Ludhiana, February 21
Obesity, the root cause of majority of diseases like hypertension, heart attack, cancer, knee problems, diabetes and joint pains, is the second most common cause of death worldwide. The mortality rate can be cut down if obesity is controlled. Gastric ballooning is the latest technique in reducing the weight of obese persons and this laproscopic procedure can reduce 30 to 50 kg of weight, without any side effects.
Indian population is fond of having rich food and many people are overweight, so this technique should be introduced by Indian surgeons to cut down the mortality rate. These views were expressed by Prof Peter Goh, a member of the International Endoscopic Society and first to perform laproscopic gastric surgery in Germany, in an interview with Ludhiana Tribune here today. Professor Goh is here to attend the sixth National Conference of Endoscopic Surgery.
He said a lot of revolution has come in the field of surgery during the past 15 years. Robotic techniques had been introduced to perform complicated surgeries. “Diet, medication and regular exercises reduce body weight but not more than 10 to 15 kg. Through gastric ballooning, a lot of weight can be shed. This is one of the safest techniques ever introduced by surgeons. The procedure is performed through tiny holes and the recovery is wonderful,” said Professor Goh.
Prof Goh said though the technique was introduced in the USA, it was not being practised there. However, surgeons in countries like Germany, Mexico and the UK were successfully performing the technique on obese patients.
“The procedure is very simple. A balloon is inserted in the abdomen of the patient. The balloon is harmless. Initially it may cause minor problems like indigestion or vomiting but once it settles, there is absolutely no problem. Doctors have to follow-up the patient for six months to know the recovery speed. Then the balloon is removed and by that time the person sheds up to 20 kg weight”, he added.
For greater weight loss, adjustable gastric bands are used. The device is implanted through keyhole surgery. The procedure is fast, safe and relatively painless. Professor Goh said, “after the surgery, the amount of food you are able to eat can be regulated by adjusting the tightness of the band. As with gastric balloon technique, the gastric band technique, allows a feeling of being full after meals while reducing food intake and encouraging the body’s natural weight loss mechanism of fat burning. Up to 50 kg of weight can be lost through the band technique”.
Meanwhile, the conference, organised by the Department of Surgery, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, and the Indian Association of Gastro Intestinal Endo Surgeons (IAGES), concluded today at Hotel Park Plaza. More than 1,000 surgeons from all over the world attended brainstorming sessions conducted by world renowned surgeons with the aid of audio-visual projections on the last day of the conference.
Today’s session opened with a plenary session conducted by renowned experts in the field of laproscopy like Dr Jacques Perrisat, Dr Philippe Mourret and Dr R.W. Stitiz. There were symposiums on solid organs, disaster in laproscopy, thorax and spine and oncology.
Dr Kuldeep Singh, organising secretary of the conference, said IAGES decided to update its website regularly. It would act as a platform for direct interaction between laproscopic surgeons and patients and help surgeons share their views and experiences. To ensure safe and quality laproscopy, IAGES had also decided to recognise training centres of laproscopy after inspection so that budding surgeons could deliver highest standards of minimal access surgery through proper training and with minimum complications. There was also a discussion on the topic, “disaster in laproscopy — when bad things happen to good surgeons.” Dr Philippe Mourret, the first surgeon to perform laproscopic cholecystectomy in the world, said, “this is my first visit to India. This is one of the best conferences of laproscopy and I am glad to be a part of it. I am quite impressed with the work done by Indian surgeons in the field of laproscopy and they are equivalent to the best in the world.”
