Patient Information

It is possible to reverse the gastric band but it should be remembered that the majority of patients who have the gastric band removed and do not have an alternative procedure will regain the weight that they have lost.

As there are currently less than 100 weight loss procedures performed in the public sector in Queensland, the majority of patients requiring the surgery will have it performed as a private patient. As such we would encourage all patients to consider taking out private health cover to assist with the costs of their surgery, in particular having private health cover will assist with any additional surgical procedures or intensive care stay that might be required due to unforeseen complications.

Obviously, patients taking out new private health cover will be required by the insurance companies to wait 12 months prior to having their surgery. As a practice, we are happy to provide a dietician and psychologist in the last few months running up to surgery, for those patients who are waiting for their private health cover to commence.

Alternatives to private health cover includes utilising super funds to pay for surgery or using a specialist financing company. My rooms will be happy to provide you with information or alternatively you can find more information on accessing super funds at www.apra.gov.au, and about credit financing at www.mediplan.com.au

The BMI calculator on this website can be used to calculate your BMI. If your BMI is greater than 40 you immediately qualify for obesity surgery. To calculate your BMI, click here. Patients with a BMI of between 35 to 40 should generally have another medical condition such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. However increasingly, patients with BMIs between 30 and 35 are being considered for surgery.

These patients are frequently constantly dieting to maintain their weight and it is likely in time, that their weight will increase and therefore I do not see the point in making them waiting until their BMI is greater than 35 before offering them surgery. However the decision as to whether or not to proceed with surgery will be made on an individual patient basis.

Weight loss surgery operations are tools to help you lose weight. Ultimately the amount of weight that is lost depends on your ability to comply with a healthy diet and combine this with an appropriate level of exercise. As the procedures are purely restrictive procedures, if you consume too many calories you will not lose weight, or you will lose less weight than you would like. The advantages of the Brisbane Institute of Obesity Surgery are that we offer a comprehensive, tailored package of support appointments together with a free patient support group. Both of these support mechanisms have been shown to maximise the potential of any weight loss surgery.

It should be remembered that percentages quoted are average figures and some patients will do better and others will not do as well.

Generally patients considering weight loss surgery can expect their weight to increase steadily year on year without surgical intervention. As your weight increases, so do your risks of mortality, together with other medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These comorbidities will impact on your quality of life and ultimately your length of life.

Almost universally, the only regret that my patients have expressed after their surgery was why they did not have it sooner.

Weight loss surgery offers the best opportunity for long term weight loss. Evidence demonstrates that in the majority of cases, once the weight is lost, it remains off in the long term. There may be some weight regain after five years but I would be hopeful by that stage that you have established healthy eating and exercising habits which would minimise any weight gain.

One of the benefits of this practice is the ability to offer individual patients a tailored approach to their weight loss surgery. Each of the operations offered in the practice does produce effective weight loss. Unless there is a particular medical reason to suggest a particular operation, ultimately it will be your decision as to which operation you are most comfortable with and which one you feel fits best with your lifestyle.

Although these operations restrict how much you get in, they also work by altering the feeling of fullness you get when you eat. Therefore despite eating relatively small amounts, you will feel full and you will not feel particularly hungry. With the gastric band, it can take a number of adjustments before this point is reached, whereas with the other two operations there is an immediate loss of appetite.