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Bariatric surgery, known generally as weight-loss surgery, can help save patients’ lives if they haven’t been able to lose weight by other means, say physicians at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), citing the severe medical repercussions associated with obesity.
SKMC which is managed by Cleveland Clinic and is Abu Dhabi’s flagship hospital, recently hosted the first Pan-Arab bariatric surgery teleconference to highlight the dangers morbidly obese patients face and how the surgery can help them. Hospitals from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, and Qatar were among those who participated.
Health officials generally define overweight people as those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 to 29, and obese people as those with a BMI of more than 30.
People with a BMI of 30 - 32 are three times as likely to die from heart disease as people in a healthy weight range, while those with a BMI of 33 and above are almost five times as likely. Higher BMI levels also increase risks associated with cancer, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and a range of other conditions.
“Obesity is one of the most serious health problems in the UAE today and physicians need to look at all the available options to help patients overcome this condition,” said Dr. Abdelrahman Nimeri, Director of the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute Abu Dhabi (BMI Abu Dhabi) at SKMC. “Losing weight can be very difficult for many people to achieve, especially if they are morbidly obese, and approaching this illness with multidisciplinary care aimed at steps and approaches to lifestyle change have proved to be the most effective model to treat obese patients in this country. At SKMC, surgery is very much the last resort, but for some patients it’s a real solution to this extremely serious problem.”
SKMC offers the only multidisciplinary approach to patients with obesity and weight-related disease in the country, including bariatric surgeons and physicians, psychologists, dieticians and smoking cessation specialists where necessary.
Weight loss patient selection at BMI Abu Dhabi, SKMC’s program focused on addressing obesity, is carried out under the guidelines established by The National Institute of Health (NIH) and the American Society of Bariatric Surgery. The program, which started in 2009 in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic’s BMI institute, has grown significantly since then, with more than 800 complex procedures performed over the years with excellent outcomes comparable to US bariatric surgery programs.
Bariatric surgery promotes weight loss through two different methods; the first method involves limiting the amount of food that can be eaten by making the stomach smaller, while in the second method, the amount of calories that can be absorbed is reduced.
BMI Abu Dhabi is the main tertiary referral centre for bariatric surgery complications and difficult bariatric surgery patients in Abu Dhabi and provides the only program in the UAE that offers all the range of surgical procedures in a minimally invasive fashion. These surgical procedures include the gastric bypass surgery - the most common procedure performed in the US and Europe - gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, and revisional bariatric surgery.
“Our patients find that the overall quality of their life is greatly improved after significant weight loss. With the on-going help of all members of our multidisciplinary team, and consistent effort and commitment from the patients themselves to employ small, practical steps they can enjoy long-lasting, healthy weight loss,” Dr. Nimeri added.
SKMC is part of the SEHA Health System and is owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
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