Patna: Obesity cases are on an alarming rise in the city and many patients need surgery, Delhi bariatric surgeon Randeep Wadhawan said here on Saturday.
Wadhawan, director of bariatric and gastrointestinal surgery at Fortis Hospital, Delhi, said in the past year he has conducted laparoscopic weight loss surgery on 50 patients from Patna, as that was the only option available for them.
"Most of the obese patients were in their 40s. But a patient as young as 23 years old was found to require surgery on Saturday, all because of lack of adequate exercise," Wadhawan said at a news meet he held after an outpatient service of Fortis in the city on Saturday. "Outdoor activities have come down - while children are glued to computers and video games, the adults are spending more time watching television and using their smartphones. Their food habits have also not changed. If earlier they would have deep-fried Indian food, now pizza, burger and pasta have added to the calorie intake. Combination of all these factors has made people obese."
The 23 year-old patient he advised to undergo laparoscopic bariatric surgery weighed 97.5kg. "Today (Saturday) I checked 40 patients, of whom 30 needed surgical intervention," he said.
Dr Wadhawan said there are 12 procedures in the surgery his team advises based on age, weight, and health conditions or problems if any.
"Not all obese patients are advised surgery right away. First, we suggest diet and lifestyle modifications, with some medicines. If the lifestyle and dietary modifications help a patient lose some weight, surgery is inadvisable. However, if we find a morbidly obese person also suffering from diabetes, or someone dependent on insulin, we suggest them to undergo the surgery. The surgery not only helps lose the extra kilos but also frees a patient of insulin dependence," he said.
Wadhawan added that weight loss surgery is a minimally invasive surgery for which very small incisions are made.
"The procedure is done within half-an-hour and the patient is released from hospital after three days. The surgery costs around Rs 3 lakh. Patients can get consultation in Patna but the surgery is performed at Delhi's Fortis Hospital only," he said.
