With this surgery of high effectiveness, the person can lose between 60 to 70% of excess of weight in only one year.

The fight against overweight and obesity is a challenge in modern societies. The styles of sedentary lives, bad diet, lack of exercise –among many other factors- have made that there are more and more obese people, which strongly impacts the quality of life and costs of health as they are more sensitive to develop a great number of illnesses. The International Surgical Program looks for treating patients derived by doctors who have treated the problem.

Obesity has severe consequences over health and quality of life in people. It is associated to heart illnesses, constituting the main cause of death around the world; diabetes, that World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that will increase in 50% in the next decade; types of cancer like breast, colon, endometrium and other illnesses like degenerative osteoarthritis. Around the world there are more than 1,600 million adults having overweight and at least 400 million obese adults and WHO anticipates that by 2015 the figures will be of 2,300 million and 700 millions respectively. Having an adequate weight, on the other hand, improves the physical and metal health and contributes to a better quality of life.

If you are too overweight and have not been able to reduce those extra kilograms with regular physical activity and a healthy diet, surgery can be an option for you.

The bariatric surgery or surgery of obesity covers different surgical operations and procedures, with the purpose of regulating the diet and stimulating the production of certain intestinal hormones generating a reduction of the body weight and improvement of associated illnesses.

Who can have an operation?
The bariatric surgery is indicated for people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 40 or 35 if there are illnesses associated. Nevertheless, from the evaluation made by a multidisciplinary team of specialists can rise other types of surgical indications. For example, it has been proved that after a surgery of gastric bypass many diabetics type II can improve their metabolic control.

The individual evaluation of each patient by a multidisciplinary team will allow offering an integral treatment and choosing in this way the best surgical technique.

Surgeries and procedures
Currently, surgeries like gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy and procedures such as endobarrier and gastric balloon are carried out.

The gastric bypass, the most frequent surgery in Chile and around the world, allows reducing weight by means of the restriction of food intake and reduction of its absorption. It has a high effectiveness, losing 70% of weight excess in a year, and an important improvement of associated illnesses –especially diabetes mellitus type 2.

The sleeve gastrectomy implies the resection of the stomach leaving a sleeve or tube with capacity of 100 to 200 ml. In this way, the food intake is significantly lower and the intestinal transit is not affected. It has effectiveness and improvement of illnesses compared to the bypass.

The endobarrier consists on putting, via endoscopic, of an endoprosthesis in the first 60 cms of the small intestine, where jejunum and the duodenum are located. This allows that food get to the other extreme of the intestine without absorbing and more quickly enabling reducing weight and improving the production of insulin in the pancreas, which helps controlling the diabetes type 2.

The intragastric balloon is also an endoscopic treatment and consists on putting a balloon of silicone which is inflated between 400 and 700 ml with physiological serum, using an important part of the gastric capacity. It is a transitory solution and its success depends directly on the capacity of the person to change their food habits and incorporating exercises.

It is important to point out that surgery of checking, indicated for those patients who are submitted to a surgery or procedure in previous years and that have had an inadequate lose of weight or have put on weight. For example, a patient who was put a gastric band and did not have the expected effects can be submitted to a gastric sleeve with successful results.

The surgery of checking is carried out with more and more frequency and has turned into a good option to improve the results in the lose of weight and improvement of associated illnesses.

International Surgical Program
In the case of the International Surgical Program it has been established an ideal period of 4 months of length. One, previous to the surgery and three later to it.

In the previous phase of the surgery, the medical team pointed out to obtain the necessary weight loss to reduce the surgical risks, acquiring the habits of diet and exercise and the preparation and psychological support to face the surgery and the post-operation phase.

In the later phase, the purposes are reaching a controlled weight loss and consolidate the change of habits.

For further information: http://www.obesidaduc.cl/ or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Why the clinic is the best option in these surgeries and/or procedures?
In Red Salud UC, the team of bariatric surgeries has the greatest experience accumulated in the country in this type of operations. It is integrated by digestive surgeons, nutritionist doctors; pediatrician specialized in children´s obesity, psychiatrists, besides psychologists, nutritionists, kinesiologist, nurses and physical education teachers.