Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Surgical treatment of Obesity currently provides the only viable longterm control of obesity, particularly morbid obesity. Surgical operations have evolved from the intestinal bypass operations to gastric bypass, gastroplasty, gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and biliopancreatic diversion with and without switch operations. The choice of an operation for control of obesity should be based on the risk benefit ratio and the long term effectiveness of the operation since obesity is a lifelong condition. No one operation is effective on all patients in all cases. However an operation chosen should effect greater than 50% excess weight loss in greater than 75% of the patients maintained for at least five years with less than 10% peri operative morbidity and less than 1% peri operative mortality. The operation should lack unpreventable long term serious morbidity (Liver, Kidney). Informed choice by the patient, the expertise (training, experience and geographical Location) and preference of the Surgeon, the cost of the operation, need and extent of support and follow up and the co-morbid conditions of the patient must be considered. Gastric bypass is the gold standard of obesity operations. My choice for surgical treatment is the banded gastric bypass, a modification of the gastric bypass, because it provides the best weight loss to more patients that is maintained for the longest time. The various surgical operations will be presented and evidence to support the choice of the banded gastric bypass as the primary obesity operation will be presented and discussed.

Biography

MAL Fobi is a board certified general surgeon, specialized in bariatric surgery. He is the Medical Director of the Center for Surgical Treatment of Obesity in Hawaiian Gardens California. He has served as the President of the International federation for obesity and Metabolic Surgery (IFSO) and President of the California chapter of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). He has published extensively on bariatric surgery, lectures internationally, serves on many editorial boards and a member of several national and international medical societies.