Live Better: Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Centre
The Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Centre at Emirates International Specialist Hospital is an accredited center of excellence that offers a range of services to help you lose weight, allowing you to control and revolutionize your health.
Every weight loss journey is unique, and we will develop a plan with you that is sustainable, healthy and effective in meeting your weight loss and health needs. We assess each patient individually; for some, bariatric surgery can be an important tool in the fight against obesity. However, for others, a proper diet and exercise plan may be sufficient to achieve lasting results.
About Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery
As well as drastic weight loss, most bariatric surgery patients experience improvement in their overall quality of life. Bariatric surgery reduces the risk of mortality from obesity-related diseases by 30-40% and also helps alleviate other health issues including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, asthma, osteoarthritis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), polycystic ovarian syndrome with infertility — any of which may be preventing you from living your life to the fullest.
If you are morbidly obese, bariatric surgery can assist you with weight loss by restricting food intake and increase your satiety and body burning of calories.
There are several criteria for weight-loss surgery, including your weight and Body Mass Index (BMI). Your doctor will also consider any associated health problems you may have, such as diabetes and dietary restrictions.
Standard eligibility criteria include:
- Patients with a BMI > 40 or more than 45kg overweight
- Patients with a BMI ≥35 and at least one or more obesity-related co-morbidities such as type II diabetes (T2DM), hypertension, sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, lipid abnormalities, gastrointestinal disorders, or heart disease, asthma and PCOS with infertility
- Patients with BMI > 30 with poorly controlled type 2 DM
Medical outcomes of bariatric surgery:
| CONDITION / DISEASE | % RESOLVED OR IMPROVED | % RESOLVED |
|---|---|---|
| Type 2 diabetes | 86 | 76.8 |
| Hypertension (high blood pressure) | 78.5 | 61.7 |
| Obstructive sleep apnea | 85.7 | 83.6 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 78.5 | 61.7 |
(Source: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery)
We arrange regular support groups for anyone thinking of having bariatric surgery. This will allow you to meet people who have been on a similar journey and ask questions of them.
Scope of Services
- Consultation
- Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
- Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
- Revision of Bariatric Surgery
- Intra-gastric balloon insertion and removal
- Laparoscopic removal of gastric band
- Pharmacological treatment of obesity
- Psychology consultation services
- Nutritional consultation and follow up
- Follow up consultation
Our Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Department also offers consultation and medical support to people seeking weight loss surgery at the Imperial College London Diabetes Center in Al Ain. The service will offer comprehensive, cross-discipline clinical support under one roof. Post-consultation, our bariatric team in Al Ain will refer patients to Emirates International Specialist Hospital in Abu Dhabi where world-class, experienced bariatric surgeons from the hospital’s Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Department will perform either a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass procedure.
Surgical Options
In line with international standards for bariatric surgery, we perform three types of laparoscopic bariatric surgeries at Emirates International Specialist Hospital , as described below. It is important to remember that in order to achieve the best results with any effective weight loss program, you will also need to follow a combination of diet change, increased physical activity, and behavior therapy.
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a common type of bariatric surgery. The procedure involves creating a small pouch in the stomach that holds approximately 40 ml of food, then we transect the small intestine and connect one end directly to the small pouch of the stomach and connect the other end to the rest of the small intestine. The food will pass from the esophagus to the small pouch and then directly to the intestine.
The surgery limits the amount of food that can be eaten, leaving the patient feeling full and satisfied on very little food. Having less food naturally results in reduced caloric intake and therefore weight loss usually follows.
Benefits of the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:
- It causes an early sense of fullness and satisfaction, thus reducing the desire to eat
- It commonly results in greater weight loss than other procedures
- It requires lifelong vitamin supplementation
- It reduces the chance to “cheat” the surgery
Risks of the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:
- A technically more complex operation and therefore potentially higher chances of complication
- Can lead to long-term vitamin/mineral deficiencies particularly deficits in vitamin B12, iron, calcium, and folate
Sleeve Gastrectomy
The sleeve gastrectomy is a common procedure for weight loss. It is a restrictive procedure that changes the shape and size of the stomach to limit the amount of food that can be eaten at one time and take away the sense of hunger and increase burning of calories. The surgeon removes approximately two-thirds of the stomach; thus, the stomach is reshaped into a long tube, or “sleeve.”
Benefits of the Sleeve Gastrectomy procedure:
- It restricts food intake by allowing only a small amount of food to be consumed in a single meal, providing a quicker sense of fullness and decreased appetite
- It decreases the secretion of the hormone ghrelin, which is responsible for the feeling of hunger
Risks of the Sleeve Gastrectomy procedure:
- It is a non-reversible procedure
- Need lifelong vitamin supplementations
Intragastric Balloon
The intragastric balloon procedure is a good option to help over weight and obese patients lose weight without surgery. The non-invasive procedure takes less than 30 minutes and the balloon is removed 6 months or 12 months later through an endoscopy. The balloon fills up a portion of the stomach and as a result, patients feel full sooner.
Benefits of the Intragastric Balloon:
- Procedure takes less than 30 minutes
- The balloon fits comfortably in the stomach, reducing the amount of food you can eat
Risks of bariatric surgery: (general risks)
As with all major surgery, there are some health risks associated with bariatric surgery that can have implications both in the short-term and long-term.
These risks include:
- Bleeding (1%)
- Adverse reactions to anesthesia
- Blood clots (1%)
- Lung or breathing problems (1%)
- Leaks in your gastrointestinal system (1%)
- Death (rare) (0.003%)
What you can expect
Once you have been approved for surgery, you will be put on a special diet for 2 weeks that reduces the size of your liver to increase the overall safety of the procedure. Following this period, the week before your procedure you will meet with the anesthesiologist to undergo a full evaluation. On the day of the surgery, you will meet with the surgeon and anesthesiologist before the surgery is carried out.
Both surgical options are carried out under general anesthesia. These days the majority of bariatric surgeries are carried out laparoscopically, which means that the procedure is carried out using a thin, tubular instrument with a high-resolution camera attached, called a Laparoscope. This allows the surgeon to see and operate inside your abdomen without the traditional large incisions, which contributes toward a swifter recovery. Both surgical options usually take 1 – 2 hours.
After surgery, you awaken in a recovery room, where you will be closely monitored by medical staff. After 4 hours, you will be encouraged to walk around as this reduces the risk of complications and starts drinking fluids. Typically, you will be asked to stay in hospital for 1 - 2 days so you can continue to be monitored.
The recovery
After bariatric surgery, you will be on fluid diet for one week and then pureed diet for another week and then soft diet for one week and then start regular small meals on the fourth week.
You'll also have frequent medical checkups to monitor your health in the first few months after weight-loss surgery and to review progress with our team.
Team
Emirates International Specialist Hospital employs world-class, experienced bariatric surgeons to carry out weight loss surgeries. Our surgeons, consultants and weight loss teams are trained in specialized surgical techniques and long-term care to help our patients’ achieve controlled weight loss. Our specialized bariatric surgeons follow the Department of Health of Abu Dhabi and international best practice guidelines from the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders and the American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.
Accreditation
Emirates International Specialist Hospital ’s Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Centre is a recognized center of excellence in metabolic and bariatric surgery from the American Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) since April 2017. These accreditations are upheld by our Surgeons, dieticians, nurses and coordinators as well, all of whom are certified Bariatric Care Specialists.
The Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery department is listed in the IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity) global registry 2017, and 2018.