Maradona underwent weight-loss surgery

It killed Diego Maradona?s appetite. Soon, you can use it to kill yours too, and shed those prickly pounds in the process.

The Argentine soccer legend recently underwent a gastric bypass surgery at a Buenos Aires clinic to lose weight ? a procedure expediting hunger satiation that will be available in a Calcutta hospital ?for the first time? from next month.

AMRI Hospitals, in Dhakuria, which runs an obesity surgery-counselling clinic in its OPD, is set to introduce weight-loss surgery in the city from September. ?Studies have shown that for treating morbid obesity (any adult who is 90 lb overweight) conventional non-surgical weight-loss regimes have little chance of success,? says V.K. Bhartia, specialist in laparoscopic and obesity surgery.

Bhartia is heading the AMRI obesity surgery initiative, with a support team culled from other speciality departments of the hospital. Apart from the gastric bypass, the south Calcutta centre will also offer the ?lap band system?, both packages priced at Rs 1.5 lakh and entailing two days? hospital stay.

A gastric bypass involves creating a small pouch by dividing the stomach. This allows food to go straight from the stomach pouch into the small intestine, which causes it to bypass the lower stomach and the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine), reducing the amount of calories the body absorbs.

The lap band is a hollow silicone band device, which helps in losing weight by using a similar concept. The band is placed around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch that can hold only a small amount of food, with a narrow opening to regulate food flow to the lower stomach.

?The lap band is a reversible device which can be taken out and hence, usually recommended for morbid obesity in younger age groups. The age band for weight-loss surgery as specified by the International Society of Obesity Surgery is 18-55,? says Bhartia.

Post-surgery, an obese patient ?is guaranteed to lose 50 per cent of excess weight in 12 months and return to his/her normal weight in 18 months?, the bariatric surgeon adds. Co-morbid conditions, like diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnoea, are also expected to ?improve dramatically?.

Obesity results from excessive accumulation of fat that exceeds the body?s skeletal and physical standards and every third person in a well-to-do family in the city is said to be obese.