5 years. life of a patient. However, in either case, “if there is no change in lifestyle, there is no long-term success.” That is why we are always with our patients in this process of change.