Obesity Surgery

Obesity is a chronic condition and beating it isn't a race! Dr Wong has a program specifically designed to enhance your long-term success with surgery as well as maximize your safety. Therefore it is important to follow the process which can take 2-3 weeks at a minimum.

Impulsivity and anxiety are common associations with obesity, and Dr Wong's pathway teaches process, patience and planning which in itself are therapeutic and will help you long-term also.

Selecting a bariatric procedure that is most suitable for you involves a comprehensive discussion with Dr Wong taking into consideration your weight, medical problems, surgical history, eating habits, genetics, funding status, presence of reflux, and of course - your preferences.

It is advised that you keep an open mind as selecting a procedure is not like selecting a pair of shoes where you select the one which you like the most.

Modern bariatric surgery is extremely safe! Major complications occur less than 1% of cases. Complications are seen more commonly with plastic surgery and even surgery for appendicitis. Bariatric surgery cases are performed through keyhole surgery over 99% of the time.

The aim is for you to be able to eat a healthy, balanced diet after bariatric surgery or reduced portion size. Most patients will achieve this, although there may be certain foods that do not agree.

Some patients know someone who has had bariatric surgery in the past and is not able to eat food without vomiting. THIS IS NOT NORMAL, and would indicate that something might not be right. Bariatric surgery which makes someone unable to eat is not effective long-term as it will lead to the development of maladaptive eating behaviours or malnutrition.

Dr Wong keeps a prospective database on all his patients which monitors the incidence of reflux and other potential problems amongst his patients. This is part of the quality control measures at BGOS. 

Currently only 3-4% of Dr Wong's sleeve patients have reflux symptoms, with a revision to bypass rate of 1%.  Less than 1% of patients have occasional bile reflux symptoms after mini-gastric bypass.

These rates of reflux are LOW in comparison to what is generally seen, and is achieved by technical considerations to reduce risk of reflux as well as careful patient and procedure selection.

Obesity is a chronic disease, which means that it needs constant management and it is always at risk of relapse. This risk can be minimized by appropriate procedure choice at the start, and addressing potential factors that contribute to weight gain in conjunction with the surgery and putting a management plan in place for ongoing management of these factors.

Not everything can be fixed by the surgery, and this is a strength of Dr Wong's bariatric program.

It is recommended for no driving for 1 week after surgery. Some patients will still not be fully recovered and require another full or part week to recover sufficiently to drive. You should be off any strong pain medications and be able to react suddenly to unexpected hazards or changes in road condition without causing discomfort or pain to yourself.

There is no such thing as a pre-determined goal weight. You cannot decide what weight you want to become and expect for the surgery to help you become this weight. It does not work this way.

What is most important, is focussing on the healthy eating and lifestyle behaviours that need to be adopted to achieve maximal success with surgery. If you follow these things, you will be guaranteed to do the healthiest that your body will allow through surgery.